Many attributes that make an organization a great place to work can get overlooked in the job hunt and interview process. We’ve rounded up a few of the details that make us unique. We’re pretty proud of them, too!
DID YOU KNOW
1.We’ve been recognized for twelve years in a row as one of the Top 200 Community Banks. That’s right! American Banker (D.C. based trade magazine for the U.S. banking industry) reviews and publishes a list of the best performing community banks in the country based on a three-year average return on equity.
2.We have ranked consecutively in the Best Banks to work. Each year, American Banker polls the employees of community banks across the country on their practices and policies. We have ranked there for the eighth year in a row and we’re #1 for the participating Virginia banks.
3.Our employees like it so much they stay. We have 232 employees, and a third of them have remained with us for more than ten years, over the industry average of 4.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Check out the breakdown:
22 employees have worked here 10-14 years
29 employees – 15-20 years
26 employees -- 20+ years
4.Our whole staff comes together four times per year, alternating business and social events. This past year, social distancing requirements forced us to do things a little differently.
We were able to start last year the same as previous years. In January, we met for our “kick-off” where we talked about our performance for the previous year and goals for the coming year.
Our all-day training event regularly held on Columbus Day was a virtual event with self-paced, but required, regulatory training for each employee.
Our summer picnic was forgone, but the dollars typically spent were divided among teams for charity donations of their choosing.
Our Christmas party ordinarily alternates employee only and employee plus one. Since we couldn’t get together in 2020, we decided to surprise all employees with a gift card, encouraging them to dine locally or shop locally for the holidays. The thought was this would be a nice treat for our employees, and it would help the small businesses in our local communities.
5.We have three other lines of business that are not typical for banks. This is important because they contribute to the bottom line and our success. They also expand the services we offer our community and opportunities for you to explore.
Cash Flow offers alternative lending solutions to businesses that can fund receivables and inventory; helping businesses grow.
Chesapeake Payment Systems, ‘CPS’ as we call it, offers merchant services that include a full range of debit and credit card processing solutions including mobile, countertop solutions, e-commerce along with point-of-sale systems.
Chesapeake Wealth Management includes a variety of expertise regarding investment, estate management, and in-house portfolio management, analysis and review.
6.We believe in training. As our HR director says, “We would rather invest in training an employee that ends up moving on, than not training and developing those that stay with us.” We want you to learn and grow because when you grow, we grow. It’s a win-win.
7.We offer a management trainee program and internships. We kicked off our management trainee program in 2015. This program allows recent college graduates with a business or related degree to rotate through all departments and lines of business within a year. Successful completion of the program leads to a full-time position in our organization.
We also offer summer internships for college students. Employees from both of these programs write about their experiences on our blog. Interested applicants for either program should check back during early spring.
8.We want our employees to be stakeholders in our organization and our community. As a result, we pay up to 16 hours of paid time per year so that our employees can volunteer at organizations that matter to them.
We’re also intentional about soliciting feedback from our employees and creating internal teams that shape the initiatives in our organization. We want everyone to have a voice and to feel as though we reflect the diverse markets that we serve.
9.We prefer to promote our own people. Employees are encouraged to have conversations with their supervisors about where they’d like to go within the organization. Together they will create a career track and define goals. Coaching conversations and evaluations are held throughout the year to discuss performance and to measure it against those goals.
10.Not only do we remain a community bank, we’ve been here longer than our peers. Last year we celebrated our 120th anniversary! We were originally chartered as Lancaster National Bank in 1900. We joined forces with Chesapeake Banking Co. of Lively in 1968 to become Chesapeake National Bank. In 1994, we dropped “national” from our name. In 2019 we passed the $1-billion mark in assets. And despite the impacts of COVID, we’re grateful to say that we’re still growing.
If you’re interested in joining us, we’d love to connect. Please visit our website to learn more about training, benefits, and current openings.
