A few years ago, the British entrepreneur Richard Branson was quoted as saying that companies should put their employees — not their customers — first in all they do. "If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients," Branson said.
Colorado Credit Union in Littleton has taken Branson's words to heart.
"That's certainly been our experience with the credit union," Mike Williams, the credit union's president and CEO, said in a recent interview. "We work very hard at creating a work environment that is both productive and attractive."
Williams stopped short of using the word "fun" in describing the workplace because he said it connotes that employees are messing around. But whatever the $310 million-asset company is doing seems to be working.
The organization came in at No. 1 on this year's American Banker
The winners were selected through two surveys: one that examined employee satisfaction and covered areas including leadership and planning, and a second survey that evaluated the benefits and policies of each credit union.
Williams said the credit union, which has 62 employees, is growing quickly, and that creates a unique dynamic because employees have a multitude of opportunities for advancement.
Employees of the credit union also rate it highly because, although serving its 21,000 members is a priority, it is not expected to be the driving force in their lives. Work/life balance is critical, Williams said.
"If you've got kids and they're playing in a baseball game … we're going to do everything in our power to help you participate in your family's lives," Williams said.
The credit union also looks for team bonding activities. For example, the company has four season tickets for the Colorado Rockies baseball club. For day games during the work week, the credit union distributes the tickets to employees across different departments.
"It's just a great way away from the office that they can have a beer or two and a hot dog and meet some people from a different branch or a different department and start building those relationships," Williams said.
It has been difficult to keep up for many financial institutions, but among the credit unions and banks retaining the most talent, certain patterns have emerged, said B.J. Berrettini, executive director for the search firm AJ Consultants.
"Throughout many years in executive search, I have never seen a talent economy this competitive, reactive and volatile," he said.
There has been a shift toward retention — instead of recruitment — as the No. 1 priority for many companies. It commonly costs two to three times as much to hire and train new people than it does to keep them, Berrettini said.
"Talent acquisition professionals have been preaching this for years, but I have never seen it embraced as heavily as it has been over the last 12 months," he said.
To retain talent, proactive and agile credit unions and banks have embraced the "stay interview," in which companies basically ask current employees what is keeping them around. It opens lines of communication with valued employees reaching well past a common employee satisfaction survey, Berrettinni said.
What they are finding is that retention benefits offered today need to include remote and hybrid work schedules, reduced sales goals, additional vacation and promotions.
Colorado Credit Union was doing many of these things before 2020, but Williams said the COVID-19 pandemic forced the organization to become even more creative.
"I've been the CEO here for 30 years, and these last two years have been the toughest of my career to manage through," he said.
The credit union is flexible wherever it can be in terms of allowing employees to continue working from home, but most of the staff has returned to the office at least part time. There has been some pushback from employees on that issue, Williams said.
"We did have a little turnover when we asked people to come back into the office," he said. "We kind of drew a line in the sand and tried to be fair to everybody. But it's OK. I understand why it happened."
A culture of inclusion, collaboration and professionalism combined with a transparent path to career progression is usually the formula for retaining and attracting talent in 2022, Berrettini said.
"In the end, quick fixes do not work often and certainly do not work long term. Proactive, outside-the-box strategies on enhancing compensation, benefits, work-life balance and culture are key to winning the war for talent now and for many moons to come," Berrettini said.
Williams said the Colorado Credit Union culture is unique in that the company is laser focused on hiring the right people and then resisting any urge to micromanage them.
"We hire quality people and then we let them run," he said. "They have a lot of flexibility in their jobs, and I think they enjoy that."
