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S.T.A.R. Calling Guidelines 

Bright Partnerships share common values. What are our values? What are the personality traits that define us? These are our values and core beliefs – our guiding star: Smart: We are bright, empowered, flexible partners who get the job done. Trustworthy: We are the longstanding and dependable partner people rely on for solutions. Attentive: We go above and beyond with compassion, friendliness, and respect for everyone. Responsive: We anticipate needs, exceed expectations, and lead with commitment. Let’s make great choices. Form strong teams. Build great relationships. Listen well. Serve others. Respect everyone. Elevate the financial well-being of those we serve. Let’s incorporate our values in everything we do, including servicing our customers.

General S.T.A.R. Calling Guidelines:

The following are guidelines for providing our Star Calling to customers. Use these guidelines and the procedures below to determine how to log your Star Calling activity as either “Full”, or “Quarter”, and what the expectations are for Star Calling:

• How much time was spent on the Star Calling activity?
• Was there additional business requested?
• Am I clearly and obviously representing the bank?

Full Star Calling Guidelines:

• If you don’t talk to the business owner/decision maker, it is probably not a full call.
• Bank Seminars – Those who are directly involved in the seminar and take a larger role through organizing and/or speaking at the event.
• Meeting with customers or prospects at their business, home, or farm.
  
• Breakfast, lunch or dinner with a customer or prospect.
• Calls on dealers, realtors, accountants, etc. prospecting indirect business or referrals.
• Customer appreciation dinner/breakfast events.
• Staffing bank trade show booth.
• Golf or similar outing with customer or prospect.
• Farm or real estate auction.
  

Quarter Star Calling Activity Guidelines:

• Any activity that is not considered “Full” should be considered “Quarter”.
• If it is done via phone, it should always be considered a quarter
• If it is completed by phone, it should only be counted as a quarter if it is proactive. Example: Prospecting new business, introducing a product or service and asking for the business.  
• Attending a Bank Seminar.
• If you invite customers or prospects to Bank seminars, this may be counted as a quarter if the attendee was reached directly. Voicemails do not count.
• Community involvement on board or similar groups where the employee is clearly representing themselves as a BankORION employee, there is potential for future business or to retain business and the employee is involved because of BankORION employment. Examples would be: Ag Society, County Health Board. Typically, involvement on sports team boards and church boards would not qualify.
• Brief in person call to execute documents or attend a loan closing.
• Attendance at an open house for a business customer or prospect.
• Bank at School.
• New customer follow-up phone calls by Retail Bankers and LAAs.
• A prospected meeting that meets in a Branch and includes new business will count for a Quarter. Preference is still to get out to customer locations; however, we recognize that some customers do not have good locations to meet, and the bank may be the best location.
• Cross Sell in Office will count for a Quarter. We want to emphasize the importance of cross selling.
  • For instance, a customer who comes in for a new account or a car loan and is DIRECTLY prospected for a residential refi, InvestORION meeting or similar can now be counted as a Quarter.

Bright Partner Community T-Shirt Activity Guidelines (Either a Quarter or Full): 

A Bright Community Partner T-Shirt Activity involves bank participation as a team in events which require a bank logo Bright Partner t-shirt. Any employee who participates in five or more of these events during the year will receive a $100 gift card and will be entered into a drawing for a grand prize. Examples include:

• Parades
• Bank at School
• Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon
• Participating at other BankORION sponsored events

See the tentative list below with 34 possible options:

Submitting Forms:

Star Calling Forms should be submitted using the Employee Hub link: Star Calling Form

Baseline Call Expectations:

All employees share the responsibility of reaching our Star Call goals, but the majority of the responsibility falls on the members of the Business Development Committee.     

Business Development Committee Members: Business Development Committee Members should demonstrate leadership in all activities. Business Development Committee Members will have 50% of their baseline expectation completed by 6/30 and at least 100% met by December 31.

Lending Officers and Business Development Officer: At least 25% of all Star Calling activities should be made to prospective customers.

Loan Officers: At least one joint Star Call activity should be made by all Loan Officers each quarter. Loan Officers should make at least one of these annually with the Business Development Director.

• If an employee transfers to another branch, their totals will transfer with them.
• If there is a new hire, those goals will be prorated.
• Star Calling activity will be specifically measured on Employee Performance Evaluations. Meeting the baselines stated above results in a rating of “Meets Expectation.”
• The Star Calling summary sorted by employee, will be reported monthly to the Business Development Committee and the Board of Directors.
• A form should be submitted to the Business Development Committee within 30 days. If not completed within the 30 days, it will not be counted.
• At year end, in order to be included in the stakeholder calculations, all forms must be submitted by January 10th.

Still unsure if the call or meeting qualifies as a S.T.A.R. call? 

Check with your manager before completing the S.T.A.R. calling form.

What are Denim Days?

Our Denim Days allows employees to wear jeans every Friday and Saturday. There is no charge to participate in Denim Days unless it is the last Friday of the month which we call our Denim Donation Days.

What are Denim Donation Days?

At BankORION, we take great pride in our social responsibility and focus on the needs of our community through volunteering, providing donations and sponsoring events. We support the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and work to reinvest in this initiative as well as donating to other projects and community-oriented activities. We understand how important every organization is to the communities we serve and hope we are providing solutions that foster a bright partnership.

Our Denim Donation Day occurs on the last Friday of the month. This is when employees can contribute a monetary donation to a local non-profit organization or person in the communities we serve. BankORION will make a match depending on the amount collected. This monthly donation is optional, and employees are not required to donate. However, employees are required to fill out the authorization form at least 1 time to indicate their participation status.

Denim Donation Recipients are chosen by branches on a rotating basis. The Branch Managers will work with their entire team to choose where the proceeds go. BankORION suggests a recipient should be a non-profit, preferably a customer that falls into low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, per the CRA. Recipients are chosen typically during the first or second week of the month prior to the donation day.

The Marketing Department will send bank-wide communication with information about the non-profit or entity that our Denim Donation Day proceeds will benefit from. The Marketing Department provides in-branch flyers to all branches prior to the event. 

Once the donation checks have been delivered to their nominating branch, the branch as a group will work together to coordinate a giant promotional check presentation and photo op for the receiving non-profit organization or individual. Marketing will post this presentation photo on social media.

What happens if you choose to participate in the Denim Donation Day?

• On the last Friday of the month, the minimum charge to wear jeans is $5.00.
• A monthly donation will automatically be pulled from month-end payroll.
  • More details on this located in the denim donation authorization form.
• The branches (on a monthly rotating basis) select who will receive the proceeds raised.
  • The organization selected to receive the proceeds should be a customer of the bank and must be pre-approved by the Marketing Department.
• You're allowed to wear jeans. No holes, ripped jeans, or shorts. Jeans must be in good repair.
• You're allowed to wear tennis shoes.
• BankORION logo shirts are required on Denim Days to create a sense of Partnership within the bank. 
  • Only company store approved items are allowed to be worn on Denim Days.
  • BankORION hoodies, sweatshirts, crewnecks, and parade t-shirts are not allowed to be worn on Denim Days.

What perks do you get as an employee contributing to the Denim Donation Day?

By opting in to this program,

• You are allowed to wear jeans and tennis shoes on the last Friday of the month.
• You are providing a bright partnership that enhances the financial well-being of the communities we serve by offering flexibility, reliability, compassion, and commitment. 
• You may be able to deduct these monthly donations when you file your taxes.

What happens if you choose not to participate?

By choosing to opt-out,

• You must wear a BKO embroidered shirt and business casual bottoms on Denim Donation Days.
  • Only company store approved items are allowed to be worn on Denim Donation Days.
  • BankORION hoodies, sweatshirts, crewnecks, and parade t-shirts are not allowed to be worn on Denim Donation Days.
• You are not allowed to wear jeans or tennis shoes on the last Friday of the month.
• You are not supporting local non-profits in the communities we serve.
• You will not have a donation automatically deducted from your payroll.
  

If you want to participate in the future, a Denim Donation Day form will need to be completed and processed by HR at least one week prior to month-end payroll.

* - The second to last Friday in the month will be denim donation day as the last Friday of the month falls on a federal holiday. Donation will automatically be deducted from month-end payroll.

Help Us Choose Next Month's Denim Donation Recipient!

Marketing will send an email to your branch when it's your turn to nominate. Refer to the schedule to see when your branch is up next.

Your branch is in the spotlight! It's your turn to decide with nonprofit organization or customer will benefit from our next Denim Donation Day!

Every employee is required to submit an authorization form. You can choose to opt-in or opt-out of the program.

Our Denim Donation Day is transitioning to an automatic payroll deduction for those that wish to contribute to our paid denim days.

Note the following with this change:

• Cash will not be accepted for Denim Donation Days starting January 2026.
• Submit the Payroll Authorization Form below to opt-in or out of the Denim Donation Day program.
  • Complete the form no later than 1/23/26 for HR processing. 
  • If you miss the due date, contact HR.
• Contributing to the Denim Donation Day once a month is not a requirement.
• You may revoke your authorization at any time and stop the automatic payroll deduction.
  • Contact HR if you wish to revoke your authorization and stop the automatic payroll deduction.
• You can elect to contribute any amount of $5 or more.
• The automatic payroll deduction will process on the month-end payroll.
• You can change your monthly election amount at any time.
  • A new form would need to be submitted to HR at least one week prior to month-end payroll.
• If you do not wish to participate, please select “waive” on the form.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to HR.