Solving the Talent Gap at a Fast-Growing Bank

There often comes a moment in the growth trajectory of successful banks where the talent in-house is outpaced by the opportunities at hand for the institution. It’s not that the bank’s existing talent isn’t capable; it’s that the institution is evolving beyond the scale they were hired to manage.

Growth-oriented institutions understand that while promoting from within builds loyalty and preserves culture, external hiring brings fresh perspectives and the proven experience that’s needed to navigate new challenges at scale. The most successful banks we work with recognize this inflection point early and act decisively, as in the case of SmartBank.

SmartBank is a $5.5 billion asset bank based in Tennessee with a great acquisition and organic growth track record. The bank has completed 8 deals since 2012, executed on a number of high-profile team lift-outs, and is building toward becoming a much larger regional player. When the bank engaged Travillian, its existing staff was talented and well-regarded. But CEO Billy Carroll recognized something crucial: the bank needed to add some depth to its talent bench with experience on where the bank is heading.

Brian Love, Travillian’s Head of Banking & Fintech Search, knew just where to start. “The thing about recruiting is you need to know where to look,” says Love. “If you’re a $5 billion bank looking to be a $20 billion bank, you have to be talking to the successors in $10, $30, and $50 billion asset institutions.”

Love’s team set to work developing the supporting evidence and processes needed to attract the right candidate. They collaborated with the bank’s leadership to develop a targeted plan that included the types of roles and backgrounds that could be a fit based on the bank’s needs, unique places to look for those individuals, comp data, and more. “We talked through it for many months,” Love said. “But ensuring that we were fully aligned from the outset paid off with a smooth process and an ideal hire for SmartBank.”

In the end, Carroll made the strategic decision to recruit a top risk executive from a $15 billion asset bank outside of its footprint. The external hire provided SmartBank with proven expertise at the next level of complexity.

The most successful banks we work with use external hiring strategically — to acquire a particular competitive advantage. They recognize that bringing in executives who have already solved the problems they’re facing provides immediate capability and accelerated learning for the bank’s entire team. This doesn’t diminish the value of internal talent development. Rather, it creates a powerful combination: internal candidates who understand the culture and values, working alongside external hires who bring proven experience at the next level of complexity.

For a full list of Travillian’s Banking & Fintech placements, visit our website here.