Employee engagement pays off: WSFS Bank in Delaware teaches its associates how to be more engaged in their jobs and the organization. This type of employee behavior boosts customer loyalty and heightens financial performance, the bank says.

• Author: Albro, Walt
• Position: WSFS Financial Corp. - Company overview

NOT LONG AGO, WSFS BANK, WILMINGTON, DEL., offered a one-weekend-only special rate on a certificate of deposit. The promotion was popular--more so than the bank had anticipated. On Saturday morning, lots of eager customers queued up in the bank's branches to take advantage of the limited-time special.

It soon became clear that the branches did not have enough associates to handle the unusually heavy traffic. Managers telephoned associates on their day off and asked them if they could come in and help. Despite the fact that the weather that day was good, every associate who was telephoned responded by heading into the branch and pitching in.

"Our bank has an unusually high level of associate engagement and we are proud of that," says Peggy H. Eddens, executive vice president and chief human capital officer. "It's how we differentiate ourselves in the marketplace."

The bank first began to focus on boosting associate engagement about 10 years ago. The theory is that if employees are engaged in their work and the workplace, customers will follow along. Furthermore, if customers are engaged, they will stay loyal and help the bank to grow and prosper.

This strategy has worked, the bank says. While other banks hunkered down during the recent recession, WSFS opened new branches and grew market share--all while improving its financial performance.

Originated as a savings and funds society

WSFS Bank was founded in 1832. It is the oldest and largest independent bank that has its headquarters in Delaware and is the seventh oldest bank in the country. The institution, which has $4.5 billion in assets, has commercial, wealth management and retail banking divisions, an ATM/vault cash subsidiary and over 50 office locations, mostly in Delaware and southeast Pennsylvania. WSFS currently has about 800 employees, which the bank calls "associates." In the 19th century, the bank was known as Wilmington Savings and Funds Society. Over time, that name was simplified to WSFS Bank.

For a long time, the bank proved to be stable and resilient, although things took a turn in the late 1980s. A few years earlier, the bank had "gone public" and experienced an influx of capital. The bank made several new investments, some of which proved ill-timed. As such, the bank was forced to make some difficult cut-back decisions or to face the prospect of going under.

"But as fate would have it, an unwavering and impassioned board director, CG Cheleden, and a new president, Marvin 'Skip' Schoenhals, locked arms with a dogged determination to fix the bank," notes Eddens. The new team wiped the slate clean and went back to the basics by configuring a new strategy and playbook while attempting to remain true to the bank's original mission. While analyzing the company's strengths and weaknesses, bank leaders concluded that one of the institution's historic strong points had been its outstanding people...