Mountain Bank Discussion

Mountain Bank is located in the northwest United States. The bank has four major business lines: retail banking, consumer lending, real estate, and mortgage banking, and corporate banking. Traditionally, Mountain Bank has had a strong presence in the retail banking line, with only a limited presence in the other lines. However, deregulation in the banking industry has led to mergers and acquisitions for Mountain Bank, as well as for several of its competitors.

Retail banking includes traditional banking activities such as providing checking and savings accounts. Mountain Bank currently has about 50 percent of the market for retail accounts in its area. Often, however, these accounts are not very profitable. Consumer lending encompasses a variety of secured and unsecured consumer loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, boat loans, and card lines of credit. Mountain Bank currently has about 25 percent of this market. Real estate and mortgage banking involve obtaining and servicing home mortgage loans, which are seen as a stable form of income for most banks. Mountain Bank currently has less than 10 percent of this market. Corporate banking provides services to businesses. Corporate clients are provided with a wide variety of basic services, as well as financing for equipment acquisitions and plant expansions. These services are often seen as very profitable. However, Mountain Bank has a very small presence in the corporate market—less than 5 percent of the market, according to current estimates.

Mountain Bank has established a strategy of leveraging its strong retail banking presence into gains in the real estate and corporate areas. Past experience suggests that one of the best methods for achieving this leverage is cross-selling, which occurs when tellers and customer service representatives convince customers with retail accounts to open corporate accounts or to obtain home mortgages from Mountain Bank.

Recent studies have found that bank tellers are critical to the success of Mountain Bank. In fact, one study found that customers’ experiences with tellers are the single most important driver of customer satisfaction. After all, a bank teller is often the only person an individual customer has contact with when visiting a bank branch. Although fewer tellers are needed every year due to technological improvements, tellers are still the heart and soul of a bank.

A typical branch of Mountain Bank has three to seven tellers, depending on size and location. Floating tellers (part-timers) are also used to increase the staff during lunch hours and paydays. Mountain Bank has traditionally approached the teller position as a low-paying, entry-level position. Tellers are frequently part-time employees. Turnover is quite high, and successful tellers are often transferred to customer service positions.

Job Description

Job: Bank Teller

Pay: $14 per hour

Receives and pays out money and keeps records of money and negotiable instruments involved in financial transactions. Receives checks and cash for deposit verifies the amount, and examines checks for endorsements. Cashes checks and pays out money after verification of signatures and customer balances. Enters customers’ transactions into a computer to record transactions and issues computer-generated receipts. Places hold on accounts for uncollected funds. Orders daily supply of cash and count incoming cash. Balances currency, coin, and checks in cash drawer at end of the shift using a calculator and compares totaled amounts with data displayed on a computer screen. Explains, promotes, and sells products and services, such as traveler’s checks, savings bonds, money orders, and cashier’s checks.

Questions:

1. What competitive business strategy do you recommend for Mountain Bank?
2. Based on the universalistic approach and commitment strategy, what types of human resource practices do you recommend for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers?
3. Which of the four human resource strategies do you recommend for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers? Why?

   Reply:

1. What competitive business strategy do you recommend for Mountain Bank?

I would recommend the differentiation strategy. This will allow the bank to create a unique experience for its customers. This will allow them to stand out compared to its competitors. I also believe that pre approved consumer loans and bundling of all products such as free checking when you open up a savings account, can increase a banks overall business.

2. Based on the universalistic approach and commitment strategy, what types of human resource practices do you recommend for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers?

Banks are known to offer teller incentives such as a bonus for the teller to open the most checking accounts. Acknowledging that the teller is part of the company, make them feel as an asset to the company. The bank could hold monthly meeting or luncheons with their employees as a monthly incentive.

3. Which of the four human resource strategies do you recommend for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers? Why?

I would recommend the commitment strategy. Tellers make up an important role in the banking industry they are the ones who influence the organizations ability to achieve its objective. They are the ones customers first see and make a connection with. Cross training them as a teller and as a customer service rep would lower turn over rates. A bank who successfully and consistently trains their tellers to look out for potential opportunities have a better chance of creating new accounts. This will require tellers to be highly committed to your organization.

Second peer post below

1. I think the best business strategy would be differentiation. Mountain bank needs to gain a competitive advantage over the competition, and differentiation business strategy can provide that. They need better products and services than the competition to increase their business. For example, higher interest rates or better loyalty programs than other banks can be beneficial for them.

2. Human resources can offer training programs for the Mountain Bank’s tellers to help them grow and might lead to a promotion in the future. Moreover, creating a healthy environment where tellers feel appreciated and supported can increase morals.

3. I would recommend the committed expert HR strategy because it encourages employees to stay. It can offer many promotions with higher commitment and responsibility. Moreover, it gives better salary and more benefits with the right training, and the long commitment to the company.