Team Member Engagement

Talent Development and Engagement

We actively promote an environment that fosters honest, good-faith communication about matters related to our business activities. We regularly conduct company-wide team member surveys to assess and measure engagement, identify what is working, and where opportunities exist for improvement.

Training and Development

We provide multiple programs, processes, and tools to aid in the growth and development of team members and leaders. We created internal programs to support the development and retention of our team members, including internal development programs designed to train our leaders.

In 2022, over 1,100 courses were offered to team members on such topics as leadership, compliance and professional development and an average of approximately 20 hours of training per employee was completed. In 2022, Synovus continued to focus on foundational progress toward increasing DEI, engaging employee resource groups to assist with talent acquisition, development and community outreach, increasing our internal dialogue through forums, fireside chats, and listen and learn events, enhancing unconscious bias training across the organization, and developing robust DEI strategies across each business unit. Development of our senior leaders likewise continues to be a priority, and we fully implemented two senior leadership development programs in 2022. We launched the first 13-member, high potential leader cohort of the Connect Leadership Program - focused on executive readiness, and Catalyst On-Demand, with 176 senior leaders focused on nine transformational capabilities. We continue to deliver our Ignite First Line Leadership development, with 104 employees completing the program in 2022 and 609 employees completing the program since its inception in 2020. Synovus also supports our employees’ involvement in external development programs, such as specialty banking schools and other technical training. In support of our learning and development for our team members, Synovus offers a tuition assistance program for team members seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees and other continuing educational programs. Synovus also supports our team members’ involvement in external development programs, such as specialty banking schools and other technical training. Along with tuition reimbursement, we offer 100% tuition coverage for specialty banking school participation.

Performance Enablement and Retention

Our approach to performance enablement is year-round, with clear goals and priorities aligned behind business objectives and strategies. Team members and their managers mutually agree on performance and developmental goals, which are supported by development conversations held regularly throughout the year, and which factor into formal mid-year and year-end performance evaluations.

Internal promotions are prioritized, with 34% of new positions filled by existing team members. Approximately 18% of our work force received a promotion in 2022, consisting of 70% women and 38% ethnically diverse.

Our commitment to our team members has resulted in a long-term work force, with an average tenure of eight years of service.

We attribute our ability to attract and retain talent to several factors, including impactful work that affects the communities in which our employees live, strong leadership, availability of career advancement opportunities and competitive and equitable total rewards. Our overall turnover rate for 2022 was 18%.

Team Member Engagement

Our most recent engagement score was 91%, representing top quartile scoring compared to financial services benchmark, which is an average based on 500 organizations representing more than 17.4 million employees in a wide range of industries and from over 183 countries.

At the division and department levels, a cross-functional action team defines top areas of focus companywide based on survey results. The team develops recommended solutions and helps ensure company accountability and resource availability for follow-up actions. The team also ensures clear tracking, measurement, and progress reporting to leadership and the full team.

The results from the 2023 survey show we’re in a healthy range regarding perceptions across all survey categories. The most favorable items included remote work, with a favorability score of 96%; ethics, with a favorability score of 91%; and manager relationships and pride in the company both with a favorability score of 90%. The data also revealed team members continue to place a high value on the relationships they have with each other, their managers, and clients.

Previous survey results helped establish specific initiatives to improve the career experience at Synovus, including identifying growth opportunities, delivering career development training, making training more accessible, improving onboarding, and creating a sense of value among team members. By listening to our team members and acting on their feedback, we saw top quartile engagement scores in our latest survey process.

Following our 2023 survey, we have formed a Voice of the Team Member action team, a cross-functional team that will develop a range of actions and solutions to address the top areas of opportunity—empowerment, continuous improvement, and teamwork.