At our bank, “tellers”—now customer service representatives—receive on the job training, product knowledge training, computer skills, Digital University, and special seminars as they become available offsite. In addition, they are trained in telephone skills, service excellence, and compliance issues two to three times per year.

Many of our branches have no “tellers,” by any name. We have “branch assistants” with cash drawers. They can open new accounts and take loan applications. They are trained for sales. For our branch assistants, we often look to those with sales experience, but not necessarily banking experience. You can teach banking skills easier than selling skills and customer service skills.

Compliance responsibility is very high. Unfortunately, the employee’s commitment and ability does not always match the level of responsibility. When you take into consideration that the average teller does not look at their role as overly important—”It’s just a job”—the challenge becomes greater. The industry attitude continues to be that the teller position is the lowest-ranking branch spot, an entry-level job. Therefore, compensation is based on that, rather than the importance of what the teller position requires and the impact on customer retention and satisfaction

We have tightened our hiring practices in an effort to obtain a higher-quality employee. The goal is to hire individuals with excellent people/communication skills and then teach them the necessary technical skills. The problem is that the labor force in our area does not represent a large pool of resources to draw from.

Initial training is accomplished primarily via three methods. On-the-job observation and practice, e-training, and working with an individual off the teller line practicing routine transactions. The last method is utilized not only to train but also to evaluate the level at which the employee has acquired the necessary basic skills to perform. The training needs have multiplied and therefore, the element of time needed for training has added a heavy burden to the bank’s training program.

The primary continuing education resource is an e-training program that the bank acquired. It not only provides training specific to the teller position and all regulatory and compliance issues, but also all subjects that are related to banking as a whole. The program is updated by the vendor when any changes occur and can also be customized for the bank.

In addition to these efforts, we hold monthly meetings that provide an opportunity to train and discuss issues identified by the tellers as important. The meetings also provide management an opportunity to cover security and other key matters.

Our teller hires are required to have high school education; college is helpful, but not required. Tellers are trained within the bank beginning in our operations department, in order to gain a better understanding of how the check functions.

In this day and time tellers have to be alert. With the increase of counterfeiting, crime, and fraud, they have to know how to check endorsements and review different types of checks. They also have to deal with new customers that are not aware of the check cashing process (proof of identification). Knowing the customers is also a benefit at a branch location and our main office. My tellers also balance the ATM, pull statements, order currency, and are knowledgeable in customer service.

As a result, I think the status of the teller has not changed, but needs to. It is my opinion that tellers today have a great impact on the bank as a whole. They are front-line people and many times are the first employee that the new customer comes in contact with. They could win the customer or lose the customer. Because of this, our tellers are trained in customer service greetings.

We have ongoing training for our tellers and we encourage them to attend the “Twilight Series Seminars” conducted by Community Bankers of Georgia. The Twilight Series offers certain classes for those employees that cannot leave their jobs during the day. To help get employees involved, the Peoples Bank pays overtime to those who attend, and also pays for dinner at a nice restaurant.

With the rapid growth today in the banking industry, bank tellers are in high demand. That’s not just any bank teller, either, but educated bank tellers. We expect the basics, and look for such skills and course background as keyboarding, accounting, word processing, record keeping, banking and finance, and office services.

Once we hire someone for a teller’s position, we run them through a minimum required training schedule consisting of: privacy, Bank Secrecy Act, and basic teller transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, purchasing and selling of cashiers checks, money orders, and travelers checks, as well as the daily balancing of their individual cash drawers.

But that’s just the beginning of their duties. The basic duties for our tellers have changed substantially. The following lists the key occupational tasks specific to this career:

1. Accept deposits and payments


2. Enter transactions into computer and print receipts.


3. Balance cash and checks in cash drawer at end of shift.


4. Process withdrawals, and issue cashiers checks, money orders, and travelers checks.


5. Process paperwork for certificate of deposits.


6. Give account information to customers, such as statement information and balances.


7. Cross-sell products and services.

1. Oversee shipments of cash to and from the Federal Reserve.


2. Record retention


3. Monitor and control resources


4. Perform additional administrative tasks


5. Resolve conflicts and negotiate with others


6. Supervise and manage where needed