Bank branches are still hiring tellers and bankers, but the jobs look different
Kim M. Sample started her banking career as a teller more than 34 years ago — before direct deposit and online banking, when Philadelphians were learning to “tap MAC” (a.k.a. to go the ATM).
“When I was a teller ... if you went and said you could do banking in your phone, I think people would have looked at you like you were crazy,” said Sample, whose home branch is in Center City. “You would think of the Jetsons.”
Sample has served in several different roles throughout her decades with Wells Fargo, and now she’s a personal banker. She stayed connected with some customers from her early days, and now she’s also helping their adult children manage their accounts. People don’t come in to make deposits and withdrawals the way they used to, she said, but they still come to her for advice from their bankers, and they appreciate someone who knows and remembers them.
As the number of bank branches has declined, so too have the number of bank branch employees. The positions that remain look much different from what they did a few decades ago.
Still, local bank branches often have openings for entry-level branch positions, which they’re trying to fill in the same tight talent market that many industries are experiencing. Regional banking leaders said they are looking for people who can provide high-quality customer service — because why else would you go to a bank branch anymore? — and they’re still touting opportunities to move up within the company over time.
“Branches continue to play a huge role in how we help our customers,” said John Zimmerman, region director for greater Philadelphia at Wells Fargo. In staffing those locations, “we want people who just want to care and help individuals,” he said.
What’s changed, and what hasn’t The faceto-face interactions at a bank branch now involve far fewer routine tasks. Deposits and transfers used to take days but are now instant. A credit card application used to take weeks, said Zimmerman, who started his career at Wells Fargo 23 years ago as a part-time teller. A customer would fill out forms from a pamphlet and send them through the mail.
“Today, they take their phone, scan a QR code, it populates on their phone, and within minutes, it’s done,” Zimmerman said.
The number of tellers needed to staff a branch is about half, regional bank leaders said. Bankers are fewer, too, because many of the customer-service tasks they used to do can now be handled online.
“Years ago, our stores were primarily transaction driven. People would come in and do their banking transactions,” said Rob Curley, regional president for Pennsylvania/New Jersey metro at TD Bank. He started as a parttime teller in 1989 with Commerce Bank.
“Customers who come into stores today are usually looking for some advice or specialized service,” Curley said.
That part isn’t a change, said Sample, the Wells Fargo personal banker. People have always come to their bank branch looking for advice, and they still need help with loans and life events that require changing their accounts. “If you have a certain banker, you’re going to that person,” she said.
While visitors to a bank branch are often seeking human interaction, tellers and other branch employees need to be familiar with online banking tools, too. Shantelle Faison, program manager of the BankWork$ training program at Philadelphia OIC, said banks are increasingly seeking “tech savvy” hires.
Zimmerman and Curley said they are training employees on an ongoing basis, so they can help customers navigate online banking features and understand the banking products customers may ask about. “We make sure employees stay relevant,” Zimmerman said.