NexTier Bank settling into its city location
Light, airy, bright, blue and green … when NexTier Bank relocated its operations center into Butler, making employees and customers comfortable was a priority.
The bank, which already had a branch on the ground floor of the former Morgan Center building, purchased, renamed, renovated and relocated there.
“Our team did a great job working together to make our move to NexTier Center a success,” said Clem Rosenberger president and CEO of NexTier Bank. “Our employees are happy to be in downtown Butler and have enjoyed patronizing the local businesses. We look forward to having a positive impact on the community and appreciate the warm welcome we have received from everyone.”
Officially, the move to the NexTier Center on Main Street was Oct. 11.
“I couldn't imagine it going any smoother than it did,” said Heidi McDowell, senior vice president and retail manager, who had been working on the transition team since NexTier purchased the building in the spring of 2018.
In all, 104 NexTier employees relocated to the new operations center, including a dozen people who had been working at the bank's Kittanning office.
Executives, marketing and human resources now are located on the building's first floor, opposite the branch.
The tech department, deposit and loan operations, credit, risk, accounting and lending are on the third floor, which had been vacated by its most recent tenants.
And mailroom operations are in the basement.
The building's other tenants, bank officials said, remain unchanged.
Maria Amoruso, NexTier Bank's chief marketing officer, noted that the renovation also included creation of a state-of-the art board room and conference system complete with video conferencing, WiFi and outlets for electronic devices.
“We really looked at the space and said, 'Who will be working here and how can we make this space work for them?'” McDowell said.
One of the challenges in moving into the new space, bank officials said, was the need to transition most employees from individual offices to cubicle seating. Bank representatives chose to use clear glass partitions and exposed seating to create an open office environment.McDowell said NexTier still has room to grow staff without increasing its footprint in the building.Bank officials also chose to secure and pay for parking spots for all of its employees — not only those who now are based in Butler city, but also those still working in Kittanning.“To make sure everything is equal for everybody,” McDowell said.The move and renovation allowed for the addition of new employee amenities, like a foosball table, a giant Jenga game and “word cloud” mural, embodying phrases the bank's employees expressed.“We wanted to create an environment where people could step away from their cubicle and have a little fun,” McDowell said.Already, the new location provides the opportunity to sit in adjacent Diamond Park and visit city merchants during the lunch hour.To mark the transition, bank officials invited city businesses to a picnic in the park, and distributed more than 750 hot dogs.“We are excited to engage with the businesses here,” Amoruso said. “If you have a menu or brochure, drop it off. We want to know.”McDowell said from her office on the first floor, she can often hear co-workers in the lunchroom.“I can hear people laughing … enjoying the games and talking about where they went that day,” McDowell said. “I know when I hear that, we achieved what we set out to create.”
