VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -
If that sounds like your dream job, then you might want to look into working for one of the credit unions that told Credit Union Journal about the lengths they will go to in order to recruit and retain the best employees.
CU leaders told of a wide variety of benefits ranging from bring your dog to work day and free massages to dinner with the CEO or spending the cash to create a break room complete with foosball table and old style phone booth for private calls.
Virginia Beach Schools FCU CEO Sally W. Fontenot is the woman who started Bring Your Pet to Work Day at her credit union, but she hasn't stopped with just one program. Fontenot negotiated with a local licensed massage therapist to provide 20-minute long sessions.
If such pampering sounds extreme, Fontenot suggests considering the alternative: unhappy, burnt-out employees who provide lackadaisical (at best) service to members.
"I want people to like working here. Hopefully in turn they'll give our members good service," she said. "Members don't want to see a new teller every day. Members get connected to loan officers and tellers."
Keeping Members, Employees Happy
Keeping employees-and by extension, members-happy also means keeping them healthy. Once a year VBSFCU brings in an ergonomic specialist to examine employee work stations and recommends different ways to work, which minimizes physical discomfort or repetitive injuries. A small library has compact disks or books on motivational or business topics and a clean air specialist helped to create a healthier environment in each branch. Surprise manicures and makeovers for high-performing staff boost their morale and self-image, which Fontenot said is noticed by the membership.
The proof: Fontenot said certain members who've worked with "their" loan officer for years, willingly wait in line to speak with them.
"You can't buy that," she said. "If the employees are happy and appreciated, they'll stay and also give members great service, which is what it's all about."
How does ROI get measured? How about not spending any money to advertise for new employees? Fontenot said the Virginia Beach area is known for CUs and banks swiping each other's quality employees. Potential employees looking for a CU job in the area know $59-million Virginia Beach Schools' reputation for being a good place to work. Fontenot credits her board with backing all of her plans for employee perks and said it had to be part of a CU-wide dedicated plan to succeed at any credit union.
On the West Coast, $6.1-billion Golden 1 Credit Union in Sacramento also offers a broad range of gifts from beach towels to car safety kits, plus leadership programs and the aforementioned foosball table. Golden 1 CEO Terry Halleck said a senior management team created the goal of making the CU a preferred place to work that employees would recommend to others for work, in addition to holding down retention and rehire costs.
The Closet You Want To Be In
Like Virginia Beach Schools FCU, the Golden 1 has some unique programs and isn't afraid to spend money to implement them. Five years ago, Halleck said her managers were asking for a way to reward employees without cash or losing work time from a complimentary day off program. Halleck created a "Recognition Closet" stocked with clocks, coffee mugs, gift cards, CD holders or umbrellas.
"Managers can raid the closet on a whim and give employees a small trinket," Halleck said.
Gift cards with stored value from shops as Starbucks have proved to be most popular as they can be spent when and however employees want. The closet allows managers to decide on their own whom to reward right on the spot, rather than waiting for an "employee of the month" award.
The Golden 1 also took the step of creating a break room in its Sacramento headquarters that is home to 600 employees. With four Internet terminals, foosball table, air hockey table, free popcorn machine and a telephone booth, this is not simply a room with tables and chairs for people to sit down for lunch. So far, Halleck said none of the managers have mentioned any employees spending too much time trying to score a goal.
To the contrary, it's helped build a new level of rapport among all employees-particularly when a team comprised of senior managers was promptly booted out of a foosball tourney in the first round. "It's kind of helped with teamwork. We had departments play other departments," she said.
Two outdoor barbecue grills were built in an outdoor patio for CU department heads to hold cookouts. All of these actions are designed to aid the work environment and keep employees around.
Both Halleck and Fontenot said CUs can duplicate their programs but recommend getting the board of directors involved, proper planning by senior staff and setting specific goals for each program.
