Managing multiple, complex projects can get challenging at $1.9 billion-asset Royal Credit Union in Eau Claire, Wis.
"We've always had long project lists but struggled to deliver and meet our execution dates," said Amy Bauer, vice president of shared product services at Royal. "Our executive team wanted to get out of the weeds and have a group focused on project portfolio and project execution."
So Royal CU top executives decided to create a "Project Management Initiative" run by an operational committee charged with providing a practical framework and prioritize projects as well as resources while keeping all of the credit union's stakeholders informed.
Between May and December 2015, some 16 projects have been successfully channeled through the initiative and been completed, according to Bauer. So far this year, Royal has closed on 14 projects through the initiative and expects to finish eight more by Dec. 31.
A before-and-after comparison of two large corporate projects found a 40% reduction in project meeting hours and associated labor costs. For these two projects that totaled 2,430 hours and nearly $56,000 saved.
Royal CU's initiative has earned the credit union a Best Practices Award from Credit Union Journal.
"An important aspect to a successful project lifecycle is informed and trained team members," Bauer noted. "We have created a comprehensive training program that contains in-house training of project managers, leaders, and all team members. We use eCourses, videos, classroom training, and online job aides."
Training has been provided to about two dozen project managers and 35 project leaders. More than 500 employees have been trained so far on the project management methodology, representing more than 90% of the CU's staff.
Royal's completed projects have resulted in new services offered to members ranging from online banking features to the expansion of the CU's in school credit union program—School $ense.
The initiative has also improved operations, according to Bauer. "We now have the flexibility to respond to acquisition opportunities that aligned with our strategic goals." Just three months after announcing it would acquire Capital Bank of St. Paul, Minn., the deal closed, she noted.
And earlier this month, Royal announced that it had completed its acquisition of the Apple Valley, Minn., office of Deerwood Bank, another deal that went through the Project Management Initiative. The initiative provided a "continuity" that ran through the Deerwood acquisition and allowed the CU to apply "lessons learned" to the process.
The biggest lesson Royal learned from its Project Management Initiative is that getting buy-in from employees for a project of this scope "takes time." Executives have recently finished identifying nine key projects slated for 2017 that are "non-negotiable" for the initiative.
The second lesson learned is that communication with C-suite executives is critical as well as communicating clearly with project managers and team members "to keep them in the loop about the the projects that have been selected."
