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Our perspective of the challenges and opportunities facing today's financial institutions

3 Cost Considerations When Decorating Your Small Office

For optimum performance, furniture functionality should be matched to user need.

So today I ran across “How to Decorate Your Small Business Office Without Breaking the Bank.” It was a really interesting post from an end-users perspective on how high-end (or even just new) office furniture can actually be counterproductive in an environment. The author argued that new furniture often doesn’t fit a user’s needs, that it forces people to work around their environment in order to get anything done. He even waxed nostalgic about how his favorite desk was one made out of 4 boards because ”It was so simple as to never distract me.”

Well sure, of course it would be great to be able to drill holes in our desks whenever we needed to. And it’s certainly much simpler to just throw away a couple of boards when we’re done with them. But I can’t imagine it was a very attractive piece of furniture–and it definitely didn’t represent his business well.

The problems he describes with new furniture actually have nothing to do with the furniture at all. If a user isn’t productive in their environment it’s because the furniture isn’t appropriate for them. Furniture functionality should ideally be matched to user need, and that’s where a trained space planner and ergonomics/efficiency expert can really add value.

Some other important points to remember:

  • Often the distraction of new furniture wears off once you’ve spent time in a new space. If you can get over what you “expect” furniture to be and just use it as intended, you’ll probably be happier about its functionality and can get back to work
  • New office furniture doesn’t necessarily mean better productivity–but it could mean more user comfort and ergonomic safety, which are also big considerations when selecting furniture for your space 
  • Used furniture is a great way to save some cash and help out the environment, but as a buyer, you should beware. Don’t pay half the price for twice the cost. Warranties are worth their weight in gold when it comes to furniture, and while that used task chair looks as good as it’s brand new counterpart, it has working parts that can—and will—break. You’ll be glad to have spent a little extra up front to have a solid warranty backing you if the furniture fails.

So what do you think? Have you had a space that really rocked, or maybe one that was less than ideal (I actually literally worked in a converted storage closet once)? Tell me about it. Better yet, send pictures. I’d love to see them.

Posted in Furniture, Space planning.

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By Suzanne Meeves – March 8, 2010

Cut Costs & Increase Employee Productivity with Green Branch Networks

Regardless of which side of the global warming debate you’re on, taking care of the environment just makes sense, both in business practice and in private life.

But did you know that by being green in your branches, you can also save yourself big bucks?
Like $5 per SF per year, with a positive cash flow in the 6-figure range, depending on the size of your network.

It’s a fact.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, tenants of environmentally friendly buildings save an estimated $5 per SF per year because of fewer employee sick days. 55 % of survey respondents also reported that productivity improved in green buildings.

Better yet, results of a recent pilot energy audit on a 20-branch network revealed that a $1.7 million investment in an energy efficiency plan would yield:

  • $745,000 savings in operational costs and rebates
  • ROI within 3 years
  • $100,000 per year positive cash flow.

Pretty cool, right?

The good news is that there are a number of ways you can get results like that in your own network:

Conduct a thorough energy audit.
A proper audit will go beyond just assessing the impact of using more efficient lightbulbs and will analyze all areas of your networks energy consumption, highlighting areas for improvement.

Reorganize your space
It might seem a little counter intuitive, but studies have shown that even simple exposure to natural light will improve moral and productivity. A space planning analysis will identify a layout that makes the best use of your specific space.

Select environmentally friendly furniture, carpets, etc when redecorating.
There’s a wide variety of cost-effective options to choose from that will not only help you meet your sustainability goals but will enhance your image as well.

Hire construction/design firms with LEED certified professionals on staff
Even if you aren’t interested in certifying your project, working with LEED accredited professionals will ensure that you get an educated opinion on the best, most cost-effective ways to get the biggest green bang for your buck.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to make your environment greener and reap the tremendous rewards sustainability has to offer.

So tell us, what are your green tips?

Posted in Design/Build, Furniture, Space planning, Sustainability.

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By Emily Schwartz – February 19, 2010

What You Can Learn from Dunder Mifflin’s Recent Merger.

Yes, as geeky as it may seem, I actually saw some banking parallels in recent episodes of The Office. 

Kind of hard to miss, really. 

Some big new company swoops in and takes over Dunder Mifflin, a company well-established in its routines and identity. No one is sure what to expect because they haven’t been told anything, they can’t even pronounce the new company’s name (Sabre. Pronounced Saber, like the tiger, not Sa-bray), and yet they’re cautiously optimistic about the changes they know are coming. 

Optimistic until they meet Gabe, that is. 

Gabe, the “Coordinating Director for Merging Regions,” the fresh-faced Sabre cheerleader who hands out branded water bottles, shows a cheesy informational video about the company (hosted by Christian Slater, rather than any company executive), and is completely unauthorized to address anyone’s issues or concerns. 

At one point Michael says something to him like “You can’t just come in here and make all these changes!”

Well as a matter of fact they can – and will, because with all mergers and acquisitions, a certain degree of change is necessary for success. There are a lot of lessons financial institutions can learn, however, from Sabre’s rough and tumble approach to what’s really a delicate psychological situation. 

According to Mitchell Marks, a San Francisco-based organizational psychologist and merger expert, “Cultural integration is ignored in the majority of business combinations. This is a major reason why 60 percent to 80 percent of all business combinations undergo a slow, painful demise.” 

Marks, co-author of Joining Forces: Making One Plus One Equal Three in Mergers, Acquisitions, and Alliances (Jossey-Bass, 1998), believes that creating one company out of two must start with an integration of the firms’ corporate cultures. He also points out that culture should not be confused with the technicalities of running a business, like vacation policies. 

While I think he’s right, the overall lesson to me is that both the day-to-day technicalities and the culture are important considerations in the success of a merger or acquisition. 

While Meredith yells out in the middle of Gabe’s meeting “Tell us about vacation days,” everyone else is dumbfounded as the educational video ends with Christian Slater saying “Have you ever tasted a rainbow? Well at Sabre, you will.” 

Hunh? 

There’s no question that navigating a merger or acquisition is tricky business on just about every level possible (and we haven’t even talked about the physical element of a network integration yet). Coming to terms with the fact that it will be difficult from the beginning will help make it easier. So will being brutally honest about the differences in the two institutions and making a truthful assessment about what can be bridged and what cannot.

The bottom line though, is that the success of any merger or acquisition always comes down to the people. Do your best to anticipate their fears and needs with thoughtful compassion and you’ll engender the kind of dedication and enthusiasm that will make your institution a success.

(For more information there are a lot of great articles about how to navigate the touchy feely aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including Merger They Wrote: Avoiding a Corporate Culture Collision, as well many on how to tackle the nuts and bolts of actually converting branches over, like 9 Things You Must Do For a Successful Merger or Acquisition: Tips from the Big Guys.)

Posted in Mergers and acquisitions.

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By Emily Schwartz – February 17, 2010

Big Ideas About Sustainability

Read an article about eco-friendly marketing today that made me realize something. Both in business and in life, being green is no longer a cool new trend, it’s a tablestake.

As a budding hippy, I think I do a pretty good job with this social responsibility thing (if you ignore my ego-mobile of an SUV, that is). I use cloth grocery bags, drink filtered tap water instead of bottled water, and never run the faucet when I brush my teeth. I’ve been patting myself on the back for being such a do-gooder, but in reality, those things are nothing more than nice little “gestures.” They’re the basics that everyone is doing, at best.

Sure, everything has an impact, but to truly stand out in the quest to be green, you’ve got to go above and beyond.

Some big name financial institutions have recently become great examples of this. Like many financial institutions they’ve jazzed up their windows with some pretty cool merchandising elements that double as solar shades. Like all good campaigns, however, these elements eventually needed to be changed out, begging the question: what do you do with all this stuff now?

In the case of one institution, this “stuff” amounted to 22 thousand SF of a plastic-y material that couldn’t be recycled because of chemicals in the ink. While the simple answer to the problem was to just throw it all away, it would mean diverting 5 thousand pounds of material into landfills. Not a great solution.

Sometimes though, necessity really is the mother of invention. After some thoughtful consideration, my colleague Sue Dowd (who’d worked with both clients for quite some time) came up with a great plan–to offer the material to a company who could turn it into reuseable tote bags. While it wasn’t as easy an endeavor as she would have expected (lots of unreturned phone calls from potential vendors, surprisingly), she finally found several companies, local to where the material would be collected, who were happy to turn the material into something cool and useful. Better yet, those vendors had great little sustainability stories of their own, being  women-owned businesses run out of historic old mills, etc. Talk about an ecologically friendly pay-it-forward.

Before we break out into choruses of “Kumbaya” or “Circle of Life” though, there is a serious business moral here.

Just doing the surface-level stuff when it comes to sustainability isn’t enough anymore. To really stand out and make a difference you’ve got to think big and dare to reach for solutions that have an impact far bigger than just making sure you put your soda can in the recycling bin. It’s good for business, good for the environment, and good for all of us, really.

So what are your big sustainability thoughts?

Posted in Branding, Merchandising, Sustainability.

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By Emily Schwartz – February 12, 2010

Have you updated your Funds Availability Policy?

The Federal Reserve’s paper check processing consolidation necessitates review of Funds Availability Policies

In response to the declining popularity of paper checks, the Federal Reserve Banks have been restructuring and consolidating their paper processing operations. Since all paper processing will now be centralized in one physical location as of 2/26/10, there will no longer be a distinction between what banks and credit unions have historically designated as “local” and “non-local” checks.

What does this mean to your institution’s Funds Availability Policy?

  • Effective 2/27/10, deposit institutions may no longer have distinct Funds Availability Policies for “local” and “non-local” checks.
  • As the Federal Reserve will be considering all checks to be “local,” the longest standard delay in funds availability that banks may use is two days, as is currently allowed for local checks.
  • A funds availability delay policy of up to five days for “non-local” checks will no longer apply.
  • Institutions that currently have a Funds Availability Delay of two days or less may choose to revisit their policy, but need not take action at this time.

Customer communication is necessary.

Institutions whose Funds Availability Policies are affected by this change will be responsible for communicating the revised policy to customers via

  • updated in-branch signage as of 2/26/10, and
  • a change notice to affected customers by 3/28/10.

The good news is that this change in policy will be welcomed by most consumers, as in most cases their checks will clear more expeditiously.

To ensure that your Funds Availability Policy signage is compliant with these recent developments, contact BrandPartners today!

Posted in Signage.

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By Emily Schwartz – February 5, 2010