SIDNEY, N.Y. -
"The number of projects has definitely seemed to increase and intensify over the past several years," explained the vice president of IS at the $247-million CU.
In fact, the projects are so many, and the time is so short, that IS "struggles to get projects out the door when we say we will," said Rutenber.
Rutenber, who has been in IS for 15 of the 21 years he has worked at Sidney FCU, is not alone. Many technology managers are flipping project requests like burgers, as other business leaders across the enterprise look more and more to technology to help cut operating costs and make their jobs easier. And that tall order for automation is hard to digest, several credit union technologists have told Credit Union Journal in the past year.
Rutenber's workload, for instance, has increased by about 10% each year over the past few years, he said. In part, that's because compliance and security risks are rearing their ugly heads more often these days. "We now have to consider compliance and security for every technology that our employees and members touch," Rutenber explained.
On top of that, Rutenber has noticed that the credit union's newer, younger employees like to turn to technology to help them do their jobs better "The younger generation is used to having all the tech," he said.
As a result, Rutenber has compiled an extensive wish list of technologies to satisfy his fellow employees-and himself.
Thus, to some extent, it's Rutenber's own fault that his IT project cup runneth over.
"We're technologically aggressive, and I tend to get a little excited" he said. "We're ambitious with the list of our projects for the coming year. It's neat to see the next 'gotta-have-it' technology out there, and it's very satisfying professionally if you're able to find that tool that really helps employees improve their service to our members or makes life a little easier, or that product that enhances the members' ability to do all of their financial services electronically."
Sidney FCU has employed a number of life-saving strategies in an attempt help IS carry the heavy load, said Rutenber.
About four years ago, the CU created two positions, a full-time vice president of security and a compliance and training coordinator, he continued.
"They help us by ensuring that we don't overlook any compliance or security concerns," he said.
And last year, Sidney employed a separate IT project manager and implemented a project management tool to help the department stay on schedule.
"We now have a formal and intentional project management mindset," said Rutenber. "We can track resource allocation a little bit better and get a better handle on what stage our projects are in. We know where we need to ramp up smaller projects in order to focus on some of the more complex projects. We're closer to keeping on track than we were in the past."
Rutenber is also learning to bite off what he can chew, he said.
"It has been a collaborative effort with the IT project manager," Rutenber explained. "We are prioritizing what's important for the organization. We rated each project for this year on a scale of one to five and then did not include the fives in the final budget process."
SIDNEY FCU TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
SIDNEY, N.Y.-The technology staff of eight at Sidney FCU is currently working on an "aggressive" list of projects that includes, but is not limited to:
* Electronic signatures for loans.
* Optical receipts with member signatures.
* Cross-selling software and a general ledger system that both interface with the core system.
* Internet-protocol ATMs that feature advanced displays; and support for the CU's new business deposit and loan program.
FOR MORE RESOURCES
Read more about the demands place on IT managers at cujournal.com and search the following bolded terms in the archive:
Stress and IT, for a story about how credit union technologists are handling the stresses of the job.
From The Back Room To The Board Room, for a story about the changing role of IT executives at credit unions.
FOR MORE INFO ON THIS STORY
Sidney FCU, www.sidneyfcu.org
