Diversity
and Inclusion

At Sandy Spring Bank, our employees serve as financial advocates for our clients, delivering the best possible financial solutions to meet their needs. Attracting and retaining a diverse, highly skilled workforce is of great importance. Creating a workplace where everyone feels included, respected and valued is key to our ability to deliver a remarkable client experience. Our employees are at the heart of our success.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I)

At Sandy Spring Bank, fostering a positive and highly productive environment begins with treating all employees and clients with respect. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace where all backgrounds, experiences, interests and skills are respected, appreciated and encouraged.

Celebrating the value of diversity begins with understanding and embracing the different markets we serve. We recognize the diversity that exists in our client relationships and our ties to local communities. We are working to enrich our workforce through efforts to attract and retain individuals for their diverse skills, experience, culture and traits. Employees who bring a variety of perspectives and experiences help us to understand the diverse needs of our clients and expand our ability to serve their needs.

Our efforts include using digital tools to increase the visibility of our job postings among underrepresented job seekers, including veterans, individuals with disabilities, older workers and other historically underrepresented communities. We have also expanded our recruiting efforts to area community colleges and universities with diverse student populations.

Making A Commitment

In 2021, the bank launched an Advisory Group that was charged with creating internal initiatives that address matters related to racial diversity and talent development.

The Advisory Group introduced a specialized mentorship program called ACCESS. The program aims to help mentees navigate their careers at the company and provide mentors with new and diverse perspectives on talent development (see below).

In 2022, the Advisory Group launched a company-wide effort to develop a corporate DE&I Plan. The company engaged a third-party expert who facilitated more than 25 focus groups with employees at every level of the company. Employees confidentially shared their personal experiences and the things that matter the most to them about DE&I at Sandy Spring Bank. Based exclusively on employee feedback, the Advisory Group and our executive team identified the pillars of our DE&I Plan and presented them at a special DE&I Town Hall.

In 2023, employee-led teams will develop and implement action plans and goals for each pillar. We are committed to sharing our progress on this important work.

In the spirit of increasing awareness and engagement during 2022, we celebrated opportunities to highlight the culture, contributions, and accomplishments of the African American and Hispanic communities in our area. For Black History Month in February, we partnered with the Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery to present a live webinar and Q&A session about the museum and the history of the enslaved and free Black community in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

For Juneteenth, Sandy Spring Bank marked the holiday with a week-long schedule of volunteer and community celebration events. The week culminated with lunch for all employees provided by local minority-owned vendors.

In October, we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a special webinar for all employees entitled "The Impact of the Hispanic Community on the Economy." The webinar featured a panel of three Bank officers of Hispanic origin to ask questions of our guest speaker, Susana Marino, the President of the Northern Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.