Because the next generation of credit union employees and members isn't going to cultivate itself, some CUs have created internship programs to recruit new blood.
One credit union that has taken that path is $1.7 billion United FCU.
The St. Joseph, Mich.-based CU's internship program was developed because the institution "struggles with the talent pool here in southwest Michigan," according to Chief Human Resources Officer Cindy Swigert, noting that much of the area's recruiting radius is eaten up by Lake Michigan or consists of small agricultural communities.
The credit union also had concerns about finding talent that would be happy living in St. Joseph—population 8,300.
"There's no mall, there's no club, and the best we have to offer is a couple of wonderful months of summer on this glorious beach—and the rest of the time you get a distinct impression of what 'polar vortex' means," quipped Swigert. "Obviously I'm being facetious, but we wanted to have people used to a small town, looking for a small town and a more rural environment, so that perhaps that would assist us with retention."
Rather than looking to big schools like the University of Michigan or Michigan State University, United turned its eye toward smaller institutions such as Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan University in the state's Upper Peninsula.
"We weren't looking for folks who were looking for bright lights, big city," she said, but were looking for students accustomed to small-town life and a more rural environment. "We were targeting the best-in-class still. We were going to those types of colleges, but looking for the top students in the business school."
One strategy the CU also used was to reach to professors as well as the colleges themselves, including putting together flash drives and printed materials showcasing the credit union and the St. Joseph community.
Not Competing with Google
"That helped a lot of the professors and deans to understand what we're trying to do," Swigert said. "We're not competing with Google and other places [by] coming to these smaller universities. Those types of places are going to the big universities—the Ivy Leagues and MIT. We're not going there. We're getting the best and brightest from Grand Valley. That's what we're targeting, and I think that has really worked out."
Swigert said United FCU has seen success with the program by treating it as an internship—including making sure participants have a specific project to work on and are overseen by senior staff—rather than as summer employment, which can be a drain on the organization's resources during a time when the credit union is already short staffed.
"We test each other out, they produce something that is of value, demonstrate their learning agility, and if that goes well we'll give them a job at the end of the summer," Swigert said of the internship program. "If they accept it, they go back to school for their senior year and then they come work for us when they graduate in May. It's almost like a trial employment period."
United FCU started the internship program in the summer of 2013, and all three interns are now full-time employees in the CU's finance and marketing departments. The student who interned with the student during the summer of 2014 will complete a degree in communications in May, after which she has already accepted a position with the credit union based on a summer spent designing an internal internet site for United.
Where Interns Are 'VPs'
One CU that has seen success with internship programs is North Haven, Conn.-based Connex CU, whose
The VP of Unbanking gig is a year-long paid internship held by a college student in the area, and previous interns have focused on tasks such as social media and blogging, and increasing the credit union's presence at community events.
"It helps us to reach and speak to the Gen Y audience," said Louise Nestor, director of marketing at the $412 million credit union. "Social media is huge, and this gives us somebody in the same generation, that can reach out and speak to them, and bring up topics and communicate with them through Facebook and blogs, and help engage this younger generation into the credit union movement."
Nestor said that window into the younger generation is the main benefit of the internship for Connex, but she added that the credit union has "absolutely" seen an increase in Gen Y engagement.
"We've seen a very strong increase," said Nestor. "A lot of Gen Y members come to us for their first auto loan or first personal loan or first credit card." Since 2011, Gen Y memberships and accounts have increased more than 7% at the credit union, while deposit balances have risen 25% and loan balances are up by 4%. Additionally, Facebook engagement has risen by more than 60% at the credit union.
When it comes to finding interns, suggested Nestor, CUs should home in on students who have the skills and are majoring in an area that is most applicable to the credit union, and be sure not to place students into roles at the institution that aren't suited to their skills.
Additionally, she said, CUs should look for students whose extracurricular activities show signs that they have skills the credit union can use, such as web design skills or team management.
"You're looking for somebody who's a leader not afraid to think outside of the box and is willing to investigate and check out new ways of reaching the whole community," she said.
265 Interns Since 2001
While many sources interviewed for this story said the number of credit unions hosting internships is on the rise, internships are on the decline at the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC).
According to Bert Hash, president and CEO at MECU of Baltimore and emeritus president of the AACUC, participation in the coalition's internship program has slowed during the last five years
"At one time I could count close to 30 or 35 interns every year and we're now more down into the teens," Hash told Credit Union Journal. "This year it was quite a dip—closer to nine or 10."
Hash said the drop in participation was both the result of cutbacks at credit unions and elsewhere in the financial services industry due to the economy, but also because more and more college programs are requiring internships for students.
"So now we're competing with some of the credit unions that have expanded, and they're getting request from others to support internship programs as well," he said. Staff turnover at universities has also played into the decreasing numbers.
Despite the decline, since 2001 the AACUC program has hosted 265 interns from 43 colleges and universities, and Hash says that if nothing else, participating credit unions get a new young member.
"They get an opportunity for them to understand the opportunity for them that exists in their career," he said. "And many of them, quite frankly, may not have heard of a credit union and the opportunity for them to learn more about the history of credit unions and the industry and the movement, and the opportunity for [participating CUs] to get individuals that do provide very valuable support positions within the industry during [their internship]."
As much as 20% of the interns AACUC placed went on to get jobs within their credit unions, said Hash, noting that the coalition in particular was very successful with bringing interns into marketing, accounting and lending departments.
Small Investment, Big Payoff
While most sources for this story admitted that there is always the risk of the internship not working out or of spending time training interns about the CU movement and the organization's culture, most said that the reward is worth the risk.
"When we hire these interns, what happens is they really come in at member services pay," added Lynette Smith, president and CEO at Washington Gas Light FCU in Springfield, Va., and Chairman of the AACUC. "They're not really very expensive jobs. So to me as a CEO, it's no more of a revolving door of investment and time than you would invest in a member service rep." Plus, she said, even if the student doesn't end up staying at the credit union beyond their internship, past AACUC interns have gone on to work for such companies as Accenture, which indicates that they are staying in the broader financial services field.
"We have helped them," she said. "They'll get the opportunity, you never know, maybe to come back into our industry if the opportunity presents itself."
United FCU's Swigert added that internships are often a better "test run" for employees than the traditional hiring process.
"I would rather try somebody out for 90 days and part ways amicably at that point in time than hire somebody into a position that's not as closely evaluated as frequently as the internship program is, and find that this person's not working out," she said.
