Our Associates

Taking care of our associates is one of our highest priorities. When they feel a sense of belonging and welcome, they feel good about coming to work every day. To encourage associates to look beyond what they know and understand the world from different viewpoints, we’ve focused attention in a few in key areas:

Open discussion and idea sharing

In 2021, we introduced DEI listening sessions and invited all associates to join our DEI task force members for discussion and open dialogue. They were met with overwhelming positivity, and the result was meaningful and engaging conversations. These sessions have prompted many associates to reflect on important topics and brainstorm ways Park can inspire greater awareness of—and commitment to—diversity, equity and inclusion. Associates are invited to talk with any of Park’s leaders or share their thoughts and ideas through our new DEI improvement link. Park’s DEI taskforce reviews and discusses all improvement link submissions as part of its monthly meeting.

Training

More than 600 officers and managers attended a two-part training facilitated by Daniel Juday, a diversity, equity, and inclusion speaker and advocate. The sessions, “Redefining Diversity and Exercising Inclusion” and “Accelerant Culture,” focused on what diversity, equity, and inclusion is and what it isn’t. The training helped drive a common understanding of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is serving as strong foundation for further conversation and exploration.

Recruiting and Hiring Practices

Every new associate brings a unique perspective we haven’t considered. The more diverse perspectives we add to our organization, the better equipped we are to meet the unique needs of current customers and those we’d like to attract. Accordingly, we have taken several steps over the past year to weave diversity, equity and inclusion into our recruiting and hiring practices. A few highlights include the following:

• We evaluated the pre-employment processes to identify blind spots and made updates to the screening process.
• We broadened our utilization of career sites like LinkedIn, as an example, to target a broader candidate audience.
• We expanded our thinking to consider alternate or remote work locations which helps attract candidates with various backgrounds and skill levels.

Our Customers

We believe a successful effort to serve more inclusively, equitably and fairly starts from within. We are focused on encouraging associates to look beyond what they know and understand the world from different viewpoints. This will ensure we’re ready to engage all associates in our effort to invite a more diverse group of customers to experience Park’s personalized approach to banking.

Those who bank with us know there’s a lot that makes our style of banking special and valuable. They know we build personalized relationships and see each customer as the unique person or business they are. No matter who we’re serving now or who we serve in the future, we plan to continue treating others with respect, serving with patience and compassion and doing the little things that surprise and delight. We believe these fundamentals of good service are important and relevant to all people.

As our DEI initiatives among associates take shape and strengthen, we’ll start to think ahead and explore how we’ll more fully foster a sense of belonging among current and potential customers. As a starting point, we’ll seek various perspectives to illuminate our blind spots and better understand why diverse individuals would — or wouldn’t — want to bank with us. We’ll also start to think how we can expand our marketing efforts to reach more diverse populations.

Our Community

Our culture is deeply rooted in the values of service and philanthropy. We’re proud of all the ways we support the people and organizations working to build and care for our communities.

As we plan for the future, we’re asking ourselves: What can we do to ensure our volunteer efforts and charitable contributions are inclusive of all community members?

Our Partners

We rely on a variety of vendors, suppliers and contractors to provide essential support to our business and keep it running smoothly and soundly.

As we plan for the future, we’re asking ourselves: How can we ensure we’re giving the best consideration possible to minority- and women-owned businesses?