Agenda For First-Ever Best Practices Conference Released, With Focus...

Seeking to achieve a best practice within your credit union? How about more than a dozen!

The Credit Union Journal has finalized the agenda for its inaugural Best Practices Conference, scheduled for the exciting Hyatt Hotel in Miami April 27-28.

The Credit Union Journal has set out to create a Best Practices Conference that is a best practice itself, and in keeping with The Journal's tradition of excellence in hosting conferences that send attendees home with notebooks full of actionable ideas, this newest conference entry promises to be accomplish just that. Many of the presenters are the winners of awards in The Journal's first-ever Best Practices program, which was featured in November.

The meeting will kick off with a presentation on the big picture of creating "Transformational Innovation" within the credit union, led by Mark Meyer, Director of Innovation with the Filene Research Institute. Meyer helps oversee Filene's breakthough i3 Group, comprised of some of the most innovative, creative and effective leaders from throughout the credit union community. In this opening keynote, insights will be shared on more than just the work of i3, but also a more expansive examination of why some credit unions are more effective at fostering innovation-and how your credit union can do the same.

Here's a look at what else is on tap for this Best Practices conference:

* As Seen On TV-At The Credit Union: Coastal FCU's David Faleski will highlight for attendees why his credit union has taken to the airwaves to reach members through video displays deployed throughout its 13 locations. Through the establishment of in-house CoastMedia, it uses Microsoft Visual Studio to produce content for not just one but three different channels, including an internal employee communication tool.

* Making the Mobile Member Feel Right At Home. With 163,000 members who are frequent travelers, but also with a very limited branch network, Delta Community Credit Union was wrestling with how to make members more aware of shared branch locations and ATMs. The answer? An in-house developed LocatorSearch solution that provides members with a seamless, one-stop approach to finding convenient locations nationwide. A team from Delta Community will share why the credit union developed its solution, and how it's paid off.

* Pass Through The Door, Expect to SOAR!: Many CUs talk the "people difference," Bayer FCU is walking it. In this session BFCU's Christine Martin will share why it deployed "Dare to SOAR" (Successful Orientation Achieves Rewards). Through a series of concrete, practical steps Bayer Federal reports it has significantly reduced turnover while ensuring those employees develop into productive staff.

* Cheat To Win! Bob MacDonald rose from being a "knock-on-the-door" insurance salesman to CEO of one of North America's largest insurance and financial services companies, taking over the top post at ITT Life at age 37. Later, he formed his own life insurance company, LifeUSA, which was acquired in 1999 for $540-million by Allianz AG of Germany. MacDonald's innovative management strategies have been chronicled in numerous publications, and he has authored his own book, "Cheat To Win," describing his approach in detail. In this session, MacDonald will challenge credit union executives to rethink their own thinking in order to create Best Practices within their own operation.

* 'Tinkering' With the Humanware: The ironic (and potentially counterproductive) thing about technology is that sometimes the human factor is even ore important than the technology itself. That's exactly what Tinker FCU recognized when it embarked on a massive core system conversion. Before choosing a new core system, however, it re-examined its people-ware, and made changes. In this session Tinker FCU's Ben Mannahan will address its own self-evaluation, and what it learned.

* Not Just Single, Dating The Whole Community: For most of its life, Alliant Credit Union was better known as United Airlines Employees Credit Union and served that sponsor and related companies. But airlines have changed, and so have their credit unions, and today Alliant has expanded to more than 80 employer groups, winning over several major SEG partners, including the National PTA. Through a targeted effort aimed at HR executives, ACU's Judy Whitcomb will explain how ACU has driven growth in new members that often tops 10% annually.

* The Report Is In-And It's A Lot Better. Leveraging a web-based software tool, Cenla FCU's Chris Chelette reports it has saved time, become more flexible and streamlined its monthly reporting process through an automated system it heralds for creating greater efficiencies for the credit union. The best part: the credit union estimates the cost of implementation at just a couple of cents per member.

* I Can't Get No Satisfaction-Except Here: Attracting members is just the first challenge-retaining them can be even more difficult. Franklin Mint joined an aa-institution collaborative to create a way to satisfy and retain members, calling its program Welcome Home." In this session, FMFCU's Dan Catamusto will share what it has learned after testing its program, and why the number of members who say they are "completely satisfied" has risen.

How "Losing Your Marbles" In Credit Cards Can Be Smart: Dupont Community CU's card program had been just middlin'-today's it's excelling, thanks to a collaborative program between it and a number of vendors that has sent attracted new accounts and boosted average balances. In this session DCCU's Susie Cook will offer insights into how they did it.

* Raising Your Own iQueue: While it was going through a core conversion, Ent FCU put all IT requests on hold. But when it finished it found it had to sort through pent-up demand for IT help. To priortize those tasks, Ent FCU created iQueue, a framework under which IT development and test resources can be allocated by job type and hours needed. In this session James Moore will discuss development of this "best practice," and what it has meant to Ent.

* It's A Big World Out There: Best practices are by no means limited to credit unions; indeed, some of the most innovative and fresh work is being done by retailers, other non-profits and yes, even banks. In this session Bob Vedder of Newground will share some of the very best practices in retail media as part of a true "outside the box" experience.

ABOUT THE MEETING

WHAT: Credit Union Journal Best Practices Conference

WHEN: April 26-28

WHERE: Hyatt Hotel, Miami, Fla.

HOW: Do I Sign Up? Watch The Credit Union Journal and www.cujournal.com for details.

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