In today’s post-pandemic world, workers are demanding a better work-life balance and pushing back against the rise-and-grind mentality. Yet, many are still unhappy. According to a November article in the Wall Street Journal, employees are more dissatisfied today than they were during the pandemic. The reasons for this discontent vary, but 2023 saw credit unions across the United States deploying myriad strategies to engage employees and make them feel like part of something bigger.
We know how important employees are — leaders tell us time and time again that happy employees make happy members. That’s why we Callahan & Associates has committed to bringing you, our readers, more thoughtful, inspirational stories of the best HR strategies across credit union land and beyond. In 2024, we’ll dive deep in our newsletters with a renewed focus on encouraging employee engagement and development.
For now, enjoy this selection from the past year. From crafting bigger and better benefits packages to developing tomorrow’s industry leaders, there’s something for everyone.
- Advancial Federal Credit Union is serious about offering fulfilling, rewarding careers for its employees. The cooperative has been named a Best Company to Work for in Texas for 12 consecutive years thanks to its positive work environment, familial culture, and a benefits package based on employee feedback. That package includes several non-traditional highlights, including a flexible $750 benefit that 98% of team members take advantage of every year.
- Dallas-based Credit Union of Texas is committing time and resources to develop a deep bench of talent across all levels of management. Through its new Pathways program, CUTX is identifying and developing rising leaders for both mid-management and senior-level tracks and turning jobs into careers in the process.
- Together Credit Union is so serious about the importance of strong leaders within companies and communities that it sponsored a citywide conference that initially served as a capstone for its internal program, dubbed Kind Leadership Academy. “We wanted it to feel like an external conference,” says Joe Boyer, vice president of human resources at Together Credit Union. “An event like this becomes agnostic in terms of industry and geography when you’re focused on people as your differentiator.”
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been buzzwords in the industry for the past several years, but Greylock Federal Credit Union started its DEI journey in 2015. The credit union has focused on educating its senior management team and board members and has built a roadmap for inclusion, diversity, and equity as well as accessibility. For the broader organization, the credit union provides cultural competency training and encourages the use of a shared vocabulary.
- Teamwork and technology are combining to build a better learning experience at Northwest Federal Credit Union. Taking on the role of the credit union’s first instructional design manager, Jana Chamberlin uses her experience in training and instructional systems design to work cross-functionally and across the organization to advance employee capabilities.
- Inflation was the dominant theme in 2022, impacting every American and becoming a regular topic of conversation around the family dinner table. Making things particularly challenging was the fact wage growth lagged behind inflation. By 2023, however, credit union compensation finally began to outpace inflation, easing some of that strife.
