Nadine Mackenzie is “a teacher at heart, and education is her passion,” according to her boss, Sue McGill. Given that, it’s no surprise that since Nadine joined the training staff in May 2013, she hasn’t wanted to do anything else.
Sue adds: “Having developed relationships with each new retail (branch) employee she trains, it’s no wonder they consider her a trusted resource for many of their issues.”
And it’s this connection with everyone on our retail team that makes Nadine happiest. Even when their training is officially complete, employees reach out to her for advice and with questions.
In part because she is able to foster long-term relationships like these, Nadine was recently promoted to Retail Training Officer.
Doing it for the Love of the Job
Nadine says she truly enjoys working as a trainer and job coach. She finds joy when she sees someone learn their new responsibilities or when she gets a thank you note or favorite coffee drink for being with a new employee every step of the way.
In between training responsibilities, Nadine works as a teller, often covering locations outside of Springfield which means some overnight hotel stays. She works on Saturday as a banker and, says Sue, and often adjusts her schedule to accommodate others. Nadine does this because she appreciates these opportunities to work with customers.
She recently had an exceptionally good day when she got to help a new employee and a customer who was dealing with both a sick parent and account fraud. Nadine says, “On a new employee’s second day, I was able to show how we make banking easy by using DocuSign and ClickSwitch (digital banking tools) to open a new account while also giving the customer peace of mind.”
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Nadine is quick to point out that not every day is perfect. “We all have bad days . . . The last time I felt defeated I spent a lot of time praying and journaling on how to handle the situation. I am thankful to have a boss and a team that I can go to when assistance is needed. It really helped to breathe, talk the situation through, and then come up with a plan to move forward. It is important to remember that we all work together for a reason, and that you don’t have to handle every problem all by yourself.”
Finding Beautiful Music in Retail
Nadine joined INB in 2007 as seasonal, summer help in our branches. At the time, she was finishing up her degree in music education at Indiana State University. While in high school and college, she also worked at summer music camps as a counselor and/or instructor. She also gave private music lessons.
Once graduating from college, she got a job as a music teacher while working weekends and summers at INB. She explains: “The school I was working for hit financial struggles, and chose to cut the music department. At the time, the bank could only offer me part time work, so I went to Town and Country Bank. After working there almost two years, an opportunity arose for me to come back to INB. Shortly after being back at INB, there was a need to start a retail teller training program.” And Nadine became part of that team.
A Trainer Who Leads
As a new INB officer, Nadine is expected to lead those she works with. When asked about that, Nadine says: “I have always seen myself as a leader and I have learned that you don’t have to supervise people in order to lead and impact change. I believe continuing education is really important. I am always self-reflecting and looking for ways to improve myself, my training, and my outlook. As a department, we even ask for feedback when we train others.” Nadine adds that she’s been part of SCOOCH, a leadership development series. “I do believe that group has been instrumental in changing how I view leadership. I have seen it make a difference in how I lead and interact with people at work, at home and within our community.”
As Sue points out, “Nadine sets a great example for new employees to model.”