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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

Synovus is committed to providing access to learning, development and training opportunities that enable our team members to reach their full potential. All team members are encouraged to learn continuously and develop their talents to meet their personal goals and the strategic goals of the Company. Synovus enables team members by providing access to in-person, virtual instructor-led, on demand and curated learning opportunities to support skill development. This includes, but is not limited to, new hire orientation, role-based training programs, technical training and professional and leadership development. Synovus also encourages team members allocate one hour a week for professional development to team members.

Synovus believes in the importance of equipping leaders and has invested in developing leaders at every level. Our leadership programs – Ignite, Catalyst, and Connect – focus on frontline leadership, senior leadership and executive-level readiness through a tailored approach to development and succession planning. Synovus also supports team members participating in external development. Synovus offers a tuition assistance program for team members seeking qualified undergraduate and graduate degrees and other continuing education programs. We also provide 100% tuition coverage for high potential team members selected for specialty banking schools.

In 2023, Synovus won three Brandon Hall HCM Learning Excellence awards – a Silver Award the Best Development Program for Frontline leaders for Ignite, a Silver award for Best Advance in Senior Manager Development for Catalyst and a Gold award for Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program for Customer Care Heroes in Training.


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 45% of new positions filled by existing team members. Approximately 14% of our work force received a promotion in 2024, consisting of 65% women and 32% people of color.

Our commitment to our team members has resulted in a long-term workforce, with an average tenure of nine 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 voluntary turnover rate for 2024 was 11%.

Awards


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 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 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.


Engagement and Inclusion at Synovus

Synovus is committed to creating an engaged and inclusive environment where all team members and communities we serve feel respected and valued. As we continue to grow and help our clients meet their full potential, we recognize diversity as a broad collection of differences that embraces varying dimensions to include, but not limited to beliefs, race, work styles, age, education, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, physical ability and status as a protected veteran. Our culture of inclusiveness allows us to succeed. And we’re proud our team members have consistently demonstrated their dedication to leadership development, employee resource group initiatives and community outreach across our markets.

While we’re proud of our progress so far, we acknowledge there is still work to do. We are committed to continuing our work to cultivate a collaborative and inclusive culture where team members feel highly valued, empowered and comfortable bringing their ideas, voices and full selves to the workplace,

Leadership
The composition of the Synovus board of directors ended 2024 with 33% women and 33% people of color. Senior leadership at Synovus was comprised of 39% women and 19% people of color at the end of 2024.

Accelerated Banker
Our Accelerated Banker and Internship programs prepare future leaders for careers within the bank. We prioritize attracting, developing and retaining team members for these critical programs as this is one of our pipelines for talent.

DOD SkillBridge Partnership
In efforts to continue strengthening our recruitment effects, Synovus became a certified DOD SkillBridge industry partner in 2024. DOD SkillBridge allows participating service members the opportunity to continue receiving their military compensation and benefits while industry partners provide civilian training and work experience.

Youth Entrepreneurship by Synovus (YES)
In 2024, Atlanta Metropolitan State College participated in YES. We launched the program in 2022 at Benedict College as a weeklong financial education and entrepreneurship program for high school students in conjunction with Upward Bound. Since the program’s inception, more than 60 high school students graduated with knowledge about how to start a business, the significance of good credit and how to manage funds to bring business ideas to their communities.

Campus Recruitment
Our talent acquisition team hosts an annual career symposium as part of our campus recruitment efforts. The symposium helps us deepen relationships with universities and campus organizations across our markets, with an emphasis on historically Black colleges and universities. We continue to work with professional organizations such as Latin American Association Unidos in Finance for internal referrals.

Volunteerism
We are committed to helping others reach their full potential by engaging with people through colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations and service-oriented entities. Our team members continue to make an impact in our communities, using their financial expertise and experiences to help shape careers. For example, working with Junior Achievement through our continued partnership allows us to share our expertise and support financial education throughout the year. Through our campus engagement efforts across our footprint, we provide interview skill advice, counsel on resume writing and opportunities to learn about career paths. Additionally, the team participated with the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce by hosting a table for Local Opportunities for Today and Tomorrow (LOTT) where representatives spoke about career options to more than 2,500 students.

For more information about how Synovus is serving our communities, click here.

Continued Progress

By continuing to lay a solid foundation and build on our values, we’re creating a learning environment where inclusiveness is embedded in our culture.

Learning and Development
Synovus leaders are expected to build inclusive, high-performing teams. This is built into Synovus Leadership Expectations, a performance goal for all leaders and team members.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Our six employee resource groups are team-member driven and open to everyone in the company. ERGs are an integral part of our recruiting and retention strategies. They also focus on team member engagement, professional development, community outreach education and nurturing a sense of belonging. In addition to the contributions of ERGs, we provided virtual forums and materials to build awareness on neurodiversity as a part of our commitment to having an inclusive workplace where all team members can reach their full potential.

Our employee resource groups include:

  • African American
  • Aquí Nos - Hispanic/Latino
  • Emerge - Young professionals
  • Prism - LGBTQ+
  • Veterans
  • Women Inspiring Success & Empowerment (WISE)

Supporting Community

  • African American ERG members volunteered with various community organizations such as Meals on Wheels, United Way, Habitat for Humanity and House of Heroes. They also led financial education workshops for schools and nonprofits.

  • Aquí Nos ERG members were intentional about delivering financial education workshops in English and Spanish to enable people to reach their full potential. They also partnered with Junior Achievement to educate young people on making informed financial decisions for their future success.

  • Emerge ERG members strive to promote Synovus in the community, foster relationships, and emphasize commitment to excellence and leadership development for the next generation of leaders. They aim to support and expand financial education for younger generations.

  • Prism ERG members volunteered with Lost-n-Found Youth, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that provides services to LGBTQ+ experiencing homelessness. They engaged team members by collecting and donating clothes and toiletries to support the nonprofit’s mission to end homelessness for LGBTQ+ youth.

  • Veterans ERG members volunteered with House of Heroes to complete home improvements for disabled veterans in Columbus, Georgia. They consistently assisted in home renovations to ensure their fellow former service men and women live in safe and secure homes.

  • W.I.S.E. members focused on uplifting a younger generation through Girls Inc., a nonprofit that encourages girls to be “Strong, Smart, and Bold.” Each month, W.I.S.E. Cares gave an Impact Award to celebrate a member for the ways they impacted their community and raised awareness for community involvement. In addition to Girls Inc., W.I.S.E. volunteered with Harbor Dish in Safety Harbor, Florida, and Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, Georgia.

Growing Business Relationships

Our Veterans ERG partnered with our marketing team to organize Journeys to Inspire – Conversations with Leaders. This leadership series featured retired Admiral William McRaven and helped Synovus connect with, grow and strengthen client relationships across our markets. This partnership was a significant milestone for our ERGs, demonstrating their ability to actively influence and contribute to business strategy.