GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — One key element that separates credit unions from their competitors is the skills, talents and experience of their employees.
But CUs will find it a major challenge to retain them this year, warn industry experts. "We are trying to manage an aging workforce," said Nora Swart, SVP-talent for $3.4 billion Lake Michigan CU in Grand Rapids. "As boomers retire we are hiring millennials. Our workers today want growth and challenge. They want high engagement at the workplace, they want mobility and they want technology."
For several years CUs have noticed their members are demanding to be treated as individuals, said Swart. Now, she said, the workforce is doing the same.
CUs need to leverage the strengths of their workforce, they need to find and develop leadership, and they need to use technology in HR, said Swart, who is also a member of the executive committee of the CUNA HR/TD Council.
At Lake Michigan, the HR department uses Twitter not just to send random job opening announcements, but also to share tips on how to find a job, tools for better listening and other useful information.
"If we help someone, then they might think well enough of us to want to work here," said Swart.
Continual Process
Bob Davis, SVP of human resources for $5.1 billion VyStar CU, Jacksonville, Fla., said CUs must have a "continual process" in place to find the talent they need for growth.
"The employment picture really varies around the county. In some areas there are plenty jobs, but there are not enough qualified candidates, while in other places there are not enough jobs to go around," said Davis, chair of the executive committee of HR/TD Council. "So relocation and training will be key issues in 2015, along with promotion from within."
Relocation must take into account the level of the job, according to Davis. He said many non-exempt positions may be filled from the CU's geographical area, but at the managerial level some jobs may need a wider search — particularly for mortgage and IT jobs.
"It is important to find talent not only for today, but to move the organization forward through growth," he said.
Training also is important to ensure staff can better serve members and better perform operational aspects, said Davis. Though some small CUs can bring individuals into one training center, he noted larger, decentralized institutions may need a traveling trainer.
Market Has Switched
Chuck Fagan, president and CEO of CUES (Credit Union Executives Society), Madison, Wis., said retention needs to be the key HR strategy in 2015.
"The market has switched to the employee side," Fagan said. "CEOs are coming from other places besides the CFO office — from marketing, from lending. Credit unions need to craft retention strategies that include cross-training. They need initiatives that will advance the business to get employees involved in big picture stuff. The credit union needs to engage employees in all different areas."
Part of the reason for this switch, Fagan said, is because the economy has improved and different organizations are aggressively recruiting employees.
Fagan said some CUs are making their branch network as efficient as possible. As such, he predicted there will be more universal employees, rather than tellers and lending officers.
"It will be like an Apple store, where any employee can help any member," he said. "That means credit unions will have to hire people with different skill sets and will have to do a lot more training, rather than just hire and train a person to be a teller."
While some credit unions are collaborating on IT and on core platforms, Fagan believes the same trend will be seen in HR. He said several credit unions will use the same payroll provider or recruiting service.
"This trend will be slower to develop, but we are seeing it in different areas," he said. "Credit unions recognize performance is important to them competing in the marketplace, so they have to have employees have the best training. They are investing more in training and talent development."
Millennials Already Here
Millennials are 80 million strong and will have a "huge impact" on the future, said VyStar's Davis, who noted some have entered the workforce already as they have graduated high school and college.
"They are quite talented. They do things with technology easily that others struggle to do," he appraised. "But they want to be a part of something. They want to be part of an organization that they contribute to."
To accommodate Millennials, CU policies and procedures may have to become more flexible which Davis said is "not a bad thing."
"Most of us are traditionalists, but would love to work from home a day or two a week to get projects done while away from the office. With technology this can be accomplished."
While many credit unions today insist all of their employees be in a brick-and-mortar office, Davis predicted "more progressive" CUs will see the value of staff working from home, from both a talent perspective and a cost perspective.
"It will become more commonplace as credit unions realize they can save money on rental space. Banks are structuring their business in that way, so if we do not follow some of our people will go elsewhere. That goes back to recruiting the available talent pool."
Many credit union HR people are looking for progressive ideas, Davis insisted. He said some are willing to let people work from home, but others still need to make strides. "Obviously the member service representatives need to be in the office, but many back-office tasks could be done remotely."
Flexibility Is Key
Dr. Brandi Stankovic, partner at Las Vegas-based credit union consultancy Mitchell, Stankovic & Associates, also said flexibility will be an important HR issue this year.
"I would like to see credit unions offer more flexibility in scheduling, and in benefits," she said. "There needs to be competitive compensation to attract and retain talent."
CUs need to allow people to turn on dormant talents and not be pigeon-holed, Stankovic continued. She urged management to allow the next-level executives attend conferences. "Every major credit union conference is all CEOs," she observed.
Stankovic foresees a trend toward "whole health" in 2015. She said HR will be responsible for making employees feel the "whole person" matters.
Stankovic would also like to see an emphasis on emotional intelligence. She said more CUs need to grasp the importance of unifying elements, such as all-staff rallies.
"Many talented execs are leaving the industry or getting jobs with vendors. I think this is because credits unions are not 'sexy' places to work," she asserted. "Credit unions are behind on the flexibility and customization of the workplace. This is not an issue for millennials, it is an issue for employees."
According to Stankovic, employees will not be the only focus in 2015. With the continuing flood of retiring baby boomers, she is concerned about the leadership transition.
"There are a lot of retirements going on. Who is taking over?" she asked. "With the retirement of influential CEOs, the industry needs relationship transference."
Building Culture Through PRIDE
Lake Michigan CU's Swart said her institution's passion is creating a corporate culture.
"We want to attract the best and brightest employees, and culture is everything for us," she explained. "Credit unions need to distinguish themselves through culture and engagement. Employees who feel they contribute are loyal."
The CEO of Lake Michigan CU creates a quarterly video to talk about how employees performing their jobs well contribute to its bottom line. Swart said this helps the retention rate, the member experience, productivity and internal mobility.
"We believe we have to stay flexible, which means cross-training," she said. "Everyone is a leader in some capacity, so we teach that you do not have to have a leadership role to be a leader. Every employee is empowered to make a decision."
The staff at Lake Michigan CU helped identify its culture. Employees gave input and then agreed to it, which Swart said leads to them buying into it. Employees are trained in the CU's culture from the onboarding process — but she said other credit unions can do this if the leadership buys in.
"The CEO needs to commit to the credit union's culture. Step two is to survey the staff to see what they think the culture is at the moment. We used focus groups to affirm what the staff felt what we needed to focus on. We came up with an acronym: PRIDE.
P = Passionate
R = Respectful
I = Innovative
D = Dependable
E = Empowered
"We do not take this lightly," Swart continued. "We put it back to the employees that they would live by it. We are passionate and respectful with the members and with every employee we work with."
