A new three-year strategic plan will offer the North Dakota Bankers Association a map for both maximizing benefits to current members and attracting new members.
"The goal was to try to create a value-added plan for our members," said NDBA Chairman Mark DuBord.
A draft of the new plan was sent to association members in midAugust. The NDBA board of directors approved the plan at an Aug. 21 joint meeting with the South Dakota Bankers Association board at the Sylvan Lake Lodge in Custer State Park, near Rapid City, S.D. DuBord, president of American Federal Bank in Fargo, N.D., said the NDBA's strategic plan got its start in 2007 under leadership from NDBA Past Chairman Eric Hardmeyer.
DuBord said the NDBA board surveyed its members in the spring, then discussed results at a spring board meeting in Grand Forks. The next step was to bring in consultant Terry Saber as a facilitator to help draft the new plan.
DuBord said the plan focuses on four issues: board governance; staff development and succession planning; financial management and education.
DuBord added the discussion about board governance triggered the notion of bringing in a facilitator. One goal of the governance portion of the plan is attracting more NDBA members to serve on the group's various committees. He added that getting new people on committees provides new ideas to the association and helps those new committee members make new industry contacts.
NDBA staff development is another important part of the proposed plan, DuBord said. Among the staff development goals are writing job descriptions and devising ways to evaluate the association's staff members.
Banker development also is important, DuBord said. Many banks are missing important mid-level managers who would be important to a bank's succession plan. And he added that many mid-level managers are not involved in the association.
Regarding financial management, DuBord said that while the plan recognizes the success of the NDBA's for-profit insurance entity, the proposal also calls for the association to look at developing other revenue sources.
And while the three-year plan addresses issues NDBA board members consider important, DuBord said the main goal of the plan is simple.
"The priorities were maximizing benefits to members," he said.
By Erik Sandin
Source: Northwestern Financial Review
