MADISON, Wis. — The CUNA Councils have released a host of new white papers exploring in-depth issues, from membership growth to running a one-person IT department.
An Analysis of Organic Membership Growth
Membership growth has seen an uptick over the past year, but much of it stems from consumers put off by problems in the banking industry, rather than from homegrown efforts on the part of credit unions. In a new white paper from the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council titled "Organic Membership Growth," author Jim Jerving delves into why credit union membership was declining until very recently, including the growing number of choices available to consumers, and an outdated image of what credit unions are and whether they are sophisticated enough to handle complex products.
The paper notes that SEG development remains a strategy that a number of growth-oriented credit unions share for a variety of reasons, and shares advice from successful SEG CUs. The paper further notes that "trust is the currency that credit unions have over banks and other financial institutions, especially after the large scale fraud and dishonesty perpetuated on the American public during the past several years."
The paper further explores the role of community involvement and successful marketing programs that target younger members, in addition to noting that "shock marketing can have a place in the industry if done correctly with the right formula and conditions."
How To Go Green, & Not Just 'Greenwash'
Tips for successfully incorporating green initiatives into a credit union's brand and image are offered in a new white paper from the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council. The paper, "Going Green — A Marketing Perspective," provides insights into the process of building a "demonstrated foundation of commitment to environmental stewardship in order to avoid potential backlash from environmental groups, who are educated in such matters and vigilantly watch for unsubstantiated or inflated promotion of green efforts — also known as greenwashing," according to the Council.
"To avoid the quicksand of greenwashing, credit unions should develop a big picture mentality about environmental stewardship that incorporates what they have done, what they are doing, and what they could do in the future before launching a green marketing campaign," explains the paper.
"There's a lot of suspicion particularly among young people about slapping something up against the wall and calling yourself green," said Kim Deppe, VP-marketing for Community First CU in Jacksonville, Fla.
Tips for the One-Person IT Department
The challenges and rewards of running a single-person information technology (IT) department are featured in "Drinking from a Firehose: Running a Successful One-Person IT Department," released by the CUNA Technology Council. The paper looks at how to leverage time and talents to create effective credit union operations by examining key factors such as: time management, project planning, prioritizing tasks, and outsourcing. It also offers ideas for getting in front of the CEO and top management and expanding the role in budgeting and planning, even when the exec is essentially on call 24/7.
Opportunities In Credit Cards Are Foreseen
A new white paper on credit cards suggests that as many banks are forced to retool their business models due to recently passed legislation that limits certain predatory lending practices, credit unions should tout their continued use of consumer-friendly credit card pricing.
The paper, from the CUNA Lending Council titled, "Credit Cards: Strategies for Managing Your Program Actively and Structuring it for Success," examines various ways that credit unions can structure and manage a credit card program for success, with more detailed focus on active management and proper program structure, card program enhancements, marketing, fraud prevention, cost containment, and industry trends.
"Credit union management must make their card programs core products if they are to succeed," said Lloyd Gill, lending council chair and EVP of City County CU in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "By structuring their credit card programs correctly, credit unions can add features and benefits that enable them to compete effectively in the market."
In the paper, Bob Hackney, president of Card Services for Credit Unions in Clearwater, Fla., offers credit unions this advice: "Most credit unions are concerned with minimizing expenses and losses right now, but it's still important to focus on driving revenue. Focus on doing portfolio reviews, revalidating credit limits, and setting appropriate rates based on a risk-based lending model, rather than on doing new solicitations."
How to Prepare On-The-Job Trainers
In a paper titled "Meeting the Challenge of Preparing On-the-Job Trainers" from the CUNA HR/TD Council, an explanation of how to successfully prepare trainers to assume a high level of responsibility and communicate basics effectively to new hires is offered. The white paper also details important qualities for successful trainers to have and considerations for selecting a trainer, with specific guidance on issues and challenges impacting on-the-job trainers and their trainees. Among those challenges: Reducing risk of errors by new hires during member transactions; Training new hires at a comprehensible rate that also meets managerial expectations; Preparing trainers to effectively communicate concepts to both individuals and small groups, and meeting system-wide changes in a short period of time, such as a core conversion.
Breaking Up & Making Up
Two white papers offering tips on successfully competing against decoupled debit as well as how to create strategies to build core deposits that building member relations in two white papers have been released by the CUNA Operations, Sales, and Service (OpSS) Council. Decoupled debit allows third-party card issuers to grant debit cards to credit union members and process transactions through their member checking accounts and the automated clearing house network, and is examined in "The Decoupled Debit Dilemma." The second paper, "Scoring at the Core: Strategies to Build Core Deposits — And Member Relations" outlines the core deposits that are at the center of credit unions'
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Information on all of the CUNA Council white papers can be found at
Additional white papers and other information can be found on CUJournal.com
