CHARLOTTE, N.C.—A trio of employees at State Employees CU here say they are flouting convention with their on-the-job loyalty.
"We're three people that aren't job hoppers. We live in a job-hop world; I guess we're bucking the trend."
That's Bob Bruns, CEO at the 40,000-member, $289 million credit union, who—along with CU Ambassador Shirley Floyd and CFO Karen Pellow—is celebrating thirty years with CMCU this year. Bruns came to the credit union—known in those days as Charlotte City Employees Credit Union—having been a credit union examiner for the state of North Carolina. Charlotte City Employees didn't have a CEO at the time, and Bruns was asked to oversee things and report back to both the board and the state. "I did that for a few months, fell in love with Charlotte and the credit union, and I got [the job]."
On Bruns' first day as CEO—at the ripe old age of 27—Karen Pellow was starting as a temp employee. She had recently relocated to Charlotte from outside of Philadelphia, and hadn't even unpacked when she was called in to start as a part-time bookkeeper at the credit union after having worked as a small business owner.
Shirley Floyd crossed over from the banking sector, having spent time at First Union Bank (now Wells Fargo) in the customer service and credit authorization departments. Then in her early thirties, she said, "I decided to try to make a career change; it was absolutely one of the best things I've done in my whole entire life."
Both women had their reasons for sticking around at the credit union. For Pellow it was the fact that there "was always something new and exciting" going on due to the fact that CEO Bruns kept the CU "not just on the cutting edge, but on the bleeding edge" of technology. Floyd cited the family-like atmosphere among the staff and the members, along with the opportunity to work her way up the ranks from a teller position.
Bruns, on the other hand, had other reasons for sticking around.
"I came in as CEO, so there was nowhere for me to go elsewhere," he quipped, before getting serious. "Once you get credit union in your blood, you just can't shake it. It becomes a part of you. I enjoyed the people I worked with, and I enjoyed serving the members. You don't make as much money maybe as in the banking industry, but you get a whole lot more warm fuzzies by working for a not-for-profit cooperative that returns profits back to its members. That in itself gives you a really good feeling."
Three Decades Of Change
With $289 million in assets today and eight branches throughout the region, the CU has grown significantly in the last three decades. When the three 30-year veterans began, the credit union had only 4,000 members and $8 million in assets.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the trio said that the biggest change in the last three decades has been technology and how that has altered members' expectations.
"When I came we had a computer system, but only tracked shares and loans; it did not take care of other items," recalled Bruns. "We were half computer, half manual ledger. We didn't know that we were technologically challenged at the time, but boy has it changed."
Floyd recollected that members would call in the morning with their withdrawal requests, the CU would note it in the ledger and submit those requests at noon so that members could come pick up their money that afternoon. "Going from manual to now this two- to three-second technology and bringing our membership along, and helping to educate them with this new technology is wonderful."
CMCU abandoned the manual ledger in 1984.
"I think expectations have increased as we have gotten larger," said Pellow. "Now you can't afford for your computer system to be down or not to have the same technology as the banks or the same services. [Members] don't really want to know that you're small or the size of some bank branch that's the size of us as an entity. They want full service and connectivity 24/7."
One thing that hasn't changed, insisted Bruns, is the principles behind running a credit union, including a singular focus on the member.
"One thing I have remained impressed with within the credit union industry," said Pellow," is the cooperation within credit unions. I would say that there's still credit unions out there willing to reach out and help each other, and I find that's still refreshing, whereas in other industries I'm sure that's not true at all. I know we've hired several people from the banking industry and that's not true there at all."
Attracting The Next Generation
While much ink has been spilled about how CUs can attract new, younger members, a similar challenge facing the movement is attracting the next generation of leaders within credit unions. With nearly 100 years of credit union service under their collective belt, the CMCU trio offered a few pointers to a career in CUs.
"I haven't worked in a bank, but I've heard that the environment is a bit more cut-throat," said Bruns. "And it's a bit more volatile in terms of banks expanding and contracting routinely, so whether your job has any security or not is in jeopardy at a bank usually—particularly if the bank has grown a lot or has to make layoffs. Most credit unions do not have those dramatic changes."
Pellow and Floyd noted that CUs also often present more opportunities for advancement—not just within the organization, but within the industry as a whole.
"One thing is that you're not siloed," said Pellow. "So many times when we interview people coming in from the banking world, they have a small niche of what they did. [In credit unions] you get the 360-degree picture, not just 'I'm sitting at my desk in front of this terminal processing this paperwork.' You get an understanding of the mission of the organization."
That wealth of opportunities, they said, is one of the greatest benefits to them during their respective 30 years at the credit union.
"I'm just thankful for the opportunities to work with such a good group of individuals who have stayed around and not run from any challenges," said Floyd.
"I still enjoy coming to work every day as much as I did on the first day when I started," said Pellow.
Bruns cited the appeal of "working for an institution that does the right thing for its members" as what he's most proud of during his three decades at CMCU. "If you read the paper, you see the banks don't always do that. They've been guilty of a few shenanigans here and there. You simply don't hear that about credit unions. It's a really good feeling when you can take a business that is geared toward that and grow it."
