The COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to rapidly adapt their workforce, products, and services to a new reality. For Golden 1 Credit Union ($20.5B, Sacramento, CA), those challenges provided an opportunity to reinvent its IT department and transition to a remote-first model.
Today, only 5% of the credit union’s information technology staff of more than 200 people work on-site full time, 60% of the IT staff is fully remote, and the rest hybrid. Leading that transition is chief information officer Chad Carrington.
Carrington has held the CIO title since May 2022 and has 15 years of progressively responsible roles at Golden 1, including several years as vice president of IT, security, and facilities, his title when the pandemic struck.
Prior to Golden 1, Carrington spent eight years at chip giant Intel, four years as director of off-campus residence halls at Chico State, and two years as a U.S. Marine.
In the past year and a half, Carrington has drawn on that leadership experience to empower his existing staff while bringing in new managers accustomed to leading virtual teams. He also adapted his own leadership style to enable his workforce’s flexibility while staying aligned to the credit union’s strategic vision.
Here, he explains more.
On direct reports and overseeing a large staff …
Within my department [security, information technology, data, communications, corporate services, and facilities], there are more than 200 Golden 1 employees and 40 to 50 staff augmentation resources. I currently have four direct reports.
On ensuring seamless coordination across diverse areas of responsibility …
We created a dedicated IT governance and planning group and have implemented programs at the corporate level to work across all business units.
On significant challenges to managing cross-functional initiatives and how to address them …
Golden 1 has been going through a digital transformation. As part of this, we had to reinvent ourselves in IT. I’ve been intentional about each position within my department to support this change, which has required significant leadership and responsibility changes during the past 15 months.
“My management style is to empower my team to complete necessary work while embracing the fluidity of change that can come in our workplace. This means knowing they may be working on one thing today, something different tomorrow, but all aligned to our organizational business outcomes.”
On keeping the big picture in mind along with the details …
I actively engage across our executive team through an enterprise portfolio management model we established through all lines of business. We regularly connect dots through our governance programs to ensure all IT work supports a key business objective or strategy. Any work that does not align to key business objectives or strategies is set aside.
On management style and how it has changed over the years …
My management style is to empower my team to complete necessary work while embracing the fluidity of change that can come in our workplace. This means knowing they may be working on one thing today, something different tomorrow, but all aligned to our organizational business outcomes. What’s easy about this approach is that IT individuals are always about change, so we find ways to embrace it and help the organization achieve our objectives and goals.
CU QUICK FACTS
Golden 1 Credit Union
DATA AS OF 06.30.22
HQ:Sacramento, CA
ASSETS: $20.5B
MEMBERS:1,104,188
BRANCHES: 65
EMPLOYEES: 2,208
NET WORTH:9.2%
ROA: 0.59%
On remote employees and organization structure …
Currently, approximately 60% of my team is remote, 35% is hybrid, and 5% is on-site full time.
We bring our employees together for monthly and quarterly on-site team building and bonding. This is especially important for our fully remote team members. When our team is working virtually, we sometimes have a “camera on” rule for meetings so people can get to know one another. The flexibility is a great perk, but we also want our team members to feel connected.
On leadership/management adjustments to accommodate the shift for remote employees …
To make the shift to a hybrid and remote team, we had to bring on leaders who knew how to lead in this kind of environment. For those who were not accustomed to leading in a remote or hybrid work setting, we made sure to provide leadership training. We helped them adjust their leadership styles to focus on output-based performance measurement.
Additionally, we had open conversations with team members who were not used to remote work to ensure they were aligned on the direction the organization was moving. Ultimately, we embraced the change and used it as an opportunity to reorganize and restructure roles and responsibilities while bolstering our team with new members who had specific skill sets.
We’ve found our move to a more remote workforce has increased employee engagement and enhanced productivity.
CreditUnions.com’s On Leadership series spotlights notable leaders across the credit union landscape by discovering how they joined the movement, learning what makes them tick, uncovering career lessons and successes, and seeking advice for the future of the movement. Read the whole series today.
On advice for how to lead rapidly evolving technology and operational initiatives while ensuring staff has the tools and motivation to do a great job …
Focus on your members, employees, and goals. Don’t get caught up in the technology but have a good understanding of it and how it can support your outcomes. You need to constantly challenge what you’ve implemented — what you used 18 months ago might not be the best solution anymore. Be open to change, don’t get stagnant, and trust the data.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
