Head of Treasury and Payment Solutions
When Katherine Weislogel started in her role in March 2019, she was asked to improve the bottom line for Synovus Financial’s treasury and payment solutions business by 10%.
As of the end of 2020, she had delivered an increase of 450%.
Her strategy included hiring 40 people and training them to execute a consultative sales approach; rolling out new products; revamping the marketing and branding; and bringing in a sales enablement partner.
She did all the recruiting herself and ended up assembling a team that is made up nearly 80% of women and 30% of people of color.
With a five-state branch network to cover and not enough team members to be at every appointment in person, she developed a virtual retail desk. Initially, branch executives questioned the concept, as they were accustomed to having someone deployed to each appointment, even for small-business customers. But the new approach proved to be effective.
Then, when the pandemic hit, the virtual retail desk became a blueprint for sales representatives throughout the company.
It facilitated record revenue growth and, most important for Synovus, kept customers happy with the ease of doing their banking.
Weislogel also implemented a price-for-value initiative during the pandemic, effectively imposing a price increase in a business where a high percentage of the customers had never paid a fee. “Bankers historically ‘gave it away,’” she said, adding that the initiative exceeded projections by more than $4 million, with little attrition from customers or employees.
Given Weislogel’s performance, it might be surprising to know that she was at a personal low point as 2020 began, which she attributes to “zero work-life balance.”
“At my annual review four weeks before the shutdown, I was days away from complete burnout,” she said. “I told my boss I needed to make serious changes in my life.”
The pandemic provided exactly the reset that she needed. She got permission to work from Atlanta instead of Columbus, Georgia, where Synovus is based. This allowed her to adjust the timing of the weekly flights she takes from her home in Ohio — flying in at midday on Mondays, instead of before dawn, and returning home on Thursdays in time for dinner with her family, instead of late at night. She also scheduled “grounded” weeks, so that she would have some time to spend with friends and to volunteer.
“The workload and deadlines did not change, but my approach did,” said Weislogel, whose title was upgraded in July from executive director to executive vice president. “What I found was that I was even more successful.”
