NAPERVILLE, Ill.-For a meeting that had no agenda, the recent BarCampBank "unconference" here certainly opened a number of eyes on a wide range of topics.
More than 20 individuals from CUs, leagues, CUNA, vendors and even a community banker came together for BarCampBank, a unique meeting experience to talk about new technology, how to attract Generation Y and this year's greatest challenges. The gathering was based on the larger BarCamp concept, which emphasizes the desire for individuals share and learn in an open environment.
Will Willie, a spokesperson for the Illinois league, which hosted the meeting, explained that the goal was "to bring together credit folks, mostly on an ad-hoc basis, to find out what is new and exciting in the industry as well as do some forward thinking." At the beginning of the day attendees gathered together and signed up to give presentations about their pet issues. A full day of discussion followed with attendees simply walking up to the front of the room for one-hour segments and talking about the issues they felt to be the most pressing to the credit union industry.
"It took on a life of its own, which was really neat to watch. I thought it was a really cool concept," Willie said. "My sense was that those who were in attendance really got a lot out of it and they enjoyed that process of having more freedom and brainstorming as opposed to coming in and listening to a canned presentation. It's highly interactive and they really enjoyed that aspect."
Social media was a central focus of the conference, according to attendee Susan Gleason, sales and marketing manager at Springfield-based Heartland CU. After a topic was introduced, participants split themselves up into two different groups, one for those who were new to the concept being discussed and one for experts. That approach helped everyone to be on the same page and feel like he or she could contribute to the conversation.
Chief among the concerns at many CUs is how to deal with criticism in an open forum. "It's probably one of the main reasons credit unions don't participate in social media; they're not comfortable with how to monitor it or how to respond to negative comments."
Gleason lauded the conference for its very reasonable price, less than $30 per attendee and the relaxed atmosphere. "I get more from talking with other credit union professionals than I do listening to one presenter," she added. "The only thing they could do to improve is to provide more time."
