The Idaho First Bank leadership team asked themselves a simple question: Are we living up to our tagline of People First, Community First? To examine the answer and capitalize on the opportunities revealed, they brought in Strelo Group to help identify how to integrate the principle of inclusion into the culture of the organization.
In an industry that is many decades old, 19-year-old Idaho First Bank is a relative newcomer. And like many young enterprises, Idaho First is still growing and evolving. Its senior leadership team has a start-up mindset. “Ours is not a storied history of multiple generations. We had the luxury of creating as we go,” said Todd Cooper, Idaho First Bank president. “We wanted to build something that would be sustainable well into the future.”
A journey complete with bus stops
The partnership with Strelo had three phases (or “bus stops,” as the First Idaho team called them).
The engagement began with a series of workshops with the senior executives to delve into just what the principle of inclusion meant to them. One important outcome was identifying the need to invite the next two levels of leaders into the conversation, also in the form of facilitated workshops.
In the third phase, employees across all branch locations were asked to identify the organizational values that align with the bank’s People First, Community First tagline. In total, 93% of the workforce participated in these listening sessions.
The 11-month engagement concluded with a senior leadership team workshop, where they finalized the proposed values and confirmed immediate next steps.
The engagement with Strelo melded a proven framework with Idaho First’s desire to let the process unfold and iterate. “The Strelo team introduced us to their delivery method,” said Cooper. “Then they listened to us and tailored their framework to our situation. They gave us the latitude to pause and meander a bit, and then tailor the goals and process, so we could successfully move forward.”
“Our tagline of ‘People First, Community First’ became our driving force. Afterall, if you’re going to hang it on the wall and put it on your website, you better be living up to that commitment every day.”
Todd Cooper
President
Inclusion as the driver
Early on the team decided to focus on the People First component. Inclusion became the driver for their conversations and decision-making. “If you’re going to hang it on the wall and put it on your website, you better be living up to that commitment every day,” said Cooper. “We asked ourselves if we were doing this with our employees and the people walking through the front door of our branches each and every day.”
Another success was to model inclusion in the engagement itself, particularly with the second tier of leaders. “We knew that their endorsement and commitment to the work would be essential to moving forward,” said Cooper
Similarly, the senior leadership team wanted to enroll as many employees as possible in the listening sessions. They asked employees to describe and share examples of what People First, Community First means to them. This led to the breakthrough moment, articulation of the organizational core values: Working for the Shared Success of our Bank and Customers, Valuing Each Person, Genuinely Caring for One Another, and Strength in Our Community.
Refining what’s foundational
The Idaho First leadership engagement was not about transformative change. Rather it was about definition and refinement of the philosophy expressed by the bank’s People First, Community First tagline.
“Nothing in the organization was broken,” said Cooper. “We needed definition and clarity so together we could build something durable and meaningful.”
About Idaho First Bank
Idaho First Bank is a community bank serving the greater Ada, Valley, and contiguous counties of Idaho and Central Oregon. Founded in 2005, Idaho First offers highly personalized business, private. and residential banking services to the communities they serve.
