ARVADA, Colo.-Eagle Legacy CU used to be a place where employees just picked up a paycheck. Today the credit union is ranked among Denver's top places to work.
The dramatic shift in employee attitude was engineered by engaging staff, hiring the right people, and dramatically reducing turnover. The net result: the CU has reduced its operating expense ratio by more than 50 basis points while maintaining capital at over 10%.
A 78% employee turnover rate seven years ago told ELCU it was time to change its culture and focus on keeping employees, said HR VP Deb Dunning. "Today turnover is 12%."
It took time for the $211-million ELCU to right the ship, engaging in a multi-step plan that took a few years to pull off. The results are not only clear in its improved efficiency, but also in its employee rating. Eagle Legacy has been named one of the Top Ten Best Places to Work in Denver by the Denver Business Journal for the last five years.
The Key Steps
Key steps in the process, Dunning explained, have been changing the culture, completely redoing its employee evaluation process, and instituting a testing system to gauge the potential quality and fit of new hires.
Changing the culture came first, Dunning said. "Our employees were not focused. Most were there to pick up a check. They did not understand how their jobs affected the success of the credit union. There was very little if any unity among different departments and our six branches. We decided we had to find ways to bring people together."
Improving communication was the lynchpin, Dunning said, and ELCU accomplished that through new CEO Roundtables. CEO Sundie Seefried and Dunning host the meetings that are attended by one member from each department and branch. The objective is to foster two-way communication so leadership understands what's on employees' minds and what they need, and to clearly explain to staff credit union goals and why decisions are made. "For example, when we looked at a new benefits package, we explained to those at the roundtable why we were considering making the change, and how it might affect them," Dunning said.
Staff take the information back to their teams and come back to the next meeting with comments and suggestions, which shape credit union's decisions. Dunning said roundtables were held at least once a month in the beginning and now convene quarterly.
"We all have to live by the same rules created by our CEO Roundtable," said Seefried. "This was key in sending a consistent message to staff that this is not just some passing fad, but a true change in the manner in which we do business."
Some Coaching Help
As important as improving communication, Dunning said, was changing the way the credit union evaluates its staff of 74 full-time employees. Dunning said employees were dissatisfied with the year-end review process. So now ELCU relies on regular "coaching" sessions, an ongoing series of meetings between supervisor and employee held once a month or quarter, based on the position, and deliver a score after each session. "This way there are no surprises," Dunning said. "Everything is black and white. When it comes time for salary review, the coaching sessions are averaged out and that determines compensation."
Dunning said the credit union's pay scale is "average" for CUs. Last year raises ranged form 2% to 3%.
Dunning admits it's taken employee time and money to get ELCU where it is today, but it never felt the need to measure, considering the price it was paying for inefficiency and high turnover. "It was ridiculous the amount of time we were spending on hiring and training employees and then they were walking out the door. We determined it cost us $5,000 to $7,000 every time an employee left, depending on the position. The price we have paid to reduce turnover and gain a more knowledgeable, effective, and efficient staff is likely pennies compared with our old costs."
