Visa Inc. is set to contribute $1 million to fund the Filene Research Institute's "Center of Excellence for the War for Talent.”
Acording to Filene, the goal of the partnership is to “fuel critical research surrounding the issue of attracting and retaining talent in the credit union industry.”
The research center, which will be led by Filene Fellow Dr. Sekou Bermiss, assistant professor of management at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, will focus on “attracting, developing, and promoting top performers within credit unions, from the front-line to the board table.”
“Recruiting and retaining top talent in credit unions is key to keeping our movement strong and our mission long-lived,” Andrew Downin, managing director of research at Filene, said in a statement. “We’re especially thrilled to have the generous support of Visa to make this research a reality. Their participation will help bring to life insights that allow credit unions to better compete in the talent marketplace.”
Oliver Jenkyn, group executive of North America at Visa Inc., added that this “important research will generate the insights and data needed to help the industry recruit and attract the best and brightest talent. We hope the research will cultivate fresh thinking and innovation that will empower the entire industry for decades to come.”
Among the initial tasks for the center: investigating recruitment tactics that can best attract talented candidates who share the credit union social mission.
“While the tagline ‘our people are our best asset’ is espoused by many organizational leaders, the implementation of this simple principle is remarkably complex,” said Bermiss. “The War for Talent research center provides a powerful platform to share insights to help improve both the quantity and quality of job applicants.”
The War for Talent research center will host its first colloquium on September 14, 2017 in Austin.
