MADISON, Wis. — Think you're saving money by hiring part-time tellers? Think again.
When the "CUES 2006 Staffing Manual for Credit Unions" Author Dr. Carl Fredrickson took a closer look at part-time staffing at CUs, he was a bit surprised at what he found.
High teller turnover at any financial institution is no secret to anyone. But Fredrickson said part-time teller turnover is in excess of 50% while full-time teller turnover hovers around 15%.
In a legitimate effort to save CU funds, Fredrickson said many CEOs see quite a dollar advantage by hiring part-time tellers. They won't need overtime and the credit union won't have to pay medical or retirement benefits. However, once CEOs see the turnover rate is three or four times higher for part timers, it gets their attention.
"Sometimes they change their minds over it," he said.
This is the first time the manual has devoted an entire chapter to turnover, according to CUES Product and Service Manager Cynthia Robey-Duncomb, who noted, "turnover is actually one of the most popular things people ask about."
The study also found that most turnover is actually skewed toward voluntary separation with employees moving onto greener pastures at other credit unions or even banks. Fredrickson said involuntary turnover, i.e. being fired or laid off, comprises only 2% off employee turnover.
"It's not the case that people are being terminated," Fredrickson said.
Overall, the Staffing Manual lists total credit union industry turnover as decreasing and holding at the 2003 level. Two other interesting aspects of the 2006 Staffing Manual, according to Fredrickson, is the increasing amount of money spent on employee training and how credit unions are searching for new employees. CUs are spending as much as $2,000 per full-time employee per year on both training and travel to training opportunities. Fredrickson said it represents a large expenditure with a large percentage of the dollar amount allotted for online courses and/or college tuition.
"They're committing more resources. It's higher than in the past and growing," Fredrickson said.
Another surprise inside the CUES Staffing Manual: the decreasing number of overall staff, according to Robey-Duncomb. In 1999, she said the average was .63 employees per $1 million in assets with that number lowering each year. For 2006, Robey-Duncomb said for a $500 to $1 billion CU, the number was at .346 per $1 million of assets. The Staffing Manual also shows that mergers and acquisitions that created large credit unions are in turn reducing staff as they use a greater amount of cash, know how and technical information to reduce staff.
"Overall, staff levels keep going down. The larger the credit union, the smaller your staff. They're getting more productivity out of their workers," she said.
The way credit unions have recruited personnel has changed, too, Fredrickson added. The use of mainstream newspapers for job advertising is in decline and that credit unions are opting for a location closing to home: their own website.
Among the other topics the manual delves into for the first time this year:
- Branch staffing-employees per branch and per drive-up lane.
- Supervisory structure of key areas of supervision-tellers, lending, MSRs, IT and branches.
- Improved productivity measures for MSRs-analyzed by members served.
For more information on the CUES 2006 Staffing Manual for Credit Unions:
