Greenleaf Trust Plans to Add 14 Across the State in 2012

Kalamazoo, MI, March 2012 — Greenleaf Trust plans to add 14 across the state in 2012

In September 2011, Greenleaf Trust decided to raise the bar. The result–among other positives that go hand-in-hand with growth–is a dramatic staff increase.

The company recently added five new team members in February, fleshing out its Operations Division, Retirement Plan Division, its Trust Operations Processing Team and internal auditing. It announces March 14 the addition of nine more to its team. The March hires include three Team Service Coordinators, three Operations Technicians and a Trust Relationship Officer, a Retirement Plan Client Services Specialist and a Junior Research Analyst.

“As a company, we have experienced significant growth and, in September 2011, made a decision to add 14 new team members to Greenleaf Trust over the next year,” says Karen Baldwin, Human Resources Administrator.

They will be located in the Kalamazoo and Birmingham offices–positions that represent a 20 percent increase in staffing.

How did they do it?

“First we raised our minimum account relationship size to $2 million,” says William D. Johnston, Chairman and President of Greenleaf Trust. “This new minimum relationship size allowed us to meet our asset growth objective with fewer new relationships, thereby placing less pressure on our client service standards. Secondly, we developed a staffing plan that would allow us to meet our responsibilities of fiduciary excellence.”

Johnston is thrilled to be able to reveal a staffing plan that facilitates the hire of 14 new team members during economic times where many financial institutions are struggling.

“Our growth is a direct result of our core culture and the pillars of that culture,” Johnston says. “All focus on our clients’ wants, needs and desires. Really good companies certainly focus on selecting the best talent and then coaching and leading that talent to grow, as individuals who are impactful within their roles, divisions and their companies.”

This process, according to Johnston, develops new leaders.

He says that a solid commitment to a world-class service culture executed by a talented and focused team assures that Greenleaf’s success (and its extraordinary recent growth rate) will continue.