After spending 18 years training employees for three different Berkshire financial institutions, Tony Hyte decided to go out on his own.
Hyte recently formed Front Line Service Solutions, a consulting business that provides training for the employees of banks and credit unions.
It’s a field that Hyte knows well. The North Adams native previously performed that task for the Landmark Credit Union in North Adams, the Pittsfield Cooperative Bank and the Greylock Federal Credit Union.
Hyte, Front Line’s president and CEO, had been thinking about opening his own business for almost three years.
"The timing was right," said Hyte, who modeled Front Line’s training program after the one he developed at the Greylock Credit Union.
"I was successful in all the locations," he said, "and successful on a microlevel, so I wanted to go out on my own and start a business.
"There’s a demand right now in banking to really shore up customer service and train the front-line staff in sales," he said.
Front Line’s focus is on increasing revenue in retail branches, professional development through workshops, enhancing member loyalty, increasing product referrals and product referral tracking programs, employee incentive programs, and new product development, according to the company’s website. Although Front Line services are currently tailored for banks and credit union, Hyte said he may take his sales techniques into other areas.
Hyte holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the former North Adams State College, attended the New England School of Banking at Babson College for three years, and has attended business communication training seminars at Cornell University. Hyte started Front Line with his own personal savings. The business also has a branch office in Manchester, Conn.
Front Line has six full-time employees. Carl Ameen, Front Line’s COO, is a former principal of Allendale Elementary School in Pittsfield. Chief Program Officer Taylor Williams worked with Hyte at Greylock.
More information can be found at www.frontlineservicesolutions.com.