Summary
Peoples State Bank, a WorkDove client, leaned on the WorkDove platform to create a cultural shift by implementing the Ideal Team Player principles of hungry, humble, and smart. This initiative was implemented organization-wide by incorporating these 3 characteristics into several WorkDove apps, including Check-Ins, Goals, Performance Reviews, and Recognition.
The HR Spotlight blog is a special feature that highlights cutting-edge and noteworthy HR practices strategically implemented by WorkDove clients. These posts are intended to share real-life examples of performance and talent management genius, bolstered by the use of the WorkDove platform. The clients whose stories are captured here are the gold standard for people-first HR, and true examples of what the WorkDove philosophy looks like as it is lived out in the workplace.
Peoples State Bank
Peoples State Bank, headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin, began in 1962 to serve the financial needs of west-side Wausau business owners, their employees, and their families. Today, with many locations throughout Wisconsin, they remain dedicated to serving their customers and investing in their communities through service built on trusted relationships.
Peoples is a community bank staffed by friends and neighbors of the areas they serve. Their dedication to continuously learning and addressing the community’s needs shines through their business practices and unwavering support for their internal teams. Joining WorkDove in 2020, they aimed to empower associates with resources for personal and professional growth, foster better communication between associates and managers, and enhance overall performance management practices. The Peoples State HR team has consistently ensured that associates have access to straightforward, impactful, and interactive development opportunities.
Peoples State Bank Cultural Initiative: The Ideal Team Player
The Peoples State Bank executive team sought to enhance organizational synergy. They enlisted the guidance of an external coach to delve into Patrick Lencioni’s renowned work, the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. This exploration evolved into a deeper dive into Lencioni’s Ideal Team Player. The book’s concept of building teams based on the 3 virtues of hungry, humble, and smart deeply resonated with the Peoples’ established core values. “We see a lot of those characteristics already existing here. Having the focus on the Ideal Team Player model clarifies our culture,” stated Tina Seidl, Vice President/Human Resources Director at Peoples State Bank.
Because of such positive traction with the book’s principles, the leadership team decided to share them with the whole organization. Official communication kicked off at an all-employee event on President’s Day. From there, every Peoples associate was trained in small group formats of 8-10 people at a time, and at least one executive was present for each training session. “We had a lot of discussions to ensure this initiative was not just going to be some crazy change with no substance. Instead, we made sure that the Ideal Team Player virtues were connected to our current values and that this change would truly enhance our current culture,” commented Seidl.
Ultimately, the Peoples State Bank’s cultural initiative was to create a more high-performing team made up of people who are hungry, humble, and smart. These qualities were intended to form the cornerstone of all HR operations, starting from the recruitment process and shaping the entire employee journey. “For example, we ask interview questions like, ‘What has been your greatest accomplishment?’ to help us identify if the candidate embodies humility,” shares Scott Staszak, Talent Acquisition Manager. “Since we are introducing these principles early on, we believe it will help to improve retention. This change has translated into better job postings as well. We want to know if candidates and associates believe in the actual values that Peoples State holds dear,” Staszak continues.
The HR team is continuing to weave the Ideal Team Player into daily operations. The 3 virtues are mentioned in every staff meeting, managers have been given discussion prompts for all department meetings, and the standard definitions of what hungry, humble, and smart tangibly mean are regularly clarified.
Once training sessions were completed, the next step was to determine how the Peoples State HR team would integrate these principles to drive true organizational change. “WorkDove was that connection,” stated Staszak.
How Peoples State Bank Uses WorkDove to Implement Cultural Initiatives
Peoples State Bank leaned on its familiarity and experience with the WorkDove platform to help embed the Ideal Team Player into its culture. Beginning with the 3 qualities, the HR team enlisted them as 3 separate core values in the WorkDove system. Next, they created 2-3 open-ended questions for each virtue that managers could choose to include in their performance Check-Ins with their direct reports. Regarding goal management, the organization has an overarching company goal of implementing the Ideal Team Player. Due to the cascading goals structure in WorkDove, employees and managers could enter individual goals related to the Ideal Team Player and connect them to a higher-level department or company goal for increased accountability. Managers could also add Ideal Team Player open-ended questions to their associates’ performance reviews for more in-depth review discussions.
The Recognition tool in the WorkDove platform has seen huge success from this initiative. The Ideal Team Player training sessions were not lecture-based but rather open discussions, fueling public praise. Participants of the sessions naturally turned to the tool to recognize their colleagues for displaying behaviors that embodied the new core values of hungry, humble, and smart. “There has been wonderful feedback that associates better understand what the organizational culture is and that they now know how they can specifically contribute to it,” shared Seidl.
In the future, the Peoples HR team sees the potential to standardize some of the new Check-In questions and perhaps create performance objectives for performance reviews related to Ideal Team Player characteristics. For now, they are allowing their teams to digest what was shared in the training sessions and letting the principles naturally take root in their healthy yet blossoming company culture.
“We want to continue to hone our skills, embed these virtues in our culture, and provide living examples. This can’t lose momentum so we will not lose sight. We’re excited to see where this takes our organization,” concluded Tina Seidl.
Takeaways
Peoples State Bank and its innovative HR team are shining examples of how to lead by serving others. Their Ideal Team Player initiative affirms that the right performance and talent management platform can empower employees and make positive cultural shifts painless and motivating.
What strategic, people-centered initiatives is your HR team implementing? WorkDove is equipped and ready to support your important cultural changes!
