Pub. 8 2017 Issue 4

www.wvbankers.org 6 West Virginia Banker A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO By Sally Cline WVBankers Professional Development A s bankers, one of our biggest challenges is to remain educated about banking, which is a complex business with its own set of terms and an extensive set of rules. In fact, much of that complexity comes from a regulatory sys- tem that has grown even more elaborate through the addition of a new regula- tor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and a significant increase in the number of regulations thanks to new laws like the Dodd-Frank Act. Regulation is a fact of life in banking, and your employ- ees, senior management, and Board of Directors have a responsibility to ensure your bank is in compliance. Another challenge for our industry is recruiting and retaining talent for the next generation of bankers. Fostering talent has always been an important component in maintaining a strong, adaptive industry, but it has never been more important than it is today. With the last of the baby boomers expected to retire within the next decade, now is the time to recruit and develop future talent to meet the ever changing demands of our industry. An important component of employee talent and retention is providing a profes- sional learning culture. Research shows that individuals who access professional development are more engaged and committed to meeting the challenges of a dynamic work environment. When an organization supports that access, employees are, employees are more likely to be loyal and apply all their newly developed skills and knowledge to the success of their employer. So, when you invest in your people, you invest in your bottom line. Providing timely and relevant edu- cation and training programs to our members’ employees is a critical func- tion of the WVBankers. We strive to achieve this goal by seeking participant feedback through program evaluations and soliciting input, ideas, and sugges- tions for educational offerings from our Board and committee members as well as other banking associations. WVBankers offers a wide variety of classes, seminars, schools and conferences designed to assist bankers at every level in developing their professional and technical skills. Each program is carefully designed under the direction of experienced bankers, regulators and industry consultants to ensure the highest level of training and future- focused topics. In addition to traditional classroom training, the WVBA offers live and recorded webinars, online self-paced learning opportunities, teleconferenc- es and in-house professional develop- ment – making training as convenient, timely and cost-effective as possible. Throughout my career, I’ve tried to take advantage of the professional development opportunities avail- able to me. I believe learning is as important as eating and sleeping, and I encourage you to explore all the WVBA’s training options to ensure your staff and future leaders are well positioned to confront the challenges of the future. 