Mainebiz Special Editions

I t's frequently said that banking is a relation- ship business. Even in the age of automation and artificial intel- ligence, the business of banking still revolves around relation- ships and trust. But educating new employees about that culture takes time. In the back of every em- ployer's mind when they hire someone is, "How far can this person go?" We took it a step further and asked banks what they look for when hiring. In other words, how do you hire a teller with the goal of that person one day being a manager?" It gets to the heart of recruit- ing and retention — and career development. We put the question out to a handful of bankers in Maine and got some interesting responses about career growth. Bangor Savings hires for 'soft skills' When bankers talk about the skills needed to grow in the in- dustry, they often refer to tech- nical skills, such as the mechan- ics of how a loan works, and soft skills — the people skills that include interacting and com- municating with customers. In recruiting, the latter is cru- cial at the largest Maine-based bank, Bangor Savings. "In short, it's always the soft skills. Without the soft skills, the hard skills don't work," says Bob Montgomery-Rice, president and CEO of Bangor Savings, which has $7.3 billion in assets and 63 branch offices. The bank recruits at a number of colleges, including Husson Uni- P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F B A N G O R S A V I N G S B A N K Bob Montgomery-Rice, president and CEO of Bangor Savings, says the bank's recruiting focuses on people skills. "In short, it's always the soft skills. Without the soft skills, the hard skills don't work," says, which has $7.3 billion in assets and 63 branch offices. W O R K F O R M E / S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 6 f i n a n c i a l s e r v i c e s How to tune up the skill set and advance in banking B Y P E T E R V A N A L L E N

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