People

Talent Acquisition, Development,
Retention and Engagement

Attracting and Retaining Highly Skilled Employees

Through systematic talent management, career development and succession planning, we work to provide employees with opportunities to advance and grow their careers.

At Sandy Spring Bank, we have built a culture of respect and teamwork that has earned us recognition as a top workplace.

Sandy Spring Bank's Employee Referral Bonus pays existing employees $500 for a successful new employee hire and up to $7500 for hard-to-fill positions!

2022 Accolades

  • Washington Post Top Workplace
  • Baltimore Sun Top Workplace
  • Sandy Spring Bank's 401(k) Plan selected as a Best-in-Class Plan by PLANSPONSOR.
  • Bank Director Named Sandy Spring Bank #23 U.S. bank
  • Great Place to Work certified
  • Fifth Best Bank in the Country in S&P Global Market Intelligence's Annual Rankings
  • Top Five Bank on Forbes America's Best Banks list

Creating A Talent Pipeline

In May 2022, we welcomed 13 college interns who, over nine weeks, gained experience in IT, Loan Administration, Marketing, Human Resources and Commercial Banking. They also volunteered to help make and serve food to people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Professional Development

Our interactive performance management program helps empower employees to take ownership of their career growth. Through the program, employees participate in monthly coaching sessions with their managers, annual reviews that are customized to their position and annual goal setting. Managers complete an annual talent assessment and identify candidates for further development.

In 2022, we launched a new online learning platform that provides instant access to more than 5,000 professional and personal development courses and celebrated the launch on September 15th, National Online Learning Day. Topics range from Microsoft skills to problem solving, leadership, communication, relationship building, service skills, personal wellness and more. We offer the following additional programs to help employees learn new skills, establish and meet personal development goals, take on new roles and become strong leaders:

Tuition Assistance Program

We offer full- and part-time employees financial support to advance their educational goals. In 2022, we paid over $115,000 in tuition benefits to 52 employees.

Career Pathways

This development program, open to all employees, includes a self-assessment, career planning workshops and a mentoring program with a diverse group of company leaders. After completing the program, employees have the opportunity to participate in a structured job shadowing experience. Twenty-nine employees participated in 2022.

Remarkable Manager Orientation

Managers at all levels, including those new to our company or newly promoted, participate in Remarkable Manager Orientation. This program explores core skills for effective management, effectiveness of different management styles, and our performance management program. Ongoing training supports continued development of our managers.

Access Mentorship

This program is designed to increase the visibility of diverse talent across the enterprise. Mentees participate in exercises to identify their strengths, values, and goals. Senior leaders serve as mentors, helping mentees navigate successful careers.

Leadership Development Programs

We provide high-potential employees with opportunities to develop leadership, managerial and technical skills through programs with the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, the Maryland Banking School and the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management. These multi-year programs combine intensive in person sessions, home study curricula and peer group projects.

Benefits That Exceed Expectations

Our employees work hard, and we reward them with fair compensation and a comprehensive package of benefits.

New in 2022

Annual Incentive Plan Targets

Increased target payout levels for all employee participants under the level of Senior Vice President.

Inflation-Beater Bonus

Provided full- and part-time employees (excluding executives) a special bonus of up to $1,000 to help address the pressure of inflation.

Leave Benefits

Expanded the number of paid-time off days employees may carry over up each year from 56 to 80 hours. We also increased parental leave to six consecutive weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child and expanded compassionate leave to include five days of paid leave after experiencing a miscarriage.

Remote and Flexible Work Policy

Revised our workplace policy to add hybrid scheduling that allows certain positions the flexibility to work remotely two days per week and other positions to work remotely full-time.

Highlights of our competitive benefits package include:

Flexible Benefits Plan

All employees are eligible for a variety of pre-tax health, dental and vision insurance plans as well as flexible spending and dependent care spending accounts that allow employees to craft a program that will best suit their personal situations.

Employer-Paid Life Insurance

This benefit is equal to 2x annual salary or equivalent, up to a maximum of $500,000.

401(K) Plan

This retirement benefit provides a default enrollment to encourage employees to save for retirement. Our plan matches 100% of the first 4% of pay contributed and 50% on the next 2%, the maximum allowable by law, and all matching funds are 100% vested. We also offer a wide range of investment alternatives including company stock, and provide free one-on-one counseling with a financial expert to assist employees in meeting their retirement savings goals. In 2022, we had a participation rate of over 95% and paid $5.9 million to employees in matching contributions.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Our plan enables employees to accumulate up to $25,000 of company stock per year at a 15 percent discount to the market price.

Annual Cash Incentive

All employees who do not already participate in a specific incentive plan receive an annual cash bonus based on the company's results.

Helping Our Employees Be Their Best

Sandy Spring Bank understands that to get the best from our employees, we need to support their day-to-day needs for home, family, health and wellness. We do this through:

Paid Leave Benefits

Including vacation and sick time, holidays, parental and adoption leave for new families, jury duty, military leave, compassionate leave and short- and long-term disability.

Employee Assistance Program

Provides professional, confidential counseling assistance for employees and their family 24/7.

Discounted Banking Services

All employees are eligible for free employee checking accounts, discounts on loans and other banking products.

Wellness Program

Offers financial rewards to employees who adopt healthy habits and participate in wellness education and health screens.

Tobacco-Free Policy

Our policy prohibits the use of tobacco products in all of our facilities.

Family Barbecue

In 2022, we were pleased to resume in-person events including this popular barbecue with our employees and their families. Games, food and fun were enjoyed by more than 800 employees and guests.

Employee Engagement and Communication

We offer multiple channels for employee engagement with senior leaders and opportunities for them to offer feedback to help us improve our performance and make our company a better place to work.

Community Engagement + Brand Ambassador Committee

New in 2022, the purpose of this volunteer employee committee is to facilitate networking, exchanging of ideas, as well as assisting in the planning of initiatives that provide opportunities for Sandy Spring Bank employees to serve the local community.

Employee Engagement Surveys

We regularly solicit employee feedback through a confidential, company-wide survey on culture, management, career opportunities, compensation and benefits. The results of this survey are reviewed with senior and executive leaders.

Chatter

Our internal message board helps employees stay connected, as well as share volunteer and donation opportunities, community activities and celebrations.

Employee Town Halls

Our Chief Executive Officer, Dan Schrider, and Chief Financial Officer, Phil Mantua, connect with employees during quarterly town hall meetings that are open to all employees. Hosted by Chief Human Resources Officer Gary Fernandes, these live video events include guest speakers who highlight different areas of our company and share updates and announcements. Employees can submit questions in advance, and watch recordings of the event if they are unable to attend live. In 2022, attendance at the live events averaged nearly 50% of employees.

Meeting In A Box

Winner of a CXPA Innovation Award, our Meeting-in-a-Box initiative engages employee teams in a synchronized effort to discuss the same monthly client or employee experience topic. In 2022, we focused on our stated Principles and Values. Each topic was introduced with a video from an executive officer sharing a personal example of our principles in action.

COVID-19 and Beyond

In 2022, we continued to provide up to two weeks of additional paid time off to employees who were unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19. We also continued to offer a COVID-19 hardship leave benefit, comparable to the benefit under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides up to 12 additional weeks of expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

When vaccines became available, we provided paid time off for employees to get their vaccination, as well as time needed to recover from side effects.

In response to feedback from employees, we adopted a remote and flexible work policy that supports a hybrid work schedule and remote work for certain eligible employees. We also provided guidance on scheduling meetings, availability during business hours, appropriate dress and appearance and proper use of technology to support the new policy.

From March 2020 to December 31, 2022, Sandy Spring Bank paid $593,575 in enhanced COVID-19 leave benefits to our employees.