A Winning Formula

From communications to pancake breakfasts, Heritage Bank keeps its staff happy.

By Nick Horton | July 2010 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Photograph by Hayley Young

Second Place

Midsize Companies

Olympia-based Heritage Bank is a homegrown institution. It’s been operating since 1927, and now comprises 16 locations that employ 189 employees throughout the south Puget Sound region. The bank is healthy, and so is its workforce.

That’s no accident. Heritage Bank places a premium on employee health and fitness. Along with a generous rollover sick leave program and free flu shots, the bank matches employee health club memberships and offers two wellness newsletters. (In 2009, Heritage employees participated in the 10,000 Steps per Day program, with the bank providing free pedometers and online tools to track progress.)

But like many small banks (and some large ones) in the Northwest, Heritage Bank has had a challenging couple of years. Last year’s global financial turmoil certainly didn’t skip the Olympia-based institution, which lost $594,000 in the first quarter of 2009. Heritage has been able to reverse its losses since then, with Q1 2010 resulting in a net income of $696,000.

The bank’s reaction to last year’s turbulence was classic Heritage: An Employee Communications Committee was formed to facilitate the flow of information throughout the organization; the entire staff regularly sat in on status-update conference calls with CEO Brian Vance; and the bank organized a series of town hall meetings with customers and staff alike to keep all stakeholders apprised of the situation. Heritage’s transparency and clear communication saved the day.

Economic chaos aside, the workplace atmosphere within Heritage Bank is nothing if not convivial. Each December, the bank hosts Staff Appreciation Days on which gifts are dispersed, and an annual “Flapjack Roundup” puts CEO Vance’s breakfast-cooking skills on display for four mornings in a row. (Vance and the rest of the senior management team feed virtually the entire company in the space of those four breakfasts. Good thing Vance is a former cowboy.)

Heritage also pays for volunteer hours for employees to participate in community service projects each year; recent recipients include the American Cancer Society Cancer Walk, the YMCA, and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

It’s clear that Heritage is running on a winning formula—and that’s good news for its customers and employees alike.

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