Many credit unions offer traditionally underserved members an advantage in not just banking, but financial planning. One crucial asset they can offer is financial education, providing not only a way to manage their money but also a way to achieve their financial goals.
In this episode Charlotte Nemec, President and CEO Canopy Credit Union, talks about what community means to a credit union, and how an investment in members helped to grow their lending portfolio.
Join us as Jeff and Charlotte discuss:
- Why HR is more than a sub-function in an organization
- Technology fixes and staffing changes that can help expedite limited time marketing campaigns to bring more members in
- A bold prediction for the future
Why HR is more than a sub-function in an organization
When it comes to the strategic planning and thinking of a company, HR typically doesn’t have a seat at the table — often viewed as more of an administrative function. As a result, most companies, unfortunately, lose out on the opportunities HR can bring.
Companies know that people are their number one asset, and Nemec encourages everyone to change their organizational structure to reflect that sentiment. “I think treating people with dignity and respect as an employer is your number one priority,” said Nemec.
Specifically in the credit union space, employees treated with respect flows directly into the treatment members receive: If an employee is happy to be there, they’ll put in more effort to meet members with grace and are more likely to highlight offerings like educational services to boost credit scores.
Technology fixes and staffing changes that can help expedite limited time marketing campaigns to bring more members in
In celebration of International Credit Union Day, Nemec and her team wanted to do something special for their member community. Looking at what was most needed, they noticed a large group that would benefit from debt consolidation — an offering that members wouldn’t have known about outside of a large marketing campaign.
“This started out as an experiment for International Credit Union Day; having no idea how much demand there was going to be," explained Nemec.
The results spoke for themselves with a turnout rate exceeding Nemec’s expectations by so much that the staff was overwhelmed.
Finding best practices for the limited campaign
Concerned for her staff, Nemec went to work on how to keep the campaign successful, but not overwork her team in the process. After an attempt to expand the campaign to a week didn’t work out, they looked to other solutions to make the day easier for everyone involved.
- Auto decision process: Taking off some of the restrictions, they were able to get applications in and out much quicker.
- Utilizing different staff: Pulling in more people to underwrite, their main focus was to approve the one day loans, reviewing quickly and thoroughly.
- Perks: A food truck was brought in and access to other lunch locations to celebrate the workers on the especially busy day.
- Scheduling: No meetings or out-of-office would take place during that day.
Afterwards, Nemec made an effort to meet with all the teams involved to debrief.
“We ask our team what was successful and what was a failure and take that feedback into consideration. And then circle back with solutions and or reasons behind not being able to change something,” Nemec explained.
A bold prediction for the future
Looking to the future and what will introduce the most change in the financial services industry, Nemec suggests blockchain as one of the biggest contributors, but not necessarily just cryptocurrency.
Blockchain, more generally, can be used for multiple purposes including better mortgage and auto titling. And while the recent FTX demise has introduced a lot of doubt into the space in general, that does not sway her opinion on the future adoption of blockchain technology.
