In this episode of Training Matters Honey Shelton talks to Yolanda Garcia, Executive Vice President and Chief Client Experience Officer at WestStar Bank. Yolanda has made it her passion to establish a climate in which team members can thrive and customers have memorable experiences. These are the two pillars that Yolanda built her philosophy on. Tune in to hear her story.

Mary Beth Guard discusses compliance concerns in a world where new privacy scandals seem to emerge weekly. What's your privacy policy? Do you have a fool-proof process in place for reporting malpractices? Mary Beth also brings up the repeal of Dodd-Frank and workplace equality in this must-hear episode of Training Matters.

Are you looking to smooth out a little wrinkle in your career life or are you in need of intensive help? Honey Shelton talks to coaching expert Pamela Grant about being stuck in a rut.
Do you have a coworker that interrupts you at the most inconvenient times? Pamela will teach you how to set boundaries and deal with intrusiveness. Learn to recognize and avoid the traps we keep falling for and the detours we keep taking in our daily interactions. Pamela and Honey also discuss the difference between an internal and external coach and how to recognize when you need coaching.

Why is the subject of human connection so important to your business now? Why should you pay attention to human engagement and how do you start deepening the connection you have with your customers? Joe Sullivan is an expert on the topic and today he shares why and how to deepen your human connections in an increasingly digital world.

Honey visits with Stacey Barnier about today's HR headaches. They discuss how to keep employees engaged, how a SHRM certification can help HR professionals and which challenges face the human resource department faces in 2018, one of which of course is the increased awareness and attention to sexual harassment.

Is this really the best use of my time? How often do you ask yourself that question? I bet quite often! We all strive to be more efficient with our time, effort, and money. Where we often fail is in deciding what on a process to make a meaningful change or break a bad habit. Honey Shelton talks to Karen Wiehoff, a process improvement expert, and InterAction Training's newest speaker! They discuss how to approach processes you want to improve in the call center, front desk, or any customer facing role. How can you make your call center more efficient? How do decide what processes need improvement and how do you curb resistance to change?

About our Guest

Karen C. Wiehoff has more than 30 years of executive management experience. Her career has afforded her in-depth expertise in such areas as leadership, consulting, relationship management, human resources, marketing, and regulatory and compliance initiatives. Before she joined InterAction Training, Karen was the Senior Engagement Manager for a national consulting firm where she partnered and consulted with organizations through strategic planning, change management, and process improvement initiatives. 

Honey invites Chad Knutson back to the studio to talk about the Equifax data breach. How did it happen? Could it happen again? How does it affect me? How do I protect my information? Chad also talks about implementing a business plan to prevent such a breach from happening at your institution and about the opportunity your bank or credit union has to help customers or members take appropriate action.

About our Guest

Chad Knutson is a co-founder and Senior Information Security Consultant for SBS CyberSecurity, a premier cybersecurity consulting and audit firm dedicated to making a positive impact on the banking and financial services industry, and has served as President of the SBS Institute since 2013. Chad maintains his CISSP, CISA, and CRISC certifications, and received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and his Master of Science in Information Assurance from Dakota State University.

Chad is dedicated to educating industry professionals about cybersecurity. While consulting with financial institutions, he saw the need to empower employees to be better prepared to confidently handle cybersecurity threats, create and manage strong information security programs, and understand ever-changing regulations at their institution. He was a driving force in the development of the SBS Institute certification program, which is uniquely designed to serve the banking industry by providing banking specific, role-based certifications cyber education. The SBS Institute has grown to include over ten certifications and State Association partners in over 30 states.

Your brand on the outside is only as strong as it is on the inside. Honey Shelton welcomes Steve Schmidt to the study as they discuss how to identify and embrace a sales mentality at your bank or credit union, all while making sure you maintain your unique identity. question: What does selling really mean to you? This episode is all about the extended relationship with your customers and will help you answer this simple, yet tough question: Are you simply providing a service or are you a trusted advisor or even a partner to your customers?

Steve will introduce you to the 5 dimensions that impact sales performance and the 5 expectations customers have. Discover how to improve sales performance and the real value of a customer centric sales culture and how heightened trust can create win-win-win situations for your customer, financial institution, and employees.

Take your brand promise from a statement on a poster to something all your employees believe in!

About our Guest

Steve Schmidt is an Executive Partner with Integrity Solutions®, a professional services firm that specializes in performance improvement in the areas of sales, service, and coaching. He is involved in business development and managing strategic account relationships, with a strong emphasis in the Financial Service and Insurance sectors. Steve has 11 years of experience developing and implementing revenue generating tools and programs across the sales network. Steve’s broad scope of sales process and sales operations expertise combine to provide insightful and result-producing solutions.  Steve has an undergraduate Business Management degree from the University of South Dakota and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

From time to time, a conflict will arise between you and a customer. How do you keep your cool when a customer expresses a complaint? What's the best way to defuse the situation? Honey Shelton talks to customer service expert Teresa Allen about the types of complaints, where they are rooted, and how to react accordingly to each. Teresa and Honey also discuss the role of social media as an outlet for customer complaints. Tune in if you're interested in handling customer complaints the right way!

About Our Guest

Teresa Allen is a recipient of the Customer Service Training Practice of the Year Award from the International Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. She is an internationally recognized customer service expert and has been presenting customer service keynotes and training programs across the U.S. and abroad for over twenty years. Teresa is the author of Common Sense Service: Close Encounters on the Front Lines, and is the co-author of The Service Path: Your Roadmap for Building Strong Customer Loyalty. Currently ranked #1 on the GlobalGurus.org list of global customer service experts, Teresa is ranked in the Top 10 of U.S. speakers by Speaking.com. Teresa is a two-time recipient of the ASTD Professional Trainer of the Year Award.

Questions about how to make smart investment choices? Whether you’re just starting out, retirement is around the corner, or you’re somewhere in the middle: This episode of Training Matters is for you! Suzie Jones will inspire you to look at your investments differently and take action! Tune in to get a better understanding of how to make sure your investment portfolio matches you!

About our Guest

Suzie Jones has 40 years of experience in the financial industry. Suzie recently retired as an Executive Vice President with a large regional financial organization where she helped found and grow the Investments Division from a team of two to a team of 70 with assets in excess of $11B.  For decades Suzie Jones worked passionately with investors at every age and financial stage helping them gain financial peace.  She is known for her energetic and engaging training style and keen ability to talk about investing in terms people care about. She is a graduate of Leadership Houston Class XXV, a Senior Fellow of American Leadership Forum Class XXXII and holds the Certified Financial PlannerTM (CFP®) professional designation.

You don’t master leadership through luck, it takes training, experience, self-learning, and staying on top of best practices. Supervisors must have the right attitude and aptitude to excel in their challenging role but all staff members benefit from developing their own leadership skills and elevate their personal and professional development. Eric Eaton talks about accountability and how he elevated the leadership skills at BankPlus over the past few years. Want to get the leadership in your company to the level you want it to be? This episode is for you.

Is your bank or credit union protected against cyber attacks? Never before have we been under greater threat from the dangers that lurk online. Viruses, malware, phishing, hacking, identity theft, ransomware. Those are just a handful of things that should be of great concern to any business, but especially to a financial institution. Are you at risk of being a target for cyber criminals?

Honey talks to Chad Knutson from SBS CyberSecurity about what you should do to protect yourself, your bank, and your customers from malicious activity online. Chad and Honey also discuss trends on how criminals will try breach your systems in the future

About our Guest

Chad Knutson is a co-founder and Senior Information Security Consultant for SBS CyberSecurity, a premier cyber security consulting and audit firm dedicated to making a positive impact on the banking and financial services industry, and has served as President of the SBS Institute since 2013. Chad maintains his CISSP, CISA, and CRISC certifications, and received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and his Master of Science in Information Assurance from Dakota State University.

Chad is dedicated to educating industry professionals about cyber security. While consulting with financial institutions, he saw the need to empower employees to be better prepared to confidently handle cyber security threats, create and manage strong information security programs, and understand ever-changing regulations at their institution. He was a driving force in the development of the SBS Institute certification program, which is uniquely designed to serve the banking industry by providing banking specific, role-based certifications cyber education. The SBS Institute has grown to include over ten certifications and State Association partners in over 30 states.

Is your frontline staff equipped with the self-confidence, skills, and support they need to serve your customers in the best possible way? We welcome Leigh-Anne Taylor, Senior Vice President and COO of Community Bank NBC Oklahoma, to talk about serving well and selling right. Discover how a community bank equips their frontline to consistently excel at customer service and cross-selling.

About Our Guest

Leigh-Anne started her banking career as a teller and loan filing clerk. She moved onto customer service, then became a supervisor, to eventually land in her current role of SVP/COO. Leigh-Anne has also been the chairman of the operations school at the Oklahoma Bankers Association and really enjoys teaching and training.

There's been a lot of talk in the industry about the changes 2017 and a drastically altered Washington DC will bring. We asked our very first guest back on the show to talk about the impact our new president and new administration may have on banking: Mary Beth Guard from Bankers Online.

Mary Beth answers your most pressing questions: Will Dodd Frank go away? What about the CFBP? Listen to what she anticipates will happen!

About Our Guest

Mary Beth Guard has been immersed in bank compliance matters for more than three decades as an attorney.  Starting out in the regulatory world as general counsel for the state banking department, she moved on to head up the legal department of her state bankers association, where she served as a resource for thousands of bank employees.  After a stint as head of specialized services for a global financial publishing firm, Mary Beth co-founded BankersOnline.com in 2000 and continues to serve as its Executive Editor.  In addition, Mary Beth is CEO of BOL Conferences, Inc., Manager of the subscription service BankCompliance.com, and CEO of Glia Group, Inc., which produces the BOL Learning Connect webinars.

Mary Beth has served on the faculty of four graduates schools of banking, has taught at schools for ABA and BAI, and has provided training programs for a wide range of state and national industry groups, in addition to authoring more than 1,00 banking-related articles, creating compliance matrices, and producing webinars and conferences.

What are the challenges of being positive in the workplace? How do you manage employees who are stuck in negativity? Why are some people more pessimistic than others, and can you do something about that? Those any other questions are answered in this episode of Training Matters, in which Honey discusses the payoffs for being a positive person with Tina Hallis, certified expert in Positive Psychology.

About Our Guest

When Tina Hallis was introduced to a new science called Positive Psychology, it showed her how building our positivity could give us the necessary courage to quit a really bad job or to see more of the good aspects in a job where we were stuck in the negative. Positive Psychology had strategies she could actually use to improve her work experience, and it was information she could share to help others with theirs. If there’s one place we could really use help staying positive, it’s at work. So Tina decided to start her own company, The Positive Edge, with the goal of bringing this information into organizations to help improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures. As part of this endeavor, Tina became certified in Positive Psychology through the WholeBeing Institute and an authorized partner for Everything DiSC®.

Honey talks to body language expert Jan Hagrave to find out if actions speak louder than words. What impact does body language have on customer interactions? Tune in for an in-depth discussion on the do's and don'ts, the dead giveaways, and the details to look for when communicating. Learn how to use eye-contact, interpret handshakes, subtle movements, and more in this month's episode of Training Matters.

Honey talks to Steve Greene about recent changes in employment law and what they mean for the banking world. Steve is an expert in the field of employment law and specializes in working with banks and credit unions. He and Honey discuss the dramatic changes in overtime regulations that take effect December 1, 2016. How will these changes affect business, part-timing, and minimum wage? Honey and Steve also discuss the gray area of marijuana usage and how to deal with that and other concerns you can or can't inquire about.

About Our Guest

Steve Greene specializes in employment litigation, employee benefit issues and compensation matters. He regularly speaks to employment lawyers, compensation professionals and human resources executives concerning application of these legal standards on behalf of SHRM, CUPA-HR, World at Work, the American Bankers Association, and other national trade groups.

During the past 32 years, Steve has assisted Fortune 500 companies evaluate overtime exemption compliance and design compliant compensation methodologies. He has also assisted employers manage Department of Labor and state regulatory investigations across the country. Steve represents employers defending compensation claims brought in individual, collective, and class actions. His work has also included educating and influencing the DOL and members of Congress to reform the federal employment standards.

Steve also oversees employment litigation nationally, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, ERISA, and breach of contract actions brought against employers. Litigation handled by Steve and the firm also include actions where the employer enforces restrictive covenants, or otherwise pursues trade secret, duty of loyalty, and business interference claims against departing employees and their new employers. 

Wells Fargo, one of the most respected banks in the country, turns out to have a poisonous cross-selling culture. What can we learn from this scandal? How will it affect community banks and credit unions? Honey has three guests that shed their light on the Wells Fargo mess. Rogers Pope Jr. talks about corporate culture and cross-selling from the perspective of his community bank, Julie Story shares her sales and incentives expertise, and Roger Beverage talks about the consequences the Wells Fargo fraud could have on community banks.

About Our Guests

Rogers Pope, Jr. is Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Bank and Trust Company in Longview, Texas. Rogers assists with the overall management of the bank and its holding companies and is extensively involved in community affairs.

Julie Story is the Executive Vice President for Pinnacle Financial Strategies. Julie is responsible for product enhancements, new product design, launch and product sales/delivery support. She is the creator of the comprehensive SMART Business Banking, a Business Development and Sales Skills training program for Community Banks and Credit Unions.

Roger Beverage has been president and CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association since joining the Association in March 1988. Roger has more than 30 years of legal experience in banking matters. He was a trial lawyer for several years before serving as executive vice president of the Nebraska Bankers Association and as the Director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance.

When would you install Interactive Teller Machines? What are the benefits? How do they transform your branch? Today we try to answer when interactive teller machines are a good fit for your bank. Honey  is joined today by Chuck Gearhart from Salin Bank in Indiana. Salin Bank pioneered the ITMs in Indiana. Listen to what they've learned and discover if you should place Interactive Teller Machines in your branches!

What are the myths & truths of overdraft privilege? What do customers assume it is? What do you tell customers about it? Honey Shelton talks to expert Julie Story about the myths and truths of overdraft privilege. Julie has 28 years of experience in banking and is now Executive Vice President of Pinnacle Financial Strategies. Julie and Pinnacle assist banks and credit unions with anything from reward checking, mystery shopping, SMART Business Banking, and are experts on overdraft privilege. Today Julie will share her expertise on this topic.

About Julie

In her role as Executive Vice President for Pinnacle Financial Strategies, Julie is responsible for product enhancements, new product design, launch and product sales/delivery support. In addition, as the creator of the comprehensive SMART Business Banking; Business Development and Sales Skills training program for Community Banks and Credit Unions, she serves as the lead program consultant.