Independent Banker - August 2021 - 86

CONNECTIONS TRAILBLAZER
" We completely
buy into B Lab's
mantra, which is
that businesses
must be a force
for good. "
-DAN YATES,
BRATTLEBORO SAVINGS
& LOAN
process was also an opportunity to
grow as an organization.
Yates is proud to quote the bank's
updated mission. " As a 100-plusyear-old
institution, " he reads, " we're
committed to work toward reduced
inequality, lowering levels of poverty,
a healthier environment, stronger
communities, including the creation
of more high-quality jobs with
dignity and purpose. "
Brattleboro's mission also includes
commitments to serving at least
85% local and/or independent
customers, hiring primarily local
staff and managers, and supporting
underbanked and under-resourced
people. " We completely buy into
B Lab's mantra, which is that
businesses must be a force for good, "
Yates says.
This meant hiring locally and
sourcing products and supplies
locally. As a result of the process,
Brattleboro Savings & Loan
introduced a mandatory composting
scheme within its locations, which
reduced the amount of waste going
into landfills by 50%.
In addition to eco-friendly
initiatives, the community
bank looked at better corporate
governance, including boosting
employee engagement and
transparency. " I have always felt, "
Yates says, " that, other than things
that for some legal reasons we might
not be able to share, the more our
staff knows about what the bank is
doing, the better they're going to be
as employees [and] the more a part
of the organization they are going
to feel. "
And that meant getting staff
more involved at all levels of the
organization. For example, the
community bank's management
team recently chose five younger and
" technologically savvy " employees to
86 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q August 2021
select a new online banking platform.
" They did a great job, " Yates says.
" We accepted their recommendations
and moved ahead with a different
online banking platform, and I
think they came away from it feeling
very fulfilled. "
Furthermore, Brattleboro moved
to a $15 minimum wage several
years ago, offers new employees 15
paid days off in addition to 10 paid
holidays, pays 75% of employees'
health insurance costs and contributes
to higher education costs. It also
offers employees two full paid days a
year for volunteering, and it donated
7% of its profits to local organizations,
from food banks to the local modern
art museum, last year.
More work to do
This summer, Yates will be working
on creating a diversity, equity
and inclusion (DEI) task force to
encourage people from different
backgrounds to apply for jobs at
Brattleboro Savings & Loan.
" As a young banker, " Yates says,
" I used to look around and go, 'Well,
there's a lot of women that work here
at the bank, but none of them are
running it.' " Today, women make up
56% of the bank's officers and 45% of
its board.
Yates says he would like to see
many more banks join the B Corps'
ranks, even if they only use the
concept as a checklist for potential
organizational improvements.
" I would say to any bank ... even if
becoming a certified B Corporation
may not be something that you can
pursue, look at what it means to
become certified, " he says. " Because if
enough of us do this, we actually can
be a force for change. "
Roshan McArthur is a writer
in California.
Independent Banker - August 2021

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