Making your Utah business more inclusive, and a banking experience right for your needs

In the modern marketplace, one of the most important and heartening developments has been the rise of diversity, especially as people from all walks of life venture to Utah to take advantage of the excellent business climate the Beehive State has to offer.

At the same time, it’s important to be both mindful and proactive about making the workplace exude a sense of belonging for all people. Businesses from startups to longtime institutions can do a lot to bring the idea of inclusiveness to the forefront in the way they treat their workers and leadership peers. It can only make a business stronger to encourage that sense of belonging that is so important to a fulfilling daily life.

As your hometown provider of banking solutions, First Utah Bank truly cherishes the idea of a diverse business community. We can provide many solutions that are customized to a business’ needs, including several checking account options that could be a perfect fit for the way you want to do business.

Removing barriers to inclusion in the workplace

Chelsea Davis, an associate from the local law firm Holland and Hart, has suggested some ways to foster a greater sense of belonging in a recent article for Utah Business magazine. Davis believes that companies need to get out in front of the movement for inclusivity in order to find the most diverse leaders and workers and to retain them so the company is in a strong position in the future.

Davis shares four ways that businesses in Utah can help make diversity and inclusion a priority. As is the norm with creating a better culture, a lot of it comes down to communication and the way that takes place.

Break from tradition

When it comes to hiring the best employees and giving them opportunities to advance, Davis writes that those with non-traditional experiences can be important to consider, especially if they are in tune with where the business wants to thrive.

“For example, consider how a continuing volunteer position in a local community group demonstrates a candidate’s focus, commitment, organizational skills and ability to work in a fast-paced or sensitive environment,” Davis writes. “Similarly, consider these alternative experiences when making advancement or promotion decisions.”

Don’t forget to truly mentor



You hear a lot in the business world about mentoring, but is that really taking place? One way to ensure that it does is to start an internal mentoring program, a place where diverse employees can be shown the ways to succeed as well as develop stronger ties to their own business community.

Davis uses her own firm as an example, writing that Holland and Hart uses computer software as a mentoring tool. The software matches mentors and mentees who have commonalities.

“These types of mentoring programs provide diverse employees with an opportunity to gain certain skills, connections and practical tips that may not otherwise have been available to them,” Davis said.

Evaluate with an eye toward inclusiveness



The evaluation process is crucial to strengthening the bond that an employee has with the company. Davis believes that an honest look at how a company’s expectations can affect those with diverse backgrounds is a step in the right direction toward true inclusiveness.

“If you are directly or indirectly evaluating your employees based on certain unwritten expectations, consider having a supervisor or internal mentor take the time to address these expectations with all employees early on instead of assuming ‘everyone knows how to do this,’” Davis writes. “This practice incorrectly assumes everyone is the same and can negatively affect diversity retention, particularly if a diverse employee is overlooked for a bonus, raise, advancement or other opportunity.”

Making professional development personal

One way that diverse employees can excel with professional development is to find like-minded people from other companies to share information and meet others with experiences that resonate with them. An industry group can be one way to become active in the larger Utah business community and also help with an employee’s own engagement in the workplace.

Davis writes that these four ideas can be part of a company’s encouragement of stronger diversity, which can bring great benefits to them when it comes to sharing ideas and perspectives as well as addressing the concerns that come with running a business.

“To be truly inclusive and welcoming of diversity, companies must change their approach to ensure they are valuing diverse experiences that promote their business goals,” she writes. “They should encourage employees to take a stake in both the company and the greater business industry, and take the time to ensure that all employees have the tools to succeed.”

Business checking options for any type of Utah business

Providing the tools for business success is also something that First Utah Bank can provide, and we do that for a wide variety of businesses who need someone who understands the climate in Salt Lake City and other Utah communities.

Our team is ready to help every step of the way by sharing the knowledge they’ve learned about the Utah business world, and there are several different options across the financial spectrum that could be appropriate for your financial needs. This is especially true of business checking offerings, as First Utah Bank provides three different choices that could be right for you.

There’s free business checking, which includes unlimited deposits and debit card transactions. There’s also no minimum balance needed, and you receive free internet banking tools. Free business checking includes 100 ACH debits and checks per month.

For our commercial checking service, you receive a competitive earnings credit rate that may offset monthly fees for remote deposit capture and payroll processing. It can also be linked to other eligible accounts to increase available earnings credits, and it’s insured to the legal maximum by the FDIC for your protection.

There’s also non-profit checking available, with no monthly service charges and no minimum balances needed. If you run a registered non-profit group, this will be your best option.

Look to First Utah Bank for your checking needs to help provide convenience not only to customers but also to your own business. Learn more at our website, or call First Utah Bank at 801-308-2265.