Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I I N O. V I I A P R I L 4 , 2 0 2 2 14 B A N K I N G / F I N A N C E / I N S U R A N C E B anking is brand new for 29-year-old Kenyon Knue, a former preschool teacher who started as a teller at Maine Savings Federal Credit Union in Hampden in March 2020 for better work-life bal- ance. "Plus," she says, "there's no diaper changes here." Up the road, at a Machias Savings Bank branch in Bangor, Kaitlyn Kappes, 23, started as a financial services specialist level 1 in January after leaving her job as a machine operator, pledging to "make banking my career and do the best I can." Elsewhere in Maine, 21-year-old college senior Elliot Moulton is a Chase Bank customer-turned- employee in Westbrook. Savoring the change from part-time work at Target, he says that banking offers "a greater opportunity to build lasting relationships with our customers." Regardless of the job title, entry-level front-line employees are in high demand at Maine financial insti- tutions engaged in a talent war with each other — and other industries — in the current tight labor market. While that's allowing some institutions to attract peo- ple from outside banking, many are scrambling to find crucial staff for branch jobs that can't be done remotely. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Kenyon Knue at work as a teller at Maine Savings Federal Credit Union in Hampden. F O C U S COMPANY-WIDE EMPLOYMENT AT THE TOP 10 MAINE-BASED BANKS 12/31/2021 12/31/2020 Percent change Bangor Savings Bank 1,058 1,027 3.02% Camden National Bank 623 609 2.30% Bar Harbor Bank & Trust 420 519 –19.08% First National Bank 267 250 6.80% Machias Savings Bank 293 296 –1.01% Kennebunk Savings Bank 324 300 8.00% Norway Savings Bank 302 290 4.14% Gorham Savings Bank 199 193 3.11% Northeast Bank 168 165 1.82% Bath Savings Institution 187 184 1.63% S O U R C E : Compiled by Mainebiz researcher Timothy Doyle from FDIC data. TaLENT WaRS TELLER Maine banks, credit unions get more strategic about filling entry-level jobs B y R e n e e C o r d e s

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