Regional President Speech

Cathy E. Minehan President and Chief Executive Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Presentation to the Sloan School of Management Fellows Program November 22, 2004 .. -;~0- \~/ Federal Reserve Bank of Boston . , '••-· Interesting Period in the Economy • Strong growth • Then 2nd quarter things seem to come to a halt • With hindsight, "soft patch" wasn't as soft as it seemed • Big question remains: Is this period of growth self-sustaining? Interesting Period in the Economy • Answer so far is yes • Big questions • Big big questions Trust in a Time of Change Baseline Trends • Technology, banking structure changes, decline of paper payments: smaller more specialized Reserve Banks • Competing on competencies: staff abilities at a premium and retention is key • Demographics challenge succession planning • Financial service and payments markets will change rapidly • Threats to physical and information security Vision 2004 - 2008 Where do we want to be in 5 years? • A workforce with more sophisticated, cutting edge skills • Bank areas that work together to leverage, reinforce and "cross-pollinate" • Masters in some things; users of expertise elsewhere • A "thought" force in supervision, regulation, credit and risk analysis Vision 2004 - 2008 Where do we want to be in 5 years? • In monetary policy, leaders in analyzing emerging trends • Our regional presence and regard at its highest level, especially in economic and financial education • In financial services, bold in our encouragement of electronics, "right-sizing" • A partner to the U.S. Treasury especially in emerging payments Vision 2004 - 2008 Where do we want to be in 5 years? • Leaner, better support services • A new Bank "culture" 2004 Staffing 2 0 0 4 Staffin : Research, Outreach 1,104 IANP or Average Number of Treasury, Persons; not including Emerging officers I IT and Other Support Research, Outreach 8% of Staff (84) Sup., Reg., Credit, Risk 12% of Staff (131) Treasury, Emerging Pmts, 7%, of Staff (81) IT and Other Support 34%1 of Staff (380) Financial Services Financial Services Sup., Reg., 39%, of Staff (428) Credit, Risk 2008 Staffing Projection 2 0 0 8 Staffin Pro tection: 997 IANP or Average Number of Persons; not including officers I New Work I ANP IT and Other Support Research, Outreach 9% of Staff (87) Treasury, New Work I ANP [including new work/ ANP) Emerging Treasury, Emerging Sup., Reg., Credit, Risk: 14% of Staff (138) New Work I ANP [including new work/ ANP] Sup., Reg., .. Credit, Risk ·· .. .--------, Treasury, Emerging Pmts. New Work I ANP 8'¼, of Staff (80) Research, [including new work/ ANl'j Outreach Research, Financial Outreach Services IT and Other Support 40'¼, of Staff (400) I including new work/ /\NP I Sup., Reg., Credit, Risk Financial Services 29% of Staff (292) How Do We Achieve This Vision? Barriers - Staff Morale and Culture • Morale - Significant downsizing over several years in the wake of check volume, loss of other servi• ces - Bank reorganization - Early retirement program makes everyone's work harder How Do We Achieve This Vision? - Concern over skills for the future - Other changes - cost of health care, 40 hour work week, market-based pay - "Glass Half Empty" perspective; understandable but hard to deal with • Culture - "Job for Life" to a market-conscious meritocracy Trust Survey • Why? - To support long-range planning - To assess the climate, given so much change • The Survey - Designed in collaboration with Dr. Robert Galford, Center for Executive Leadership - All senior staff, managers and officers (395) surveyed; 82% response rate, 3600 written comments Trust Survey Results • Strengths - Bank's officers understand challenges ahead and can lead Bank - Areas of the Bank work well together - Both good and bad news is communicated Trust Survey Results • Weaknesses - We lack sufficient skilled resources - Morale is low - Questions about whether we accept mediocre performance - Can the Bank's officers be trusted to help employees meet challenges of the future? Follow up • Be open - All results communicated, and each Department holds meeting • Show the Bank's Vision - Bank-wide assembly plus dissemination of written material • Be honest with staff - New performance discussion process ,- Follow up • Increase face-to-face dialogue - Department Roundtables • Develop needed skills inventory and align leadership training - In process ,------- • What do you recommend?

Cathy E. Minehan (2004, November 21). Regional President Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_20041122_cathy_e_minehan

@misc{wtfs_regional_speeche_20041122_cathy_e_minehan,
  author = {Cathy E. Minehan},
  title = {Regional President Speech},
  year = {2004},
  month = {Nov},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_20041122_cathy_e_minehan},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}