IRVINE, Calif. - Growth is the wrong goal for credit unions.
That is, focusing on growth as opposed to on the things that lead to growth, is the wrong goal, according to Neil Goldman, president of research and consulting firm Member Research, who will share his insight on member growth Credit Union Journal’s Grow Show in April.
According to Goldman, being different for different sake is not enough for any business; the difference must be meaningful to the marketplace.
He said his presentation will combine lessons from members, non-members and employees, as well as studies on organizational leadership and growth.
“I will be talking about why those things are important, and will give credit unions the tools to make them happen,” he said. “My session will be a balance between theory and application–why are these things important theoretically, and how to make a difference.
“I’m pretty excited about this, because I have the opportunity to share some pretty good stuff,” he added. “I will demonstrate a shared vision and value distinction to facilitate growth in the marketplace.”
The four cornerstones for a credit union are: the power and necessity of focus, the employee experience, the member experience, and finding relevant distinction in the marketplace, Goldman continued. He said many of his company’s clients ask questions such as: “How do we grow?”, “What is our purpose?”, and “What is our plan?” Goldman said his shared vision/distinction model, or SVD, demonstrates the how and the why.
The SVD model is in the shape of a pyramid. The first level, he explained, is having a mission statement–a contribution-clarifying identity. This means the mission describes the purpose for existence, what contribution it will make and for whom. The values and culture of the CU build on top of the mission statement.
“Start with the reason for being, the mission statement. The values are the how–how the credit union wants to live to make the mission a reality. The culture is what is really happening: what is the internal experience for the employees, the appropriate ways to think, act and feel.”
When the mission and the values–who the credit union wants to be and how it wants to achieve this goal–are aligned with culture, then a credit union has its best opportunity to be successful.
The top of the pyramid is the member experience, which is built on a successful staff experience. “Happy staff might not directly lead to happy members, but it is very difficult to envision an unhappy staff leading to happy members.”
Net Promoter Score (NPS) comes into play twice in the pyramid–one score for employees and another for members.
“The member experience, on the top, is built on niche, knowing who the credit union serves and not trying to serve everyone. The NPS measures loyalty and growth. Credit unions grow by word of mouth. The NPS asks people what they think: are they a promoter or an advocate of the credit union? Or are they just passively engaged?”
Culture is to employees as branding is to members, he continued. Both are about perceptions and experiences.
“The power of applying this model lies in the relationship between the external and internal brands. They must be aligned to be able to realize external goals. Credit unions must start with the internal brand experience and culture.
“Credit unions must build a tremendous member experience that is ongoing, and built on a clearly defined and exceptional employee experience. This will lead to growth.”
