Nurturing Work-Life Balance in our #PeopleFirst Culture

By Bobbie Elder, Talent Acquisition Partner, and Curtis Moore, Diversity Sourcing Business Partner

At Choice Bank, our commitment to our #PeopleFirst workplace culture is more than just a motto; it’s a way of life. We understand that by offering people flexibility, the ability to support their communities, and maintaining a positive connection with our virtual teams equates to our employees being at their best!

Choice Bank recognizes that each employee has unique needs when it comes to their work environment. Our approach is to encourage open and honest communication between teams and employees. This is essential for ensuring that our flexible work environment is a success.

Know Your Customer

One of the key questions our employees ask themselves is, “Who is my customer, and how do I best serve them?” This question guides our approach to flexibility. It empowers our employees to find creative solutions to balance their personal and professional lives while still delivering top-notch service. At Choice, a customer could be anyone who walks into our bank or anyone else we serve, such as a coworker, an employee’s team, or even who we volunteer with. People First service is at the heart of everything we do and is integral to every relationship our bank and employees have.

We have an employee who is passionate about coaching basketball for a local youth organization. With the support and collaboration of their team, they can serve their customers and fulfill their passions outside of work.

Another employee, in a more creative role, finds that their best ideas come to them at night. With approval from their manager and the necessary communication, this employee is able to work outside of normal business hours to maximize her productivity.

In essence, communication between our employees and teams is the key to a successful, flexible work environment.

Encouraging Community Engagement Wherever You Call Home

Choice Bank encourages its employees to engage with their communities and volunteer. We support causes that matter to our team members. It is important to us to not only support the causes and communities where there is a Choice location, but to also support the communities where our virtual team members live.

For example, we recently partnered with Golden Drive Homeless Kids to build birthday bags for homeless youth. Ninety Choice Bank employees volunteered to help Golden Drive assemble 500 bags at our August leadership retreat in Fargo to help bring joy to kids experiencing homelessness on their birthdays. However, we found that we had Choice team members across the nation that also had a need to support homeless youth in their communities. Choice empowered these employees and sent birthday bags to Detroit Lakes, Bismarck, Walhalla, and even San Antonio.

While we give back as an organization, we also encourage our employees to give back to the communities they live in and find causes they are passionate about. We give each of our employees a Choice Bank volunteer shirt to wear when they do charitable work. The Choice Bank volunteer shirt symbolizes all of us rolling up our sleeves and making a real impact right where we live.

Acknowledging a Shift in the Work Environment

The pandemic brought a significant shift in our work environment, highlighting the importance of maintaining a strong company culture even when our employees couldn’t be in the same physical space. Today, our virtual team is the largest team here at Choice Bank, comprising 28% of our workforce.

We’re committed to keeping our virtual teams connected. We’ve always been a “cameras on” organization, even before the pandemic. For us, seeing each other’s faces is one of the most effective ways to maintain a sense of connection.

A good example of our team leaders keeping teams connected was our virtual puzzle challenge. We got to spend a quick five minutes tackling an online puzzle before jumping into our next meetings. It’s a fun way to build team spirit, even when we’re all working from different places. Several employees also mentioned starting their day with this creative thinking helped them to be more productive.

Choice Bank’s commitment to a positive work-life balance is a cornerstone of our #PeopleFirst culture. We place a strong emphasis on understanding and accommodating the diverse needs of our employees, promoting a healthy work-life balance, and fostering a sense of community and connection, even in a virtual setting. Our flexible work environment and community engagement initiatives are a testament to our dedication to our team members and the communities we serve.

Written by:

Bobbie Elder
Talent Acquisition Partner
Eagan, Minnesota
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Curtis Moore
Diversity Sourcing Business Partner
Virtual Team – Minnesota
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