South Carolina Federal Credit Union doesn’t just hire employees for jobs. Rather, said CEO Scott Woods, the CU offers careers to “exceptional individuals” who want to make a difference.
“We offer education assistance in the form of tuition reimbursement for employees who seek to further their education at local colleges and universities,” said Woods. “We encourage activism in our local credit union league…We educate employees about legislation that affects the credit union industry and we encourage employee participation in local networking events.”
South Carolina FCU ranked No. 2 overall in the Best Credit Unions to Work For 2018 and No. 1 among CUs with assets of $1 billion or more.
Selected staff are tapped as High-Potential Employees (HPEs) and participate in a three-year program designed to develop them as leaders within the organization, explained Woods. This process includes participating in public speaking and business communication courses, strategic thinking activities, leadership book clubs, projects that contribute to the credit union’s balanced score card, formal mentorships and conferences provided by our credit union league.
“Through our Career Services/Talent Mobility initiative, 70 percent of employees completing their third year in the HPE program last year received internal promotions as a result of these efforts to provide extra development opportunities,” Woods said.
Across all ranks of the North Charleston, S.C.-based credit union, Woods sponsors various venues for employee communication with management, including “Woods Wire” where employees can reach out directly to him.
“We have an open door policy at each management level and we conduct several employee surveys each year,” said Woods.
Founded in 1936, South Carolina Federal Credit Union supports 19 branches and more than 156,000 members with $1.7 billion in assets.
