To keep associates connected to the organization’s overall mission, Seacoast Bank established a continuous listening strategy to increase engagement.
By Maggie Mancini
Since setting out to expand in 2015, Seacoast Bank’s population has tripled. With each new acquisition, the organization has been able to reframe and reinvent the associate and customer experience. Still, that aggressive growth strategy does not come without its challenges. Maintaining growth, scaling risk capabilities, and an ever-changing economic environment required Seacoast Bank to work harder to protect the financial well-being of its customers to reach its goal of being Florida’s bank of choice. Â
To overcome these obstacles, Seacoast Bank has created a continuous listening strategy to measure the moments that matter the most across the employee lifecycle. This provides an opportunity for the company to have a pulse into the voice of its associates. The bank’s engagement strategy has evolved from one annual engagement survey to multiple listening mechanisms, including strategic pulse surveys, automated lifecycle surveys, and recurring manager-associate one-on-one meetings. Â
Additionally, the organization has created a performance management strategy to ensure associates and leaders are clear about how their performance contributes to the ongoing success of the company. As a result, Seacoast Bank can identify its associates’ priorities and act on items where its leaders have the most room for improvement. Â
Though the bank expected to see its annual associate engagement scores remain the same year-over-year, Seacoast Bank witnessed a 2% increase in engagement, which its leaders attribute to the expanded listening strategy. Â
Seacoast Bank won the HRO Today Association’s North America Award for Best in Class: Employee Experience, Financial Services. Â