USBA Grassroots Initiative – Supporting Your Front line

Every kind of bank and the community or organizations it serves live together in a mutually beneficial relationship. The bank provides important resources and services and, in return, the community members or organizations support the bank’s commercial offerings. The bank’s health and vitality impacts its community and business organization clients in direct ways and, conversely, the community or the organization clients vitality is reflected in its ability to work with the bank. 

While clients, customers and commercial organizational managers ultimately make the choices that affect the bank’s ability to operate effectively and profitably within its community, the truth is that a great deal of opinion is formed at a grassroots or front line level. It is the result of many simple, routine interactions that happen every day between the personnel of every kind of bank and the members of their community, whether these individuals are direct bank customers or not. The bankers who take the time to help businesses grow, develop personal relationships with customers, help facilitate networking, support community programs, assist students with financial literacy, or support young entrepreneurs, are just a few front line advocates. There are many, many examples of the influence of Bank staff on their community or their individual or commercial organization clients. Fostering these perceptions support the mission of their bank. This is their role as effective front line advocates. USBA is built to support banks and their front line advocates. 

Public opinion polls tell us that people love their local banks.  But in this day of competing messages and a growing world of technology formats, bank staff can’t continue to rely on people’s established opinions. They must be proactive in keeping their banks technologically advanced and their service/commitment front and center in the minds of everyone in their community. 

That is why now more than ever, all bank employees working at all job levels must understand their essential role as advocates on behalf of their banks. They must ultimately be able to deliver powerful messages stressing the value of community banks in order to gain community understanding and support.   

Their unique role on the front line requires that they understand the importance of front line advocacy, feel committed to disseminating their Bank’s message through the art of persuasion, influence and outreach. They are willing to create and deliver messages using a variety of communication strategies.  

If bank staff have the tools they need to do this, they will feel comfortable in their role as front line advocates. They will be able to motivate bank customers and others to support the bank’s initiatives and offerings and help decision makers understand their bank’s value proposition. In addition (and here is the really cool part), they will build a cadre of supporters who will advocate for the bank in their own environments and throughout their own organizations. Thus helping the USBA member banks succeed.

Why Your Staff is the Bank’s Best Front line Advocate

Why are the bank staff members the best front line advocates?  

They are the people who interact with the bank's customers as well as with leaders, neighbors, coworkers, family, and others in your community.  

They know your bank best.  Both your staff and your bank exist within a larger community.

They know this community best and understand the value of the bank within it. 

A Quick Game Plan: 

Front line advocacy of all kinds, but particularly that which is centered around a specific message, issue or challenge, has a better chance of succeeding if there is a “roadmap” to follow. To map out an effective front line advocacy plan for your bank, bank administrators, supervisors and managers should consider the following steps:  

-Identify staff who will take the lead and form an effective Front line Advocacy Team.  

-Find roles for all staff.  

-Determine how bank leadership (management, supervisors, trustees and shareholders) and non-management front line employees will work together for advocacy. 

-Make advocacy something everyone will feel comfortable about.  

-Determine a goal.  

-Be able to say why your goal is important and what actions you will take to accomplish it.  

-Craft your message.  

-Put your plan in writing. 

-Tell it to the right people.  

-Determine the best methods of communication.  

-Evaluate your efforts.  

The USBA staff can provide guidance with the USBA Community Advocacy Planner.