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Avenue Bank's Ron Samuels says sports teach young people to work toward goals and manage their emotions traits he likes to see in employees.
October 26 -
First Horizon's Employee Leadership Program, championed by CEO Bryan Jordan, has been described as "life changing" by some of its graduates. It also has helped solidify First Horizon's status as one of the banking industry's most employee-friendly companies. On our list of Best Banks to Work For this year, it ranks as No. 1 among those with more than $10 billion of assets.
October 26
Location: Nashville
Assets: $955 million
No. of employees: 120
Chairman and CEO: Ron Samuels
It's not called "the back office" at Avenue Bank. It's called "the heart of the house," and Avenue's executives don't let security workers, loan processors and others who toil behind the scenes forget how important they are to the bank's success.
Avenue's operations director regularly hosts appreciation events, which include visits from a massage therapist and catered breakfasts and lunches.
"The employee around here is No. 1, and we walk our talk. The executives walk our talk," says Judith Locke, formerly Avenue's human resources director and now its executive coach. "We believe that if we treat each other well, then our employees will treat our customers well."
The belief has guided the bank since its founding in 2007. It operates four branches around Nashville.
Every Tuesday morning, employees gather for a staff meeting led by the bank's chairman and CEO, Ron Samuels. They mark anniversaries, relate stories of positive interactions with customers and share whatever is on their minds. Once, an executive humorously explained how to use the bank's unisex bathrooms, Locke says.
"It's like a family gathering," she says. "You never know what's going to happen in that meeting."
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