At INB, our core values aren’t just words on a wall or a page on our website – they’re the foundation of who we are and how we serve our customers and communities.

These principles have shaped our identity, influenced our growth and reinforced our commitment to excellence.

But where did they come from, and why are they still important today?

The creation of INB’s core values was inspired by a conference our Human Resources team attended in 2013. After hearing a representative from Zappo’s (the ecommerce footwear company) speak about the power of their core values, our team thought it’d be a good idea to establish something similar for the bank. 

“We wanted to ensure that our culture and mission were clearly defined for both our employees and customers,” recalls Kelley Himmelberg, director of human resources.

To develop our core values, the entire bank contributed. The conversation started in the manager’s meeting, and then the managers carried it back to their own departments. 

 “We encouraged managers to ask their staff to write down a few names of who they felt was the perfect example of a great manager or team member at INB and then think through what words they would use to describe what makes them the model employee,” Kelley shares.

 The ideas that came out of those discussions shaped the ultimate list of core values that INB embodies today:

• Caring: Our staff has empathy and respect for one another, customers, and the communities we serve. We find that the care we show one another in the workplace is reflected in our interactions with our customers.
• Creative: We are constantly coming up with creative solutions for customers and processes. We strive for innovation to provide better solutions for our customers.
• Teamwork: No other organization works as closely together as the INB Team. We realize that respect, cooperation, and hard work from everyone creates the best environment and result for our customers.
• Balance: At INB, our team members are our family. We help each of them to meet personal and professional goals by achieving life balance.
• Working Smart: Our team looks at each day as an opportunity to learn and be independent in our thinking.
• Assertive and Enthusiastic: We are eager and want to help everyone in our community. We reach for our goals with enthusiasm and courage.

 What Exactly Is A Core Value?

We believe that core values are not only guiding principles; they represent our highest priorities and fundamental driving forces. 

In her long HR career, Kelley has found that the best aligned organizations operate according to principles that allow leaders to make better decisions and reduce the need for stacks of policies and procedures.

“It gives everyone a foundation from which to make tough decisions and generally brings simplicity and clarity to many of these systems,” she says.

 Why are Core Values Important?

As the HR team coordinated the effort to define INB’s core values, they wanted to use those to build on the company goals, department goals and individual goals.

“We started with the words that define our collective values and over time, have used stories to help everyone understand how those values could be put to work,” Kelley says. “It has also made it easier for new employees to understand what our culture is all about.”

Over the years, our values at INB have laid the foundation for a work environment that encourages collaboration, facilitates innovation and guides our strategic priorities.

Weaving Core Values into Everyday Life At INB

Our core values were integrated in all strategic plans, and every decision we’ve made since 2013 has aligned with these values.

We also incorporated our values into our recruitment strategies, using them in job descriptions and interview questions to ensure we attract and hire individuals who resonate with our culture. New employee orientations emphasize these principles, with executives and management sharing real-life examples of how INB staff have demonstrated each core value. 

Our annual employee evaluations also include assessments on how well each individual embodies and applies these core values in their daily work.

Over the years, we understand that these values are much more than just words; they’re a commitment to carry out our vision to make banking easier, minimizing the financial pressures for our customers, and helping them live better lives.