Fulfill Your Potential
Does your Strategic Plan provide a clear focus on increased loan growth, profitability, and borrower retention? It’s Fall, 4th quarter of 2021’ and that time of the year when financial institutions huddle together with their boards and management team for budget and strategic planning sessions.
To help your bank or credit union achieve increased loan growth, profitability, and borrower retention, I have listed a few thoughts to help develop a succinct strategic plan.
Find & Hire the Right Facilitator
It is critical that a meeting facilitator is in charge, of leading and navigating the flow of the meeting to ensure that it runs smoothly and covers the main agenda items. He/She, must make sure that everyone listens, stays on topic with the agenda, knows their roles and feels included in the process.
Develop a Concise Vision
Make sure your vision is concise and comprehensive. Do you have a compelling mission Statement along with a strong and compelling brand that is real, relevant, and relatable to both your borrowers and your employees, along with people that reside and conduct business within your community and footprint?
Establish a Clear and Vivid Picture of What You Want to Look Like in Three or Five Years
Keep your plan fluid, as this is a “live” document that should be continually evaluated and re-evaluated (not just once a year) to ensure you are being proactive and not reactive when you are responding to a change in the economic landscape as well as the scope of external factors that can easily impact achieving your strategic objectives.
Utilize the KISS Method (not the one you think): Keep It Simple and Strategic
Take your three or five-year plan and break it down using a clear and concise focus on a one-year plan. Consolidation will simplify strategic plans without losing your organization’s strategy.
Focus on Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
Each financial institution should develop SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. These CSFs should include:
Capital Ratio (minimum percent)
Return on Asset (minimum percent) Loan Growth (minimum percent with quality profitable loans)
Loan Yield (minimum percent)
Delinquencies (percent) Charge-Offs (less than your delinquency ratio)
Denial Ratio (percent)
Communicate Your Plan
Make sure the language in your plan is understandable to your staff. Ask yourself if it is …. real, relevant, and relatable to them. Use graphs, charts that will show staff where your organization is today, where you should be and where you need to be at the end of each month and quarter.
Engage Your Staff Weekly
Without staff buy-in, you will not achieve your strategic goals and your strategic plan will fail! Meet weekly if you are integrating major changes. It keeps your team, and everyone focused. The more often you meet, the more focused your team will be.
Remember, Hope Is Not a Strategy….
I hope we reach our goals
I hope our employees do what they need to do to help us reach our goals
Nice thoughts …….. NOT Practical!
Financial institutions need to be nimble, especially during times of rapid change in the way you do business in the mortgage banking arena.
Spillane Consulting Associates can partner with your institution to offer a tailored approach to facilitating along with our mortgage banking and consulting services to help your institution utilize our deep experience and subject matter experts function at your best.
We love to have conversations with inquisitive people! Reach out today for a free consultation and let SCA know how we can help you reach your full potential.
Contact SCA at (617) 694-2617 or visit our website at: www.scapartnering.com to learn more about our mortgage banking services.
