IOWA CITY, Iowa-Lisa Fitzpatrick doesn't mind avoiding mid-day traffic in Linn County, Iowa, and not hearing the slamming of her car door as often.
The VP and regional branch sales and service manager oversees three offices of the University of Iowa Community CU, managing staff, setting branch goals, and pinch hitting on the front line when needed. It's a busy job, and one she says she's happy to have refined since she took the role in 2011.
"I had to find a balance in my day, find ways to do less traveling between locations," said Fitzpatrick. "When I started I would often spend half days at the offices, which meant a lot of driving. The branches are not spread that far apart, within a five-mile radius of each other, but all that shuffling around made the job hectic."
Today, unless plans dictate otherwise, Fitzpatrick spends full days at each office. "I set my days around the needs of each location. It's easier to do that now, since I have not had much turnover in staff."
One of the advantages of overseeing three offices, according to Fitzpatrick, is that employees have very close contact with someone in the credit union who makes many of the business decisions. That, along with Fitzpatrick's direction to take the initiative when she is not there, leads staff feeling empowered to make their own decisions.
"That is what this model is intended to do-empower staff," she said. "I let the team know that when I am not there that they are the ones making the underwriting and loan approval decisions, for example. I feel it's like we are running our own business. It works. The branches are doing very well."
Fitzpatrick oversees the $2-billion UICCU's offices Southwest Cedar Rapids, its Hiawatha location, and the credit union's newest office in Marian. Based in Iowa City, UICCU has nine branches overall. "We do a very good job of sharing best practices between the offices, so we learn a lot from each other."
The account executives and branch managers report directly to Fitzpatrick. "I like the change of pace that working with three offices brings-seeing all the different personalities, and the challenges and goals of each branch."
But Fitzpatrick also likes her branches to be uniform. "Overseeing three locations allows me to make sure the member experience is the same no matter which branch a member visits."
Fitzpatrick assumed her current role in 2011, after working for a local bank as a branch manager for many years. "I like what I do here, helping members improve their lives. We have the best product in town-great rates. I enjoy coming to work every day. I could not say that about three years ago when I was at the bank. You never know until you make the move and see for yourself the differences between a credit union and a bank."
