LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — Barb Lyons has a unique insight into the needs of the members in her branch — she used to stand on their side of the counter.
Before Lyons took over as manager of the Little Falls Branch of Mid-Minnesota Credit Union four years ago, she was a member at the same credit union branch. "I went from being on the outside of the teller line to the inside," said Lyons about making a career change to become the manager of the office that serves 5,000 members in this small, rural town of 8,000.
"I always liked this credit union — how friendly the staff were and all of the services it had, and I just enjoyed coming into the branch," she said. "So when an opening for the branch manager position came up, I applied."
The move seemed like a "perfect fit," according to Lyons, who developed a strong background in management working in retail sales over the years. "I had the leadership skills, I just needed to learn more about the credit union."
She already had a head start since her mother worked for Burlington Northern Credit Union in Grand Forks, N.D., while Lyons was growing up. "You could say I was raised to have a good understanding of the credit union difference," Lyons said.
Lyons relied on her staff of eight, many of whom were her friends before she took over as manager, to learn the ropes of the branch and the CU industry. "The leadership part of the job came to me quickly and I had the respect of my team early. It probably took me six to nine months to get an understanding of the operations."
One of the key's to running a successful branch, Lyons has learned, is involving the team closely in the goals of the credit union and then breaking down the branch's role. "I let them know what the credit union is doing and why, and then I share with the staff what our goals are and keep them updated on our progress on regular basis. That gets the team involved and makes them more effective."
The $199-million Mid-Minnesota, based in Baxter, has six branches. The Little Falls office, a large brick building located on one of the town's two main roads, serves "middle-America," Lyons said. "We have a lot of dairy farms and some manufacturing. We also get some tourism, being the home of Charles Lindbergh."
The community has suffered an economic setback, with two large boat manufacturers — Larson Boats and Crestliner — laying off workers beginning a year ago. That not only put members out of work, but affected many small suppliers of the boat plants locally and nearby.
"Our members have been good about coming in and talking with us if they have been impacted by the economy," Lyons explained. "And we are working with them. I think in the long run this will build even stronger bonds with our credit union, which is a great place to do business and work."
This special report on Branch Management is reported by Ray Birch.
