AI PLATFORM

A more scalable way to develop managers and strengthen teams

Bank of Hawai'i wanted to give managers a better way to build trust, strengthen culture, and support employees across both branch and corporate environments.

As hybrid work increased complexity and retention remained a priority, the organization needed an approach that could scale leadership development without adding more burden to managers or L&D. Rising Team provided a practical, manager-led solution that fit the realities of day-to-day work — and delivered measurable impact across engagement, manager effectiveness, and retention.

“Rising Team stood out because it expands AI coaching into a more complete approach to leadership development.“

Therese Dickerson
SVP Dir. of Organizational Effectiveness

“Rising Team helps us become even better. And with the ease of deploying it, Rising Team is one of the best solutions I’ve ever seen.”

CHALLENGES

Hybrid teams, frontline realities, and no scalable way to build better managers

Bank of Hawai'i needed a more consistent way to strengthen leadership, team connection, and culture across a workforce that spanned both branch and corporate environments.

Hybrid and frontline teams

With employees working across branches, offices, and hybrid settings, the organization needed an approach that could support very different team environments without creating more complexity.

Retention pressure in a limited talent market

In Hawai‘i’s constrained labor market, retaining employees was especially important — particularly in branch roles where turnover has a direct impact on performance and customer experience.

Employees wanted more trust and connection

Employees needed more psychological safety, stronger team connection, and better day-to-day leadership support. Managers needed more than traditional training. They needed better ways to lead meaningful conversations with their teams.

Training that didn’t scale

Classroom-style leadership development and one-time programs were difficult to scale. Bank of Hawai'i needed an approach that could build manager capability and strengthen teams without adding burden to L&D or frontline schedules.

SOLUTION

A manager-led system for team development that scales across the business

Rising Team gave Bank of Hawai'i a practical way to make leadership development part of how teams work — not just something managers do in periodic training sessions.

Plug-and-play sessions managers could lead themselves

Rising Team equipped managers with ready-to-run team sessions and guided prompts, making it easy to facilitate meaningful conversations without needing deep facilitation expertise.

Built around Bank of Hawai'i’s leadership principles

Custom kits helped connect the experience to Bank of Hawai'i’s own leadership values, making the program feel embedded in the culture rather than layered on top of it.

Designed for both branch and corporate teams

The format worked across hybrid, desk-based, and frontline environments, making it possible to scale one approach across the organization instead of creating separate programs for different groups.

Scalable without increasing L&D overhead

Because managers led sessions directly with their teams, Bank of Hawai'i expanded leadership development reach without needing a proportional increase in internal enablement resources.

“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with
my leader.'”

Therese Dickerson
SVP Dir. of Organizational Effectiveness

“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with
my leader.'”

RESULTS

Better engagement, stronger managers, and measurable retention gains

What started as a pilot became a broader leadership development capability with clear business impact across engagement, manager effectiveness, and retention.

Stronger employee engagement

More than 90% of engagement dimensions improved among Rising Team users. Employees reported stronger connection with their teams and greater confidence that they would work more effectively together. These results reflect a consistent pattern across teams of different sizes and functions throughout the organization.

More effective managers

Bank of Hawai'i saw a 10–12% increase in manager effectiveness scores, showing that regular team-based development translated into stronger leadership behaviors over time. Managers who participated in Rising Team sessions were rated higher on communication, trust-building, and team cohesion by their direct reports.

Higher retention in branches

Branch employees saw an 18% increase in retention, a meaningful outcome in a role population where stability matters. Employees who completed one or more Rising Team sessions also reached 94% six-month retention, compared with 82% for those who did not participate.

WHY IT WORKED

Ongoing leadership development became part of the way teams work

Bank of Hawai'i did not just launch another training program. It built a more practical, repeatable model for manager and team development — one that gave managers tools they could use directly with their teams, in real work environments, on a consistent basis.

Manager-led, not facilitator-dependent

Managers could lead sessions themselves, which made the experience more scalable and more relevant to everyday team dynamics.

Structured, but easy to use

Rising Team gave teams a shared format and language without making the experience feel heavy or overly formal.

Built for sustained use

Instead of relying on one-time workshops, Bank of Hawaii created an approach that could become part of regular team rhythms.

Relevant across the organization

The same model worked across corporate teams, branches, and frontline environments — helping leadership development feel more unified and more consistent enterprise-wide.

1,800+

90%+

10–12%

18%

A more scalable way to develop managers and strengthen teams

“Rising Team stood out because it expands AI coaching into a more complete approach to leadership development.“

“Rising Team helps us become even better. And with the ease of deploying it, Rising Team is one of the best solutions I’ve ever seen.”

Hybrid teams, frontline realities, and no scalable way to build better managers

A manager-led system for team development that scales across the business

“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with my leader.'”

“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with my leader.'”

Better engagement, stronger managers, and measurable retention gains

Ongoing leadership development became part of the way teams work

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“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with
my leader.'”

“Our employees are saying, 'Wow — I feel a different kind of connection with
my leader.'”