5 Ways You Can Help Your Treasury Management Officer Succeed

There are five ways you can help your new Treasury Management Officer (TMO) succeed - especially as they step into this critical role at your bank.

Right now, community banks are scrambling to grow core deposits and boost non-interest fee income. One of the most effective ways to do that? Build or enhance your Treasury Management (TM) services. As a result, many institutions are rushing to hire TM sales officers.

Here’s the challenge: experienced TM professionals are in short supply - and most of them are already employed.

So, if you’ve been fortunate enough to hire a great TMO, hang onto them! What makes someone a great TMO? In my experience, it’s someone who’s a natural salesperson, understands and values treasury services, and genuinely enjoys winning new business for the institution. Bonus points if they also understand how the services work behind the scenes and can confidently answer customer questions.

I want to walk you through five practical ways to set your TMO up for success - especially if you’ve just hired someone new into the role.

1. Set the reporting structure correctly from the start.

Treasury Management has two sides: sales and operations. Your TMO is on the sales side, so they should report into the business banking team - not to retail, and definitely not to operations.

If you have a Treasury Management Director, the TMO should report there. But most institutions start with just one TMO, then add a TM leader as the team grows.

If you don’t have a TM manager yet, the TMO should ideally report to the Chief Lending Officer or whoever oversees revenue. Unfortunately, I see a lot of first-time TMOs reporting to operations - mainly because the lending side doesn’t fully understand (or appreciate) what TM brings to the table in terms of deposits and fee income. But that’s something you can solve with training and education.

2. Train your business bankers to sell and value TM.

Your lenders are being asked to bring in deposits and fee income - but most haven’t been trained to sell TM services. They’ve had lending training, but not TM.

The most successful TMOs I’ve seen work closely with business bankers as a team. The formula is simple: lenders handle the credit needs, TMOs handle the depository needs. Once they realize they need each other to succeed, referrals start flowing naturally.

3. Provide the right support - from day one.

If you expect your TMO to bring in new deposits and fee income right away, you’ve got to support them from the start.

Too often, new TMOs are expected to do everything: build the department, go out and sell, come back and implement services, and also support existing customers. That’s just not sustainable.

Usually, support starts with the existing deposit operations team - but they’re already stretched thin. Adding TM onboarding and maintenance to their plate often leads to service delays and frustrated customers.

The best solution? Hire a TM Support or Operations Specialist. This person can work closely with the TMO, even if they report through operations. As the department grows, you’ll eventually want a dedicated Treasury Services Support team.

Also, make sure you're tracking activity - both new service implementations and ongoing support. That data will help you decide when to hire and how many people you need.

4. Set the tone at the top - and educate your Board.

TM success requires a full team effort - and full institutional support. That includes allocating resources for new services, hiring support staff, and maybe even adding a second TMO.

Your senior leadership team needs to be aligned on how the support structure works. Even if the TM Support person doesn’t report to the TMO, they should work closely with them. Clear expectations and reporting lines help avoid turf wars later.

 And don’t forget the Board. When they understand the strategic value of TM - in deposits, fee income, and client retention - they’re more likely to support the investments needed to grow it.

5. Invest in training - especially for new or promoted TMOs.

Because experienced TMOs are so rare, many institutions are promoting internal candidates. That’s great! But most of those folks don’t come with TM experience - and they’ll need training.

TMOs need more than just sales skills. They need to understand how the services work so they can talk confidently with clients. Webinars, workshops, online training, TM forums - it’s all helpful. And sometimes, they need individual coaching on how to structure and lead the department.

I hope these five tips give you some direction as you build out your TM department. Supporting your TMO from day one is one of the best investments you can make for long-term success.