Social Media's Impact On Financials Growing
ATLANTA-It's no wonder more financials are looking to social media, including blogs, podcasts, social networks, and video sharing sites, for advertising opportunities. A new study from SYNERGESTICS has found that nearly one-tenth of Internet households have made a serious financial decision based on advertising or information they have gotten from some type of social media source. Although wider among 18- to 34-year-olds, as would be expected, response is actually quite stable among those ages 35 to 64.
"Social media channels enjoy heavy traffic and have a large reach, making the potential impact of these new channels significant," said CEO William McCracken. "However, the interactive nature of many of these channels and sites-containing user-posted content, comments, and discussions-will make it necessary for providers to develop strategies for integrating them into their marketing programs."
CUNA Survey: CU Training Budgets Are Rising
MADISON, Wis.-More credit unions have a training budget and the amount of that budget has increased significantly, according to the results of a recently released CUNA survey.
According to the 2008-2009 Staffing and Space Survey, published by CUNA's Center for Research and Advice, more than 70% of credit unions with $10 million or more in assets have a 2008 training budget, up from 64% in 1999. Among these credit unions, the average 2008 training budget was $46,561-a substantial increase over the average budget reported in the 1999 study: $26,348.
"With the prevalence of talent shortages, a credit union's success likely could depend on how well employees are groomed for management and key positions, making training more important than ever," said Beth Soltis, senior research analyst for CUNA's Center for Research and Advice.
"However, some organizations overlook non-management or lower-level positions, and doing so could undermine retention and recruitment efforts," said Soltis. "Credit unions should remember to ensure that training and development opportunities are available to all employees not only to improve efficiency and sharpen skills, but also to uncover leadership traits and discover hidden potential."
The study said it appears many credit unions are ahead of the curve when it comes to staff education, as training dollars were distributed fairly evenly in 2008, with 35% allocated to management and 36% to non-management employees. The remaining 29% went to train volunteers.
CUNA said the Staffing and Space Survey examines key staffing levels for business lending, consumer lending, collections, tellers, and service areas. It also analyzes office space issues; training, recruiting, and human resources expenses; telecommuting; and outsourcing. Data was broken down by asset size, region, number of members, number of branch offices, number of full-time equivalents, number of full-time employees, number of part-time employees, and number of services offered.
For info: advice.cuna.org or call 800-356-8010.
