Recently I had the opportunity to succeed my manager who is retiring after a long and full career.  As I reflect on those people who have helped me reach many of my career aspirations, including this gentleman, it struck me, once again, how lucky I have been to have had people that have taken time, effort, and energy to mentor me.  Many of these people were busy with their own work and yet they stopped what they were doing to give me some time, to lend me a hand, or guide me in one direction or another.

My first bank manager is the reason that I found banking to be so much fun and the reason that I chose this as my career (a decision that I still feel wonderfully blessed to have made).  He took a very naïve, young man, fresh out of graduate school with no real sense of what I was going to do professionally, and guided me to think seriously about banking.  He gave me opportunities to succeed (and sometimes fail) and helped me learn from each of them.  He gave me the chance to manage others and helped me learn how to do that too.  Sometimes he taught me on the job, sometimes on a Saturday morning run.  But always he kept reassuring me that I “had what it takes” to succeed in this career if I wanted to.

The second mentor in my career was my grandfather.  He helped me see the true potential that I had within the industry.  He guided me into an MBA program to help me learn more about business.  But most of all, he showed me every day in his business dealings that honesty and integrity were critical to true success and the ability to go to sleep at night knowing that I had done the right thing.

Finally, the gentleman that just retired showed me that I can be successful as the manager of the business banking group.  He sent me an e-mail right before he left giving me encouragement to stay steadfast, to continue to reach for those goals, and then said, I know “you have a good skill set.  Just be yourself!!!”  What a great confidence booster he gave me.  He helped me learn so much about myself while teaching me about the business of commercial lending.

And so it is that I write this blog encouraging every reader to find the opportunities to mentor someone.  That person may be someone you work with, it may be a customer, it may be a neighborhood kid, or it may be your grandson (or granddaughter).  Whoever it may be, when you mentor someone you give them the courage, the confidence, and the belief that maybe they can do something that they hadn’t even dreamed they could do.  And if you have been mentored, take a moment and drop that person a thank you letter, e-mail or phone call to let them know how much you appreciate their help in getting you to where you are today.

If asked how you would describe where you work, what would you say? If you asked me I would say challenging, caring, and fun. Yes, I said fun. Sometimes work is a place where employees take a deep breath before walking through the door each morning reciting affirmations to simply get them through the day. Not me. When I walk through the door each morning of MutualBank, I think of how thankful I am for working at a great organization who challenges me to produce my best work.

Core values of Class, Character, Compassion, and Competition are engrained in each MutualBank employee from day one. Somewhere in these core values you will find that fun is intertwined. Culture plays a big part in this. Top leaders know that a job needs to get done, customer relationships are vital, shareholders want to see a return, and employees are more likely to do these things well when they are having a little fun.

It’s okay to talk about having fun at work – it’s not a forbidden topic. Heck, this past Monday was national “have fun at work day”. This national "have fun at work day" indicates that having fun at work is an important piece of the workday. So what do MutualBank employees do to have fun at work?

To answer the above question in detail would take more than this blog will allow, so I’ll give you a couple examples, and pictures, of employees having fun at Mutual.

The Bank has a dedicated committee to ensure all employees have opportunities to have fun. Mind you, managers in our organization understand the importance of the fun factor and make sure it happens in their department when there isn’t an organized event taking place.

Let’s start with employee luncheons. Luncheons are held and some sort of activity is usually planned. Activities have included three-legged races, corn hole tournaments, cookouts, and even piñata busting. Recently, MutualBankers wore MutualBank UCrew shirts to celebrate our MutualMan Super Hero. Not only did employees wear the t-shirts, they took pictures as a department wearing the attire with an opportunity to win a prize for creativity. See our Human Resources Department below:

At least once a month employees wear jeans with a donation to local community non-profits. Departments often take advantage of popular events like the Super Bowl to sport their favorite team’s colors and decorate their departments. The most recent took place in our Kosciusko County. In their annual United Way fundraising campaign employees created “Call Me Maybe” videos to tout the Call 211 feature of the United Way. This was cool and I guarantee they had fun making it! Check out the Syracuse Financial Center video where employees from different parts of the company were included. 

The list could go on and on! The fun even extends outside of the workday and includes company parties, coffee and canvas events, and a picnic where employees had a chance to sink our Bank President in a dunk tank.

The career I’ve had at MutualBank, going strong for 13 years now, has been and will continue to be, fulfilling because I like to have fun while getting my work done. Going to work shouldn’t be work – it should be fun! If you are interested in a career and having fun at it, then I would encourage you to check out our career opportunities. MutualBank is always looking for the brightest, most creative and fun individuals to help our customers live a better life. Now, ask yourself again how you would describe your place of employment. If you want to have fun while being challenged to get results then MutualBank just might be the place for you. 

Many of us are constantly connected to the online world these days.  This means that the potential is there for our computers and personal information to be compromised which greatly increases the risk of ID theft and financial fraud to occur.  However, by taking some basic precautions you can significantly reduce the risk of your computer environment being compromised.

Following these guidelines can make your computer environment at home and small office more secure:

• Use anti-virus / anti-malware software on your PC and smart phones and make sure they are kept updated.
• Turn on your Windows Firewall.
• Use Microsoft Update to keep your Windows and MS Office applications updated with the most recent security patches.
• Make sure that you keep programs such as Java, Adobe (Reader, Acrobat, Flash, etc.), Internet browsers, and other online programs updated with the most current security patches.
• Use WPA2 and not WPS on your home or small business Wi-Fi router.
• Secure your shared key on your Wi-Fi router with a password or pass phrase that is at least 16 characters.  Use upper and lower case, special characters, and numbers in the pass phrase.
• Don’t use public Wi-Fi to access your bank accounts, make online purchases, or exchange personally identifiable information with other parties.
• Look for the padlock and https on your Internet browser window.  Secure online shopping sites should use the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology for securing online transactions.  You should see a padlock icon at the bottom or top of the browser status bars that you are using and https in the address bar.

If you suspect that your personal financial information has been compromised, call MutualBank Customer Support at 800-382-8031.

Also please report any online fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

This post is written by John Mickle, Risk Management and Compliance at MutualBank.