How A Florida Credit Union Rebuilt Retention After The Great Resignation

When teller turnover began climbing at Community First Credit Union of Florida ($2.9B, Jacksonville, FL), leaders initially chalked it up to pandemic disruption and a tight labor market. But the longer the trend continued, the clearer it became that issues ran deeper.

As the Great Resignation unfolded, annual retention for front-line employees across its 25-branch footprint dropped as low as 69%, prompting difficult but necessary conversations about responsibility, readiness, and culture, says Lori Smith, the cooperative’s chief human resources officer.

“Life had changed with the pandemic; however, we as an organization had not evolved with the shift,” Smith says. “You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.”

Straight To The Source

Instead of guessing why employees were leaving, Community First conducted focus groups that brought together those closest to the work. That included brand-new tellers, senior tellers, and tellers who had progressed into MSR roles, as well as branch and assistant branch managers.

Many teller participants had between six months and one year of tenure, offering perspective on both the onboarding experience and what happened once the training wheels came off. The credit union reviewed exit interview data alongside those conversations to add context.

Smith, who arrived at Community First as the pandemic raged in July 2021, says the goal was simple: go to the source rather than rely on assumptions or anecdotes.

“People closest to the work usually have the best answers,” she says. “We wanted to hear directly from them about their experience.”

The feedback was strikingly consistent, especially around how quickly expectations escalated.

According to Smith: “Our newer team members would say, ‘At Starbucks, they ask me to make coffee. That’s all I do. Here, I’m doing transactions, referrals, pushing lines of credit, and more — and without enough training.’”

The comparison underscored just how complex the teller role had become and how unprepared employees felt in their critical first weeks. The focus groups made it clear that relying on legacy approaches was no longer working and in some cases was contributing directly to turnover.

Those insights inspired Community First to redesign an onboarding experience anchored in a training incubator that blends real transactions with extended support from branch team members and the training and development staff. Rather than moving from classroom simulations straight into high-volume branches, new tellers now build skills in a live-but-supported branch environment with experienced mentors looking on.

Smith says the incubator helps to reduce the anxiety new tellers experience when serving members for the first time while others are waiting and watching across the counter.

“We didn’t want them to feel baptized by fire,” Smith says. “Now we’re investing in them and giving them real experience with a lifeline.”

New hires still complete orientation and other traditional onboarding processes, then start with smaller transactions, learn in real time, and gain comfort before performing independently during peak traffic.

Support Beyond Day One

Notably, support continues after onboarding ends. Leaders conduct formal check-ins at 60 and 90 days, reinforcing engagement and a shared accountability for retention. These conversations are designed to ensure new hires feel connected, noticed, and supported during the period when turnover risk is highest, Smith says.

Within three months of implementing the new onboarding model, teller turnover began to decline. Six months in, Community First revisited the focus groups to assess what was working and where adjustments were still needed. It learned training changes alone were not enough, so it also formalized peer groups among the new team members and leadership check-ins to reinforce connection after onboarding ends.

Branch managers and other leaders now play a defined role in welcoming team members, including the check-ins and sharing accountability for retention beyond HR. Smith says those peer connections matter because early relationships shape whether team members feel noticed and supported.

“Retention stopped being just an HR responsibility,” Smith says. “All leaders play a critical role in creating the environment our team members work in every day.”

Perspective And Opportunity

Community First also expanded onboarding to give new team members a clearer view of the entire credit union, addressing another gap uncovered through feedback. Short presentations from departments across the organization now help new team members understand how all teams support members.

“We wanted to move away from siloed thinking,” Smith says. “We wanted our team members to understand it’s an entire system supporting them and members and see how they fit into that bigger picture.”

That broader context helps front-line employees see long-term opportunity at the credit union rather than a single role.

Results That Changed The Conversation

By the end of 2025, overall retention reached 82% at Community First. Just as important, leaders now view retention as a collective responsibility reinforced through data, relationships, and early engagement.

For Smith, the lesson is clear.

“We should have acted sooner to stop the bleeding earlier rather than waiting until things reached a crisis,” she says. “The evidence was clear. Examining the numbers made it obvious.”

Now, training prioritizes preparation over pressure and sets up employees to succeed.