As the pandemic winds to a close and business and banking returns to a more normal routine, NJBankers remains focused on our bread and butter, bringing value to our members and remaining relevant. Over the past 14 years, I have visited with our members and talked extensively with them about their needs. In the past year, Matt Cooney and I have been more to the point. We have asked, “Why do you write the check?” The principal answer varies from institution to institution, but the answers have been clear: Bankers Cooperative Group, Advocacy and Professional Development. Different institutions lean in on different areas, but the common theme is our members expect NJBankers to be a trusted partner, leading advocate and exceptional resource for our members.
Bankers Cooperative Group (BCG) is that trusted partner for all things HR and benefits. BCG’s focus remains unchanged, to deliver value to clients through PRODUCT, TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATION and COMPLIANCE. While it is given that the cost of health care insurance is ever rising, BCG has helped clients mitigate increases by forcing carriers to compete for business. At the same time, other ancillary products such as dental insurance through Delta Dental, vision insurance through VSP and group life and disability through The Hartford, have seen extraordinarily stable rates for multiple years. On the technology front, BCG has continued to adopt cutting-edge applications such as Employee Navigator to better assist our members with the enrollment and insurance administration process. Our members’ employees have also benefited from enhanced communication with: digital employee benefits guides provided to all clients and distributed to employees at open enrollment and new hire onboarding; live webinars and recorded customized video content to better educate employees in their employee benefit plan offerings; and the Health Advocate program which provides enhanced assistance in complex health matters to better assist members. Finally, BCG assists our members and their clients in traversing the complex world of compliance. Specifically, they provide development of annual notices, provided to clients, to coincide with the open enrollment period and the ThinkHR platform, which delivers enhanced support to the human resources departments of BCG clients. Their efforts have paid dividends, not just in the specific patronage dividend provided to BCG shareholders, but also in significant premium savings to their clients.
NJBankers continues to be the leading advocate for all things banking. We start 2023 with a new face taking the lead in the advocacy space. Brittany Wheeler joins us in the role of vice president and director of government relations. She previously served in high visibility roles in New Jersey Republican politics and policy. Wheeler will naturally be focused on the blocking and tackling of government relations, particularly in the state legislature. In addition, she will be developing a statewide political strategy which is a result of NJBankers winning a critical lawsuit against the state. Finally, she will create outreach and public affair programming to ensure awareness of
the value of our industry to Main Street businesses, shoppers and those who represent them. NJBankers will highlight some of our work with other groups to bring focus on issues from human trafficking, to veterans’ issues to elder abuse. We are delighted to have Wheeler in this expanded public affairs role where we believe that the policy discussions will be greatly enhanced by our philanthropic and public affairs portfolios.
Finally, you told us that we are your exceptional resource for professional development. While our conversations surrounding professional development often begin with the Annual Conference or Banking on the Future Conference, the discussion often veers to new programming and new ideas. Some of the new ideas have become staples, such as our Women in Banking Conference in June.
The NJBankers DEI Summit has matured into an event that will likely continue on an annual basis. We are also pleased with some ideas that remain in their infancy, but look to be staples of the future, such as The Future Ready Internship Program, the Mid-Career Banker Conference, Credit Training and FinTech Forum-Innovation Showcase. Each of the programs listed above have come into being by seeds planted by you, our members, during our discussions at your institution. We are committed to continuing to provide excellent professional development resources for you and your associates and are always open to critique and new ideas. As we push through spring, Matt and I look forward to continuing our discussions with the team at NJBankers lead by Jenn, Jess, John and Brittany and look forward to implementing new ideas in the future. As we embrace the future, be assured that our goal is to provide you the best possible value and to be the best trade association in New Jersey and the best banking association in the nation.
