When Truist undertook high-profile job cuts in fall 2023, some executives worried about the negative feedback they might hear on employee surveys.
Kimberly Moore-Wright did not share their qualms. As the bank's chief teammate officer, she reassured other executives that the $520 billion-asset bank needed to keep listening; that way, executives would learn things they needed to know.
Indeed, the feedback helped bank leaders hone their messages about the changes underway, particularly when it came to the why — which helped keep employees engaged.
"The fact that we didn't shy away from doing workforce experience and engagement surveys during that time also allowed us to know where we needed to lean in a little bit more from a communication perspective," said Moore-Wright.
Employee engagement dipped slightly, she acknowledged. But the dip was less than she expected. "That was important to us, as well, because after this is done and after the changes are made, we've got to then move on from a business perspective," she said.
Not only was Moore-Wright's team able to maintain morale, but it was also able to lure high-level talent, such as Scott Stengel. The former top lawyer at Ally, Stengel joined Charlotte, North Carolina-based Truist as chief legal counsel at the end of 2023.
"Even in the midst of all of that change, we had no issue attracting talent," Moore-Wright said. "And sometimes that's difficult in a season of change."
What has not changed is Truist's commitment to diversity, which Moore-Wright oversees as head of enterprise diversity. "When we look at our mission statement, it talks about creating a place of inclusion for our teammates, and we take that to heart and take that very seriously," she said.
The commitment has led to investments in business resource groups that give women, minorities and other groups a voice within Truist. The groups help hold the bank accountable for doing what it says it will, Moore-Wright said.
Moore-Wright has spent most of her career at Truist in HR and training roles. But it was a digression into marketing that helped her reach her current role. The experience gave her insights into client and business needs, she said, adding that it has been important for her to be open to opportunities that are not necessarily on her radar.
"I've never been a person that saw my career as something that was just a straight-up trajectory," Moore-Wright said.
Her nonprofit service recently afforded her the opportunity to appear on billboards around the Charlotte area as one of 31 executives selected by Dress for Success Charlotte as "women of power." The women donated at least one hour of their pay and raised other funds to boost awareness of the nonprofit's services.
Moore-Wright also takes pride in her work for Freedom School Partners, a summer reading program for underserved students in the Charlotte area. She has volunteered as a reader but, as a board member, she has played a role in finding a CEO for the program and bolstering its finances so it can expand its reach.
