When a customer complaint comes across Melissa Williams’ desk, she knows she’s dealing with someone who’s already frustrated. Her immediate goals: provide help and find successful closure.
“What I try to do every time I talk to a customer is think about how I want someone to treat my mother,” explained Williams, the Branch Administration Specialist for Regions Bank’s Middle and East Tennessee Consumer Banking Team.
“You want to try to empathize with them and make things better. You can turn a negative into a positive if you do it that way.”
Whether it’s customers, associates, the community or the company, Melissa is doing extra with every single one of those constituents. Melanie Blank, Consumer Bank Executive in Nashville
Her ability to see issues, challenges and opportunities through the eyes of others is what makes Melissa Williams so special to everyone she works with. She goes the extra mile by turning the mundane into the extraordinary.
“Melissa is compassionate. Melissa is caring. Melissa is heart-first,” said Melanie Blank, Consumer Bank Executive who is based in Nashville. “Whether it’s customers, associates, the community or the company, Melissa is doing extra with every single one of those constituents.”
Williams has a drive for detail inspired by her father, Dave Stanfield, a long-time Nashville photographer.
“By nature, I’m a very organized person,” Williams said. “I keep meticulous records – I do this at home and at work. I try to keep everything in order and get everything done as fast as I can. But I pay attention to the details.
“That was just my father’s creed. If you’re going to do something, do more. He did the same thing when my son started a lawncare business. Do extra. Do more than was expected.”
That carries over into how she approaches each day.
Do extra. Do more than was expected. Melissa Williams, Branch Administration Specialist for Regions Bank’s Middle East Tennessee Consumer Banking Team
“On the consumer banking end, we have so many moving parts,” she added. “You have to be meticulous. I start with an old-fashioned daily list, because I know the priorities. But no matter how well you plan, you’re going to be bombarded with one-off issues that must be dealt with quickly.”
Her co-workers use the same words to describe her. Hard-working and humble. Empathetic and driven.
“She is the glue,” said Melodie Zack, Consumer Banking Manager on the METN team. “She holds everything together.”
Take it a step further …
“She’s someone you don’t have to ask for help,” explained Yolanda Hollingsworth, Regions’ Community Relations Officer for Middle/East Tennessee/Dalton. “She just does it. Even when a consumer banking manager is out for some reason, they don’t have to worry because she makes sure the team doesn’t miss a beat.”
That speaks to institutional knowledge. She understands, intimately, every role on the Consumer Banking Team, something she began building during her days as a part-time teller. From there, she was quickly recognized as a rising star, and later joined a larger team as Blank’s executive assistant 15 years ago.
“She has the ability to communicate – from the CEO to the entry-level associate,” Blank said. “Every person in that chain feels like they have spoken to a professional who knows her business and really cares.”
Almost telepathically, she can sense when someone’s in need of help.
Zack started as a Consumer Banking Manager in January and the learning curves were steep. She knew instantly who to turn to. “[Melissa] was there every step of the way. She knew every request, what every CBM has to do. She knows every branch manager personally.”
At her first CBM meeting, Zack had computer issues. Key contacts and appointments were kaput – and with a huge meeting the next day, info she could no longer access. Without being asked, Williams stayed with her, well past office hours, to find the right help until everything was resolved.
When Betsy Bean, CBM In Middle Tennessee North, worked on a project for a Consumer Leadership Academy, Williams made sure Bean was ready by taking a report and adjusting it, taking it from pedestrian to perfection.
“She makes sure all of our projects are handled, and she does things without even asking to make sure we have the reports we need, all our associates are taken care of and we have everything we need to do our jobs right,” Bean said.
Melissa was extremely helpful in making sure the family was taken care of and that everything Regions did was top class. Betsy Bean, CBM In Middle Tennessee North
And when tragedy strikes, Williams provides a shoulder to cry on and the strength to get to the next day.
The Middle East Tennessee team recently lost two branch managers unexpectedly. One of the losses was especially painful for Bean.
“In April of this year, we lost a branch manager in Middle Tennessee, and that branch manager happened to be my goddaughter,” Bean said.
Without a beat, Williams made arrangements, provided wreaths for memorials at the branch and ordered food for a family-and-friends meal after the funeral.
“Melissa was extremely helpful in making sure the family was taken care of and that everything Regions did was top class. The family was really touched by Regions’ support,” Bean added.
The tragedy hit home for Zack, as well because the loss was a close friend who had served on her team and followed a similar career trajectory.
“Melissa was there for me,” Zack said. “We hugged it out, then she took care of everything, ordering flowers and even the food that Lexie would have wanted.”
“Our METN team lost two branch managers within weeks of one another,” Williams said. “In trying to plan out what our team would do in response, my goal was to make sure that their families knew just how much Ed (Stansberry, Glenbrook Branch Manager) and Lexie (Osgood, Music Row Branch Manager) meant to us. They were family.”
She is the glue. She holds everything together. Melodie Zack, Consumer Banking Manager on the METN team
Williams’ focus on others even spills out during her annual goal-setting review. Normally, those focus on metrics documenting personal growth and success.
But when Williams meets with Blank, the session takes on a totally different vibe.
“When setting her annual goals, she’s trying to determine, ‘how am I going to help this team be that much more successful this year?’” Blank said.
“She does really care about every single person along the way. It’s so genuine.”
