BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — It's great to be named one of the best places to work in New Jersey for the last four years, but what XCEL FCU likes even better is the business that satisfied employees drive.
Happy employees equal productive workers who go above and beyond their requirements, making sure members have a great experience every time they walk into the CU, agreed CEO Linda McFadden.
NAFCU named the $155 million XCEL FCU Federal Credit Union of the Year in the $250 million and under asset category.
"We live and breathe our mission statement, which is to provide the highest quality service and deliver affordable products with the utmost integrity," said McFadden, who has guided the credit union each year a leading New Jersey publication has recognized the CU's workplace effectiveness.
The healthy culture is not only driven by the CU's free in-house gym and management's attention to staff's personal and professional needs, but by how staff treat each other, said McFadden.
"We are small group, 42 of us, and we all treat each other well," said McFadden, who thinks staff interacting outside of work improves performance on the job. "We socialize after hours, and I make sure the team has time to socialize on the job. It builds better working relationships."
The CEO believes the strong culture has allowed XCEL to grow during most of the recession and afterward. Net worth hovered near 8% during the downturn, ROA has steadily risen the last four years (73 BPs in 2013), as have assets and net income. Last year the CU turned more than a $1 million profit.
Membership, too, has grown, with McFadden attributing much of that to the credit union's focus on electronic services. The two-branch 18,000-member CU handles 90% of all transactions remotely.
"Our focus on electronic delivery began after the attacks on the World Trade Center," said McFadden about the CU that used to have an office in one of the towers. "We realized, and our members realized, we needed a way to access the credit union in case branches were closed. We changed, they changed, and that's the way things have stayed."
For a credit union that is not large, McFadden said XCEL offers extensive electronic services.
"We have home banking, bill pay, a mobile app, remote deposit capture and 19 of our own ATMs, in addition to being part of the CO-OP ATM network," said McFadden. "Our members really like the reach and convenience those services provide."
And they also like how staff treat them, added McFadden. "As I said, XCEL is a great place to work. Our team really likes doing their jobs."
