AUGUSTA, Maine — When a "determined" member finally stopped into cPort Credit Union last fall to order new checks, branch manger Beth Osborne realized the issues with the CU's name change were about over.
The member, one of a small group who refused to order checks that carried the credit union's new name, finally believed the $121-million CU was "heading in the right direction," said Osborne. As branch manager, Osborne worked closely with members when the CU went community three years ago and changed its name from Government Employees CU of Maine. "It was a good feeling to see that member walk in, because it had been a challenging time for the branch."
The name change was made a year after Osborne took over as branch manager of the Augusta location. While Augusta is the state's capitol, Osborne described the town as a "small city that wants to be big. It's divided by the Kennebeck River. On the east side you have the residential area, and on the west it's the businesses. The good thing about the small city is that it has one main drag between the two sides and we are right on it."
The concern over the name change primarily resulted from a number of changes occurring at the credit union at once, and members became wary that the CU might become "bank-like," Osborne said. "We had just hired a new CEO, we went community, and changed our name. Members wondered what's going on down there at the credit union?"
That concern forced branch managers to do member education. Osborne sat down with numerous members simply to dissect the name with them. Members were concerned the CU was losing its identity, and that the name did not describe what the credit union was about-friendly, hometown service, Osborne explained.
"They were concerned that the name, when you pronounce it, sounds like the credit union is located on the sea, and we are not. The 'C' in the name, as I explained to our members, stands for community and caring, and 'port' stands for the port you come home to every day."
Osborne said members eventually understood the CU was not straying from its roots. It was simply adding more services with the same personal approach to doing business, she said. But to get members to that point, Osborne had to do some convincing of her own team of eight.
"If you do not have your team aligned with the new identity, then the change is never going to work in your branch," she said. "That's why I spent a good deal of time with them in the beginning, explaining why the credit union was changing its name and how members and the community would benefit. I had a few members of my team who I had to work with. But when we opened the doors when we became cPort, everyone was on board and they have been ever since."
The change was aimed at promoting growth, and the CU has grown by $23 million in assets in the last two years. "We are growing while growth at other credit unions in this area has leveled off, and even declined," Osborne pointed out.
This special report on Branch Management is reported by Ray Birch.
