The contact center at University Federal Credit Union ($4.2B, Austin, TX), splits approximately 65 employees between phone and digital channels. As part of the member service department, the contact center is evolving along with the larger institution.

“Our headcount depends on where the organization is with our digital and self-service tools,” says Becca Pike, director of member services. “We’re still building the foundation of our digital transformation, so our headcount is fairly consistent today with what it has been historically, although I see that shifting as we see what volumes come in through which channels.”

UFCU typically starts all contact center staff in the phone channel so they can build a solid understanding of the organization’s systems and its sales and service model. As employees build on that foundation, gain confidence, and learn to appreciate the empathy needed, they can then shift to digital channels.

Similarly, GreenState Credit Union ($11.2B, North Liberty, IA) splits its team of 60 between phone and digital channels, with the latter group focused on chat, email, and ITM service. The credit union serves more than 400,000 members across branches in three states; the contact center alone supports approximately 50,000 interactions each month.

Staffing is split roughly 60/40 based on where the growth is at any given time. If the credit union is deploying ITMs, for example, it’s likely to increased hiring on the digital side. If it has released new products and expects an influx of phone calls, it’s likely to staff up the call side.

To create pathways for advancement and avoid turnover, GreenState employs three levels of contact center specialists that take on higher-risk tasks — from credit card advances and mortgage and wire calls to eventually call monitoring, quality assurance, training, and more. And to reassure staff that AI and automation won’t be taking their jobs, GreenState is upskilling specialists for more complex needs beyond what is now level three.

“Our North Star is always going to be member experience and reducing friction, but our star right next to it is employee engagement,” says Amy Stevens, senior vice president of member experience.

Out west, Desert Financial Credit Union ($9.5B, Phoenix, AZ) has slightly more than 150 contact center employees to serve its more than 500,000 members. It divides that group into four different teams, including service — which is the largest group with the highest turnover — sales, digital, and member loyalty. That latter is focused on member retention.

Desert Financial expects the sales team to generate at least four times the monthly revenue of a branch salesperson, and the contact center drives approximately 60% of the credit union’s lending support. Christina Mijares, assistant vice president of the member engagement center, staffs for specific teams and says moving to a universal model would change staffing needs for the entire contact center.

Integration And Food For Thought

Contact center leaders often struggle to help their staff members feel they are a part of rather than apart from the rest of the organization.

GreenState runs a relatively lean team, and Stevens says she has “lots of champions embedded in business units” across the credit union, which ensures the executive leadership team knows what’s happening in the contact center.

Stevens’ team also has monthly liaison meetings with cards, marketing, collections, and other departments to understand what’s happening in those areas. That not only keeps the contact center up to date but also creates growth and integration opportunities for those employees. Executive leadership also listens to calls every month to get a sense of what members are reaching out about.

“Senior leadership gives a lot of shout outs to this team, and it wasn’t always this way,” Stevens says. “Contact centers can have a negative connotation, and we’ve been able to garner respect.”

At UFCU, Pike says there’s a clear understanding that the contact center is the intake for the credit union.

“We’re the place people go if and when a journey broke,” she says.

That requires a high level of awareness about what’s going on across the organization. If members reach out and the contact center doesn’t know what’s going on, that doesn’t instill a high level of confidence, the director says.

To mitigate that risk, contact center leaders regularly meet with staff in key departments. For example, they meet monthly with branch and payments leaders because service inquiries frequently relate to those departments.

Desert Financial’s quarterly “Food For Thought” sessions bring in senior leaders across different departments to eat lunch and observe the contact center to gain a better understanding of how their work affects the contact center.

“Doing that repetitively and being consistent about it has created more awareness,” Mijares says.

A quarterly contact center newsletter also helps keep the entire institution informed about what’s happening there, and Mijares makes sure to mix data with photos to deepen the connection to the center.

Building Culture

The cadence of contact center work is different from the branches or back office, where there are more opportunities for employes to chat and form relationships. Because the contact center has a much faster rhythm, Mijares says she’s intentional about building a culture that matches the rest of the organization yet support contact center requirements.

“You cannot overstate how critical that onboarding process is,” she says. “It’s uncomfortable for people to take a call, have no idea what it’s going to be, and be unprepared. The call center onboarding experience is a game changer. It’s make or break.”

Since staffing the contact center can often feel like running a complaint line, UFCU’s Pike says internal culture is important.

“All of us are in it together,” she says. “How we support one another — from phone reps to leadership — is a crucial part of how we’re empowered to solve issues.”

No matter how technology, consumer preferences, or regulatory agendas change, Stevens at GreenState says culture and a laser focus on the member-service mission is critical.

“As long as you have that, you can weather whatever changes you go through,” she says. “The people on the team need the mindset that we’re going to collect feedback, do something about the feedback, and improve on that while at the same time ensuring the member that their voice was heard.”

The post The 3 C’s Of Contact Center Success appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Completed in 2021, the Texas cooperative’s headquarters is a monument to modern sustainability, with water capture and reuse, solar panels, and geothermal energy. The three-acre property offers 52% more square feet of space than the old HQ at a 90% reduced utility cost, using roughly the same amount of water as two families of four. The building has drawn enough interest to warrant its own website, offering a behind-the-scenes look at its design and performance, and the credit union regularly hosts tours for stakeholders, students, and community groups interested in sustainable development.

Credit Human’s 200,000-square-foot headquarters building spans 12 floors. It includes four levels of parking and supports 500 employees.

Two “living walls” of plants greet staff and visitors on the first and fifth floors of Credit Human's HQ. The credit union reclaimed most of the wood used in the building from buildings in San Antonio.

The building uses 97% less potable water than a typical commercial building. Tanks above and below ground can hold 140,000 gallons of rainwater, which the credit union filters and uses to flush toilets and irrigate.

Going Green From Construction To Culture

Sustainability is a key focus at Credit Human — the credit union has worked since 2019 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 81% — yet the catalyst for the new HQ came down to operations.

Before moving into its current building, Credit Human operated two corporate offices in San Antonio. Leadership needed a unified footprint and additional space as the organization grew, turning their sights toward downtown. After a lengthy search, it selected a new address: 1703 Broadway.

That location, however, wasn’t just about square footage. Credit Human developed the building in partnership with Silver Ventures as part of a broader Class A office complex known as the Broadway Office Development. The site sits adjacent to Pearl, a 23-acre mixed-use redevelopment built on the former Pearl Brewery site just north of downtown San Antonio, one of the city’s most visible examples of urban revitalization.

Public-sector collaboration played a key role in bringing the project to life. The City of San Antonio and Bexar County provided financial support for infrastructure improvements, including upgraded intersections, expanded sidewalks and bike lanes, new green spaces, and a public parking garage. Credit Human also partnered with the San Antonio River Authority to incorporate low-impact development strategies that filter and manage stormwater runoff before it reaches the San Antonio River.

Although the building boasts cutting-edge features, leaders emphasize that its innovation lies in the way its systems work together.

“The majority of the technologies that we have in this building are 10 years old or more,” says Francisco Manon, senior manager of support services at Credit Human. “But making multiple building systems work together under one coordinated design hadn’t been done to this degree in the region.”

That level of integration introduced real-world friction during construction. Manon and his team navigated challenges with city inspectors who were unfamiliar with some of the interconnected systems, and the project — like nearly everything else at the time — faced pandemic-related supply chain delays.

Yet the greatest obstacle wasn’t technical. According to Beth Keel, sustainability programs manager, the real work was in getting stakeholders to think differently.

“The biggest challenge was a cultural change rather than technical,” she says. “We needed to help stakeholders move from thinking ‘we’ve always done it this way’ to asking what’s possible.”

One person already on board with the new approach was CEO Steve Hennigan.

“This is something our CEO started talking about six years before we started designing or selecting a property,” Manon says. “He wanted to do whatever was theoretically possible in this building.”

When it came time to move employees into the building, the organization adopted a deliberate onboarding process to teach employees how to operate in their new workspace, from sorting trash, composting, and recycling to eliminating single-use plastics and even removing vending machines and soda.

Keel continues pushing that cultural shift with ongoing education.

“I do lunch and learns every quarter,” she says. “We bring in partners like CPS Energy or SARA, the San Antonio River Authority, to educate our staff not only on greenhouse gas emissions but also what’s possible for their own homes and communities.”

Manon echoed that employee engagement is essential. Sustainability investments won’t perform as designed if the people using the building don’t participate.

Sustainability Is Good Financial Sense

Operating green isn’t just good for the environment, it can benefit the balance sheet, too. The same systems that reduce emissions also reduce operating costs, which creates a path for more investment.

“We have proved that not only is it good for the environment, but it makes financial sense,” Manon says. “We created a revolving fund and reinvest all the savings we produce with these kinds of investments into more projects.”

Manon ties the approach to measurable targets and long-term planning. For example, Credit Human has an organizational goal to reduce its emissions based on previous buildings up to 75% by 2030.

The financial framing also shows up in projects beyond its own headquarters.

“We’re installing solar arrays even in the new financial health centers, which normally are leased space,” he says. “We know we’re going to recoup that investment in six to seven years.” Looking ahead, Credit Human is in the design phase of a 100-year-old building in New Orleans, where the credit union believes it can target net zero despite the complexity of renovating a historic structure.

A Continued Ripple Effect

In addition to encouraging lifestyle changes among its staff, Credit Human has rolled out eco-friendly products for members.

The cooperative has a sustainable home lending program focused on geothermal, solar, water, and other home upgrades and has helped match homeowners with trusted companies, which leaders describe as a “high point” borrowers point to. As Credit Human invests in sustainability, leaders argue that members are poised to benefit.

Closer to home, the impact of the headquarters extends beyond its walls. Since opening, the Financial Health Center at 1703 Broadway has recorded increased foot traffic, new member accounts, and deposit growth as well as helped expand community partnerships. The building also includes a community room available free of charge to local nonprofits, reinforcing its role as a shared resource within a rapidly developing corridor.

Ultimately, Credit Human’s headquarters is an example of sustainability as an operational strategy rather than a marketing move. The building’s specs are impressive, but the team’s most significant insights for other credit unions are more about execution:

1. Don’t cap ambition by designing to the minimum standard and build for integration.
2. Plan for a culture change and invest in employee engagement.
3. Frame the ROI like a long-term owner, not a short-term builder.

The post Credit Human Redefines ‘Green’ In The Heart Of Texas appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

For the past 20 years, Holy Rosary Credit Union ($487.1M, Rochester, NH) has operated a career and technical education (CTE) banking program at Spaulding High School through the Richard W. Creteau Regional Technology Center, pairing classroom instruction with an on‑campus branch. This year, enrollment is at full capacity. There’s even a waitlist.

But it wasn’t always that way.

The New Hampshire cooperative made some changes due to the impact of COVID. Because the program relies heavily on hands-on instruction, a staffing gap and lack of in-person instruction put its future at risk. Five years ago, Carlynne Pouliot, who was at the time assistant vice president of financial services, stepped in to rebuild the program. Today, it’s on firmer footing.

“It’s really evolved in the past four years,” Pouliot says. “This is our most successful year since the pandemic.”

According to Pouliot, who is now vice president of retail and business development, student feedback and a deeper relationship with school administration has helped strengthen the program. The biggest factor, however, was finding the right teacher.

“I have the best students,” says Kayleigh Erwin, who has run the program for two years. “Yes, they can be a little silly. Of course, they’re high schoolers, but they are still hardworking.”

Real World Experience Is The Differentiator

Sometimes, the best way to learn is by doing. HRCU’s flagship course is Banking & Financial Support Services, a year-long course that blends financial literacy with workforce development.

In the classroom, students cover personal finance topics such as budgeting, saving, and investing while also learning about banking regulations and working with members.

“The first month is learning cash handling, confidentiality, and our teller system,” Erwin says. “Even if they don’t go into banking, it’s usually their first customer service experience.”

The on-campus branch is open three days a week, and each student is assigned one shift per week as a part of their instruction. There, they handle real member transactions with the same systems tellers use in all HRCU branches. Additionally, students in the Hoy Rosary banking program have the opportunity to earn college credit.

“Students in the tech center can earn three free college credits, so this helps them save money,” Erwin says.

Last year, Erwin worked with Great Bay Community College, submitting her credentials and curriculum for approval. Now her class counts as ECON 225 Personal Finance (worth three credits).

Pouliot says this helps to further connect academics with real-world careers.

“Research shows students who earn college credits in high school are more likely to enroll, stay enrolled, and graduate,” she says.

Students in the year-long program can also earn a $750 scholarship from HRCU based on their performance.

Students who might not want to commit to a year-long class have the option to take Introduction to Banking. This eight-week feeder course for the main program covers the same personal finance topics but offers a more general overview of banking concepts and industry basics, such as the history of the credit union movement. The shorter format lowers the barrier to entry and has proved to be popular.

“It increased enrollment,” Pouliot says. “Next year we expect 20 students, split into two classes. We have already filled next year’s program.”

Student Growth. New Opportunities.

The program’s growth and popularity has enabled HRCU to offer an expanded extended learning opportunity (ELO) this year. This advanced, individualized experience is designed to allow select students to take full ownership of branch operations.

“One of our students this year will be an intern next year running the branch for a dedicated class period,” Pouliot says. “She’ll have a job description role responsibilities. We’re fully confident in her skills.”

Responsibilities include opening the branch, managing a cash drawer, and handling day-to-day operations on their own. The role also extends beyond the classroom, incorporating a paid internship component during both the school year and summer.

What sets the ELO apart is it’s fully self-directed.

“There is no curriculum,” Pouliot says. “We create a job description, they come into the role, and then they self-operate. They have to connect back to the ELO director about their training, their experiences, and the projects they’re working on.”

The credit union trusts these students to operate at a professional level, making this the highest tier of responsibility within the program and a direct bridge to workforce readiness. Moving forward, HRCU hopes to expand this offering to accommodate more students in the future.

Enrollment and participation are important success metrics for these courses, however HRCU also monitors branch usage, account openings, and how effective the program is as an opportunity to help students adapt into the career world.

In regard to that last item, the credit union has multiple success stories, including one from several years ago in which a former student stuck with banking and eventually returned to work at HRCU as its consumer lending manager. According to Pouliot, they remain in the industry to this day after moving to a different state.

More recently, a student who graduated from the program last year as a senior is now working full-time in the credit union’s main office.

“We also hired a part-time student from our program last year,” Pouliot says. “He’s in his junior year of high school, so he works with us every Saturday.”

Evolution Based On Student Voices

Perhaps the biggest reason the banking program is so popular is the fact that student feedback plays such a major role, not just in how HRCU structures classes but in how it approaches youth banking overall. This year, HRCU established an annual volunteer student focus group open to all students.

Pouliot says it’s been an invaluable resource.

“Every piece of data we’ve got from those focus groups we’ve put into play,” the VP says. “Now, marketing and I can present to our executive team about how we can restructure our teen accounts based on the feedback we’re receiving from those focus groups.”

Student insights support services, too, not just products. For example, students told HRCU they wanted to know more about budgeting, so the credit union is hosting a seminar on the subject in May just for them. Erwin says there’s a strong interest in how savings and credit work, and she receives several questions about how students can get the most out of their money. She also says students are a lot more engaged than some might think.

“There’s a misconception that students aren’t motivated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” she says. “They want to learn, attend college, and give back. They challenge themselves. They hold jobs while balancing CTE, clubs, and volunteer work. They are working.”

Hands-On And All-In

Pouliot says HRCU’s banking program relies heavily on participation from credit union leadership and strong integration with Spaulding High School and the surrounding community.

“Our board is hands-on,” she says. “We have our chair of the board, our vice chair of the board, and another board member who attend the focus groups. When we do donations at the school, the board comes.”

The credit union also hosts panels with employees from different departments so students can see different career paths that are available.

“We invite the business program, the marketing program, and our banking program,” Pouliot says. “It’s a well-rounded panel.”

The value of a strong relationship with school administrators also cannot be understated.

“Anytime we have challenges, we go to the school administration,” Pouliot says. “There’s a director of the CTE and she really helps us create our partnership. We work together as one big team.”

HRCU even attends open houses and orientations for incoming eighth graders, and credit union staff are regulars at events like fundraisers and sports games.

Concern for community is one of the industry’s cooperative principles, and it’s one HRCU emphasizes when working within the school. For example, after learning how many students rely on a local food pantry, the credit union and its student participants began making regular contributions, including organizing donations and physically helping stock it. Students also attend community events the credit union is involved in.

“They’re giving back to their peers, and they value it,” Pouliot says. “They embrace the community impact of the credit union, and that’s huge.”

The post Inside An In-School Model That Links Classrooms With College And Careers appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Most people wouldn’t take a road trip without putting on their seatbelt first. Simone Suri wants credit unions to take the same approach with their AI journeys.

Suri is chief administrative officer and general counsel at Members Cooperative Credit Union ($1.2B, Duluth, MN). The cooperative started using artificial intelligence in earnest about a year ago, but leadership didn’t just hand over access and let staff loose. Rather, it grants access on a case-by-case basis to employees who request it. Employees with approval may use only the credit union’s licensed Microsoft Copilot, and they cannot submit member data into the tool.

“We don’t want people going to ChatGPT because we have no idea what’s going to happen to that data,” Suri says. “The idea is to use a tool where the data will remain safe. We want our data in a more controlled environment.”

Members Cooperative’s approach to AI revolves around a robust internal policy that provides guardrails for usage. That starts with a risk assessment and written documentation that details for all users when, where, and how they can use AI. Such documentation protects the credit union, staff, and members alike. Although most employees are excited about using AI, Suri says, most people don’t have a technology background. Having a policy like this in place is crucial for helping them understand the opportunities they can leverage as well as what to avoid.

“Anytime new technology and data is involved, we need to take a second and understand not only the benefits but also the risks and how we navigate those risks so we can get the benefits without compromising the security of our data,” Suri says. “This has to be a no-compromise situation.”

The Use Cases

Members Cooperative selected Copilot because of its security, data protections, and integration capabilities with the credit union’s existing tools, Suri says. Although the credit union does not allow member data in AI — which largely rules out use cases for member-facing staff — Suri says there are many ways AI drives back-office efficiencies. But even then, there are guardrails. Associates must disclose when they use AI, and human oversight is required, given AI’s propensity to make mistakes.

“You can’t assume everything coming out of an AI tool is like punching in two times two on a calculator and the answer is always four,” Suri says. “You really need to look at those results and validate them. We’ve had situations where information hasn’t been accurate. Most recently, I found that people like to put legal questions into AI. Again, you have to think about where AI is generating its answers. The information isn’t coming from an attorney on the other side of the wires answering your question. It’s pulling from all of these different databases, some of which are outdated or old or just might be illegitimate. At the same time, AI may be pulling from sources that are amazing and incredibly accurate, but you still need that human oversight.”

So what are the use cases at Members Cooperative? Like other credit unions, it is still figuring that out. But Suri says inputting existing policies into a licensed AI tool can help improve those policies, whether by making them more concise or uncovering gaps. Similarly, AI could conduct market research or even provide a starting point to draft an AI usage policy. One key, she notes, is the prompts that go into AI. The better the prompts, the better the outcomes.

“Each organization needs to figure out where its comfort level is,” she says. “Some studies have shown we’re not getting the efficiencies we think we’re getting.”

Best Practice: AI tools are everywhere — even Google’s first results are frequently an AI summary. Suri suggests closing off access to public AI sites on all credit union-owned computers. Doing so encourages employees to use credit union-licensed services and steers users away from potentially less secure tools. Plus, she adds, many credit unions are moving in that direction.

The Balancing Act

Suri acknowledges there’s a balancing act between empowering employees and exercising caution. The key, she says, is education. Leaders must ensure organizations are discussing the risks and advantages of AI, identifying use cases, and recognizing how those use cases might vary by department. What’s most important is to keep the conversation going.

“The biggest problem you’re seeing in credit union land today is we know AI is there and people are excited but not talking about how to use it safely,” she says. “Or we talk about a risk once and then not again for six months.”

Risk assessments and robust governance around AI can help alleviate the concern in departments like risk and IT, in part because that kind of documentation provides clear, objective guidance on do’s and don’ts.

“It allows you to recognize risks and contemplate what you’re willing to accept,” Suri says. “What risks are appropriate given the risk appetite of the credit union and which are not? Going through the process in a methodical way like a risk assessment makes it less personal. But you’ve got to have enough knowledge on both sides to have those tough conversations and work through those risks.”

In addition to clear standards for employees, Suri suggest examining all vendor contracts to better understand how those providers use AI. That can be a challenge, especially if the credit union’s point of contact does not have all the answers. If that’s the case, keep digging.

“You’ve got to ask questions about what type of AI tools your vendor is using, what data is going in, and identify associated risks, including compliance and operational risk,” she says. “Those are hard questions for a sales rep to answer, so you usually need to get other folks involved in those conversations.”

Suri adds that memorializing AI disclosure requirements in the contract can help the credit union if vendors change their practices later on.

“Third parties are a significant source of FI breaches,” she says. “If they start putting member data or other proprietary information into those tools, we’re vulnerable.”

The Lessons

Suri admits that even though Members Cooperative has a robust AI plan in place, it still has work to do.

“You could line up 10 employees, ask each one about their comfort level and what AI can do for them, and every single person will have a completely different answer,” she says.

But rather than pushing employees to use AI more, Suri says that varied level of comfort —  which is likely common at many credit unions — exemplifies the need for a thoughtful approach, including a risk assessment and well-formulated governance approach.

The big lesson might not be to shy away from AI, but to be thoughtful about how, when, and where it’s deployed — and always back up usage with human oversight.

“I’m finding more and more folks are getting comfortable with AI and pushing the boundaries, which is great,” Suri says. “It’s good to play with things and challenge yourself. But be cautious along that journey because we are seeing incorrect results. Not because AI has become less accurate, but because people are getting more comfortable and pushing the boundaries of what AI can provide.”

The post Governance And Guardrails Help Credit Unions Navigate AI appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Langley Federal Credit Union ($5.BB, Newport New, VA) just received a 2026 Exceptional Workplace Award, recognizing organizations with the highest levels of employee engagement worldwide. Only 78 organizations earned it this year, representing roughly 4% of those evaluated. We are proud of that recognition. But the award is not the story. The story is about what it took to get there.

One year ago, Langley was already in the top 10% of all organizations measured for employee engagement. That is not a bad place to be. Most leaders would call that a win and move on. We did not. We asked a harder question: What would it take to be truly exceptional?

The answer was not another event. It was not a new perk or a bigger budget for employee appreciation. It was intentionality.

We got intentional about engagement the way you get intentional about any strategic priority. We named it. We trained for it. We measured it. We held our managers accountable for it. And we did not let it become a once-a-year survey exercise. We made it a daily practice.

Here is what that looked like in practice.

We started with purpose. Not a purpose statement written in the executive offices and handed down to the organization. We went to our people and we listened. What emerged from those conversations became the foundation of who we are: Investing in People for a Brighter Future. Those words did not come from a leadership retreat or a consulting firm. They came from the people who live them every day. That is not a small thing. When employees help define the purpose of an organization, they do not just understand it. They own it. And ownership is the beginning of engagement.

We invested in our managers. Managers are the single greatest driver of engagement in any organization. Not HR. Not the CEO. The direct manager. When an employee feels seen, supported, and developed, that experience almost always traces back to their relationship with their immediate leader. We trained our managers to have better conversations. Real ones. Not check-the-box one-on-ones, but genuine dialogue about what their people needed, what was getting in their way, and how they could grow.

We focused on communication. Not announcements. Communication. There is a difference. Announcements flow in one direction. Communication is a two-way exchange. We worked to create an environment where employees could speak up, provide input, and trust that their voices would be heard. That trust does not come from a suggestion box. It comes from consistent follow-through over time.

We measured what mattered. There is a phrase that has proven itself true in every high-performing organization: what you measure gets done. When we began tracking engagement at the team level and holding leaders responsible for those results, behavior changed. Not because we demanded it. Because leaders could see it, respond to it, and take ownership of it.

When you put all of that together, something shifts. And the data confirms it.

Research shows highly engaged organizations see 18% higher productivity, 78% lower absenteeism, and 21% lower turnover compared to their peers. They also generate 23% higher profitability. These are not soft numbers. They are bottom-line results that directly affect your ability to serve your customers, retain your talent, and sustain your mission.

For Langley, that mission is serving our members. Engaged employees deliver better member service because they care about their work. That connection between employee experience and member experience is not a theory. It is a pattern we see every day.

We have always been a great place to work. We celebrate our people. We invest in their development and their families. But being a great place to work and being an engaged workplace are not the same thing. Great workplaces keep people comfortable. Engaged workplaces keep people connected. Connected to purpose. Connected to one another. Connected to the people they serve.

That connection is what moved us from the top 10% to the top 2%.

If you lead an organization, here is the honest takeaway. You cannot “event” your way to engagement. You cannot celebrate your way there either. Engagement is built in the daily interactions between a manager and their team. It is built in cultures where feedback flows freely and accountability runs in both directions. It is built when leaders stop treating engagement as an annual survey and start treating it as a leadership responsibility.

And sometimes, it is built in the moment you hand the microphone to your people and actually listen to what they say.

That is how you build engagement. And that is how Investing in People for a Brighter Future became more than a tagline. It became the truth of who we are.

Langley Federal Credit Union is honored to be recognized as an exceptional workplace. We are more honored by what the journey taught us about our people and what is possible when you commit to leading them well.

Jerome Fowlkes is chief impact officer at Langley Federal Credit Union.

The post Engagement Is Not A Perk. It Is A Strategy. appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

Top-Level Takeaways

• Technology increasingly shapes the employee experience, making closer alignment between IT and HR a strategic advantage.
• The chief people and technology officer role at Vantage West Credit Union reframes HR systems around employees, not administration.
• Organizational design should reflect talent, not tradition.

The path to head of human resources is rarely paved with a career in technology. Rob Hoyle is proud to be an exception.

After spending most of his career outside financial services, Hoyle found his way to the credit union industry in 2018, taking the role of chief information officer at Credit Union of America. He says he immediately identified with credit unions’ people-first mission.

“I am a leader who’s empathetic and wants to help people thrive,” Hoyle explains. “I’m a huge culture champion. I genuinely care about the success of the organization and the individuals that make up the team.”

Hoyle joined Vantage West Credit Union ($3.3B, Tucson, AZ) as its chief information officer in 2021and has served as the credit union’s chief people and technology officer since June 2025.

What’s the story behind your title?

RH: Our senior vice president of human resources was retiring, and I told the CEO I’d like to take a shot at human resources. I pointed to one of my first initiatives at Vantage West, which was introduce a management and employee engagement platform. There’s never really great collaboration between technology and HR. We spend so much time on the member experience through technology, we need to create a great team member experience, too.

How would you describe your job duties? What falls under the umbrella of technology and human resources at Vantage West?

RH: I’m so incredibly fortunate to lead teams that are highly engaged and full of tremendously skilled professionals.

On the technology side, it’s all of IT — information security, application development, data, systems, networks, all of that. On the human resources side, it includes traditional HR, organizational development, facilities, and physical security. I also have accountability for mergers and acquisitions. We’re not doing anything right now, but in terms of prospecting, diligence, and integration, I would lead that effort if something came across our desks.

When you interact with others in the industry, are there misconceptions about what your role means?

RH: I don’t think there are misconceptions so much as raised eyebrows. There’s a unicorn in my LinkedIn bio for a reason.

Even internally, people have asked, “Why would you give human resources to the technology leader?” I’m working on helping people understand that I’m not just the technology leader. I’m the chief people leader. I’m both. Every time it comes up, people stop, read it twice, and say, “Wait, what?”

From the application process onward, technology influences how people decide whether they want to work with you.

What part of your role energizes you the most? Conversely, what challenges you the most?

RH: The challenges are where the energy comes from. I enjoy solving problems and making things better. The biggest challenge has been learning everything HR entails. It’s far more complicated than people realize if they’ve never been behind that curtain. There are so many considerations for every decision.

That’s also what energizes me. Very few HR leaders have ever been customers of HR. I bring that perspective and ask why we do things in a certain way. Sometimes, I wonder if the team is thinking, “Here comes Rob with another crazy idea.” But they’ve been very receptive and open to either explaining or rethinking things.

What’s an experience or accomplishment that stands out as especially rewarding or meaningful to you?

RH: One of the most impactful things we’ve done since the role change is rethinking our organizational development philosophy. We used to be very prescriptive with specific programs, nomination processes, and assumptions about who should attend what. One of the first things I questioned was why. Why those programs? Why not more autonomy?

Now, for external professional development, leaders have a blank canvas. We focus on the people who need development and find opportunities that fit them. If someone’s in finance, maybe it’s a finance-specific training instead of a credit union one.

If everyone goes to the same training, everyone learns the same things. We’re looking for diversity of thought and experience and more meaningful development for individuals.

How do you define success in your role? Beyond metrics and formal accountability, what tells you you’re doing the job well?

RH: I feel successful when other people achieve their goals, whether that’s professional development or personal milestones. I love seeing someone graduate, earn a degree, or be recognized for something.

We recently migrated our phone system, and nothing went wrong. I didn’t touch a single keystroke. I sponsored it and was accountable for it, but the team owned it and executed it flawlessly. That’s success to me — having a team that can get things done and do it well. There’s no KPI for that. It’s a feeling.

Is there anything you’re particularly excited about or looking forward to in 2026?

RH: Every year, I bring my entire organization together for a half-day event. For years, the team asked for more involvement. We increased it a little each year.

Last year, we brought in Tucson Improv. We turned the involvement up to 11. Some of our team members aren’t the biggest fans of public speaking, so there were some very nervous faces, but it was universally well-received.

Engagement afterward was through the roof. Watching the team stretch, learn, come together, and have fun is incredibly fulfilling for me. So, what I’m most excited about in 2026 is figuring out how in the world I’m going to top that.

What would make you tell another credit union that a role like this — or at least deeper collaboration between technology and HR — is worth considering?

RH: Executive org charts should reflect the talent you have.

That said, there is tremendous value in understanding how technology shapes the employee experience. No one says, “I love working in my HRIS.” These systems are designed for HR departments, not employees. From the application process onward, technology influences how people decide whether they want to work with you. Are you asking them to fax something? Can your system read a résumé, or do they have to type everything in again?

Our people are our greatest asset. We need to equip them with every advantage possible, and many of those advantages are technology-based.

Too often, HR and technology operate in silos, sometimes speaking completely different languages. The goal is collaboration, understanding, and designing systems that make people’s lives better.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Job titles say as much about the organization as they do the person. “What’s In A Name” on CreditUnions.com dives into notable, important, interesting, or just plain fun roles to find out what’s happening at the ground level and across the industry. Read the series today.

The post What’s In A Name: Chief People And Technology Officer appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

•Modern engaging learning experience that staff actually enjoy.
•Game-based approach drive participation and continued engagement.
•Microlearning approach break training into bite sized chunks that can be delivered within the flow of work – no downtime!
•Skills engine for developing and tracking skills development.
•Certifications engine provides easy scheduling and tracking for mandatory training.

Learn More

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The Innovation Series is celebrating 2026 with a diverse slate of finalists whose breakthroughs are reshaping member experience, data and business intelligence, lending, employee engagement, fraud prevention, and digital member engagement — all with the power to help credit unions thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.  Register for the Innovations In Employee Enablement webinar on Tuesday, March 17th at 2PM EST.

Read on to learn more about this year’s finalists in employee enablement:  AgentIQ, Alogent, LemonadeLXP, Posh.

Agent IQ

Describe your innovation.

Smart Assist by Agent IQ is a generative AI-powered assistant built specifically for credit unions to support both members and staff using institution-approved knowledge only.

Smart Assist draws exclusively from a credit union’s validated policies, procedures, product information, and approved content. This ensures every response is accurate, consistent, and compliant, with no hallucinations or reliance on public or unverified sources. Credit unions maintain full control over what knowledge is available to Smart Assist, ensuring responses remain accurate, current, and aligned with institutional policies.

Staff use Smart Assist to quickly answer member questions, confirm policy details, guide conversations, and resolve routine issues without searching through manuals or internal systems. Smart Assist delivers instant, reliable guidance directly within existing workflows.

By reducing the time staff spend looking for information or handling repetitive questions, Smart Assist improves efficiency while preserving what matters most: the human connection. Routine interactions are handled faster and more confidently, giving staff more time to focus on complex needs, advisory conversations, and relationship building.

The result is a digital experience that extends the trust and personal service of the branch into digital channels, using generative AI to enhance relationships rather than replace them.

What opportunity or challenge does it address?

Credit unions see the opportunity in generative AI, but many struggle with how to adopt it safely, responsibly, and in a way that aligns with their mission and regulatory environment.

The challenge is balancing the convenience and efficiency of generative AI with the need for accuracy, security, and trust. Traditional generative AI tools can introduce risk by pulling from public sources, producing inconsistent answers, or hallucinating responses that staff cannot rely on with confidence.

Smart Assist addresses this challenge by giving credit unions a practical way to deploy generative AI quickly, while maintaining full control over the information it uses. Every response is generated exclusively from institution-approved knowledge, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and compliance. If Smart Assist does not have an approved answer, it clearly indicates that rather than making one up.

This approach allows credit unions to realize immediate efficiency gains while protecting member trust. Staff gain the speed and convenience of generative AI without sacrificing confidence in the answers they provide, enabling a safer path to innovation that strengthens relationships rather than putting them at risk.

How does it increase member value?

Smart Assist increases member value by enabling staff to serve members faster, more accurately, and with greater confidence across every interaction.

When staff have instant access to institution-approved knowledge, they can respond with confidence and clarity in the moment, eliminating delays that erode trust. Members experience fewer pauses, fewer transfers, and more consistent answers, which builds trust and reduces frustration.

By removing the burden of searching through policies, procedures, and internal documentation, Smart Assist gives staff more capacity to focus on listening, problem solving, and advising members. This leads to more thoughtful conversations and a service experience that feels personal rather than rushed or transactional.

The result is a better member experience in both branch and digital channels: efficient, informed, and grounded in the human connection that differentiates credit unions.

What differentiates this innovation from competitors?

Smart Assist is purpose-built for credit unions, not a general-purpose AI tool adapted for financial services.

Many institutions have access to broad enterprise AI platforms, such as Microsoft Copilot, but those tools often require significant IT configuration, ongoing management, and custom governance to make them safe and usable for frontline staff. Smart Assist is designed to be deployed in as little as two weeks, with built-in controls tailored to the operational, compliance, and staffing realities of credit unions.

Unlike generic AI assistants, Smart Assist draws exclusively from institution-approved knowledge and includes governance by design. Credit unions control exactly what content is available and can assign different levels of access based on role. Frontline staff, managers, and leadership each see information appropriate to their responsibilities, ensuring sensitive or strategic content is only available where it belongs.

Smart Assist also differs in how it supports human-centered service. It does not attempt to think or decide on behalf of staff. Instead, it delivers accurate information at the moment of need, allowing staff to remain in control of conversations and judgment.

By removing friction and complexity, Smart Assist enables staff to spend less time searching for answers and more time building trust, solving problems, and strengthening member relationships. That combination of speed, control, and relationship focus is what truly differentiates the innovation.

Alogent

Describe your innovation.

FASTdocs, Alogent’s enterprise content management platform, unlocks a major opportunity for credit unions by transforming how institutions handle their documents and information. It replaces outdated, manual processes with a single, intelligent platform that automates routine tasks and streamlines the entire document lifecycle.

By bringing smart automation and AI-driven intelligence to everyday operations, FASTdocs automatically classifies documents, saving valuable time and reshaping how teams work, as well as how members are served. Built‑in data extraction and AI‑powered routing ensure every file is accurately identified, categorized, and delivered to the right destination. Its workflow library adds efficiency with pre‑configured, event‑triggered workflows for common credit union processes, reducing manual effort and accelerating productivity.

Features like OCR and click indexing simplify high‑volume tasks by instantly populating metadata, cutting down on errors, bottlenecks, and administrative overhead. FASTdocs also supports frontline staff with instant member verification directly from the core system, helping deliver faster, more frictionless service.

Purpose‑built for financial institutions, FASTdocs is ready to deploy out of the box but can be easily customized to meet each credit union’s unique needs. The benefits extend directly to members as well — quicker service, fewer delays, and secure, two‑way document exchange that enhances convenience and modernizes the overall experience.

What opportunity or challenge does it address?

FASTdocs addresses a core challenge credit unions face: managing growing volumes of content in varying formats, member information spread across disconnected systems, manual workflows, and inefficient processes. These bottlenecks slow service, increase errors, drive up operational costs, and make it difficult for staff to access the information they need in real-time.

• Information silos across departments that make it difficult to get a complete view of a member’s relationship.
• Manual, time‑consuming processes like sorting, indexing, and routing documents.
• Inconsistent or error‑prone data handling, leading to delays and service frustration.
• Compliance risks tied to outdated retention workflows or missing documentation.
• Limited member self‑service options, requiring branch visits or secure email workarounds.

How does it increase member value?

FASTdocs increases member value by helping credit unions deliver faster, more accurate, and more convenient service. By eliminating manual, paper-heavy processes and introducing automation, credit unions can focus less on administrative tasks and more on engaging meaningfully with their members.

• Accelerated Member Service: Automated document classification, indexing, and routing ensure staff can retrieve and process member documents quickly. This speeds up approvals, reduces wait times, and improves the overall service experience.
• Fewer Errors, More Accuracy: Automated data recognition and OCR reduce manual data entry and associated mistakes. Members benefit from cleaner records, fewer delays, and more reliable interactions.
• Seamless Digital Interactions: Secure, two-way digital document exchange allows members to submit and receive documents anytime, without visiting a branch. This convenience enhances accessibility and satisfaction.
• Consistent, Reliable Compliance: Automated workflows and version control help ensure documents are accurate, current, and archived properly. Members gain confidence knowing their information is handled securely and in compliance with regulations.
• More Personalized Service: Unified digital member files give staff a comprehensive view of each member’s relationship with the credit union. This enables more informed conversations and tailored product recommendations.
• Faster Account And Loan Processes: Click indexing and pre-built workflows streamline high-volume tasks like loan applications and onboarding, helping members move through key financial steps with ease.
• Stronger Trust And Loyalty: By reducing administrative overhead and freeing staff to focus on human-centered support, credit unions deliver faster responses, fewer errors, and a modern, digital-first experience — building long-term loyalty.

What differentiates this innovation from competitors?

FASTdocs differentiates itself from traditional content management systems by delivering a platform purpose built for the specialized needs of financial institutions. Unlike generic ECM solutions, FASTdocs is architected around the workflows, compliance standards, and member centric processes that credit unions rely on every day.

Its cloud-native design ensures seamless scalability, high availability, and reduced IT overhead, making it easier for institutions to modernize without major infrastructure investments.

The depth of FASTdocs’ built in automation is another defining advantage. AI powered document classification, automated data extraction, and pre-configured workflows streamline the entire document lifecycle, from ingestion to routing to retention. The result is a smarter, faster, and more efficient content management experience that empowers staff, accelerates service, and delivers a level of precision and automation that truly stands out in the market.

LemonadeLXP

Describe your innovation.

LemonadeLXP is the all-in-one learning and knowledge platform for financial institutions.

What opportunity or challenge does it address?

The Challenge: The Complexity Of The Modern Financial Ecosystem

Financial institutions face a dual challenge: their product portfolios, compliance requirements, and security protocols are becoming increasingly complex, while member expectations for immediate, expert support are higher than ever. Frontline staff often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information they need to know — from product details to fraud prevention — leading to a lack of confidence that negatively impacts service quality. Simultaneously, members often lack accessible resources to educate themselves on financial wellness and security, creating a gap in understanding that puts a strain on support teams.

The Opportunity: A Unified Approach To Staff Enablement And Member Education

LemonadeLXP centralizes knowledge, transforming it into a powerful engine for both employee confidence and member empowerment. It replaces fragmented training methods with an all-in-one learning and knowledge platform designed specifically for financial institutions.

How LemonadeLXP Addresses It:

• Empowering Staff With Knowledge And Confidence: LemonadeLXP tackles the staff performance challenge by enabling institutions to quickly create members-focused training. Rather than just checking compliance boxes, the platform focuses on upskilling staff to better serve and support members. By providing engaging, bite-sized learning and an easily searchable knowledge base, LemonadeLXP ensures staff have the immediate answers and deep understanding they need to handle member inquiries with total confidence.
• Educating Members Directly: Uniquely, LemonadeLXP extends this enablement beyond the branch with a dedicated Member Education Platform. This addresses the challenge of member literacy by providing a specialized hub built to help credit unions educate their members on:
• Products & Services: Ensuring members understand the full value of what the institution offers.
• Financial Wellness And Literacy: Helping members make smarter financial decisions.
• Fraud And Cybersecurity: Proactively teaching members how to protect themselves and recognize threats.
• Digital Capabilities: guiding members on how to utilize self-service tools.
• Impact On Member Experience: By combining robust staff support with direct member education, LemonadeLXP creates a better experience on both sides of the transaction. Staff are confident and knowledgeable experts, while members are better informed and protected—resulting in faster resolutions, deeper trust, and a stronger financial partnership.

How does it increase member value?

LemonadeLXP increases member value by creating an environment where members are no longer just passive account holders, but informed, empowered financial partners. It does this through a two-pronged approach that includes better staff training and support, and effective member education and support.

What differentiates this innovation from competitors?

LemonadeLXP differentiates itself by breaking down the silos between internal employee training and external member education. While competitors typically offer generic Learning Management Systems (LMS) strictly for internal HR compliance, or separate Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP) for software overlays, LemonadeLXP provides a holistic, all-in-one learning and knowledge ecosystem purpose-built for financial institutions.

Posh

Describe your innovation.

Posh Training Simulator: A high-fidelity roleplay platform that replaces static training with interactive AI voice and chat simulations. It allows staff to master real member-facing banking scenarios from complex loan explanations (HELOCs vs. personal loans) to high-stress fraud reports and overdraft disputes in a safe, judgment-free environment. The platform is designed for total flexibility, enabling credit unions to effortlessly build custom scenarios for everything from new hire screening to manager coaching.

Posh CoachQA: An automated coaching platform that analyzes member interactions across calls and chats. It evaluates conversations against a credit union’s standard operating procedures and best practices to provide consistent, actionable feedback to every agent without increasing managers’ manual workload.

Posh Knowledge Assistant: A secure, AI-powered companion providing a single, governed source of truth for institutional knowledge. It enables staff to instantly search internal policies, summarize dense documents, and reframe complex information into member-friendly language. This reduces handle times and accelerates onboarding while ensuring accurate, source-backed responses.

What opportunity or challenge does it address?

Mastery Of Tough Conversations: Employees use the simulator to build “muscle memory” for high-stakes member moments, ensuring they are prepared for vulnerable-member situations and risk-heavy regulated conversations.

Faster, More Accurate Service: By accelerating “time-to-proficiency” for new hires, members interact with staff who are better prepared from day one. Posh Knowledge Assistant supports this by providing immediate access to consistent, approved answers, ensuring every member receives accurate information during live interactions.

Empathy And Quality at Scale: The platform provides instant feedback on empathy, judgment, and policy fluency, ensuring that even as the credit union grows, the quality of the member experience remains high and human-centric.

Total Oversight: Coach IQ identifies knowledge gaps before they impact members, allowing for proactive training that keeps service standards consistent across all branches and channels.

How does it increase member value?

Mastery Of Tough Conversations: Employees use the simulator to build “muscle memory” for high-stakes member moments, ensuring they are prepared for vulnerable-member situations and risk-heavy regulated conversations.

Faster, More Accurate Service: By accelerating “time-to-proficiency” for new hires, members interact with staff who are better prepared from day one.

Empathy and Quality at Scale: The platform provides instant feedback on empathy, judgment, and policy fluency, ensuring that, as the credit union grows, the member experience remains high and human-centric.

Total Oversight: Coach IQ identifies knowledge gaps before they affect members, enabling proactive training to maintain consistent service standards across all branches and channels.

What differentiates this innovation from competitors?

Posh’s suite is purpose-built for the unique needs of the credit union industry:

Banking-Specific Customization: Unlike generic platforms, Posh allows for simulations

100% Visibility vs. Random Sampling: While traditional QA tools typically sample only 1% of calls, Coach IQ provides full visibility and consistent coaching across every single interaction.

Versatility in Scenario Building: The platform is an “all-in-one” tool that handles the entire employee lifecycle from objective skill verification during hiring to ongoing specialist communications and leadership development.

Safe, Measured Excellence: The Simulator provides measurable, audit-ready performance data, allowing institutions to standardize quality across different regions and lines of business without relying on senior staff shadowing.

Check Out The Other Innovation Series Categories:

• Reimaging The Lending Experience
• Digital Member Engagement
• Data And Decision Intelligence
• AI-Powered Member Experience
• Fraud Prevention And Resolution 

The post Meet The Finalists For The 2026 Innovation Series: Employee Enablement appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

A majority of Americans need all the help they can get in the regard. In its Emergency Savings Report, Bankrate reports as of December 2025, fewer than one-quarter, 24%, of Americans had emergency savings and only 19% could cover three months or more of expenses. A separate study last year found the median amount of savings across most demographics was just $500.

MEDIAN SAVINGS BY GENERATION
FOR SAMPLE SIZE | DATA AS OF 06.30.25
SOURCE: EMPOWER/THE CURRENCY

“It’s well known in our industry that most Americans don’t have $500 saved for an emergency,” says Brandalynn Winchester-Middlebrook, executive vice president and chief people and purpose officer at Lake Trust Credit Union. “Recognizing that’s something our team might not have, we wanted to support them in their journey to prepare for a future emergency with the confidence that if something arose, they’d have funds set aside.”

In response, the credit union designed an emergency savings program to help employees build $500 in savings during 2025. For every dollar employees set aside in a savings account, Lake Trust made a dollar-for-dollar match up to $250.

The credit union also included a handful of stipulations to protect the FI and its employees:

• Staffers had to open a Team Member Emergency Savings Account, which Lake Trust created specifically for this purpose.
• Employees had to make eight payments via payroll direct deposit.
• Employees could withdrawal funds throughout the year if necessary, but accounts with more than one withdrawal were ineligible for the $250 match.
• The credit union would not match balances until after Dec. 31, 2025.

The last stipulation especially demonstrates how thoughtfully the credit union thought through the account.

“We didn’t want to get to the end of the year and have it be like a Christmas Club account where people withdraw it  to do their holiday shopping,” Winchester-Middlebrook says. “We made a point of having the match period happen after the end of the year.”

Starting A Savings Habit

The direct deposit requirement was another element crucial to the success of the program.

“We thought if we could get team members to take the savings out of their paycheck directly and deposit it, over time they’d become more comfortable with having that money come out,” Winchester-Middlebrook says. “They wouldn’t notice it, as opposed to getting their pay and having to turn around to make a deposit.”

That design takes into account behavioral economics and the understanding that people prefer pre-set options and maintaining the status quo, she adds. If employees could get into the habit of saving, they were unlikely to drop that habit unless absolutely necessary.

Buy-in across the credit union was essential, too. Rather than HR solely leading the charge, Winchester-Middlebrook notes that Lake Trust’s leadership team worked collaboratively to develop the program.

“Our leadership team works together on our wellbeing journey with our team and decided this was the next stake in the ground we wanted to place,” she says.

The initiative did not require board approval, in part because it feeds into the credit union’s broader mission of financial wellness.

Staffers were excited when Lake Trust rolled out the program as part of its annual business plan, Winchester-Middlebrook says, adding that the credit union promoted the program through high-level communication, a page on the credit union’s intranet, an FAQ, and more. Senior leaders conducted huddles with every manager in the organization to ensure they understood how to present the program to their team, and managers were encouraged to walk their teams through the online account-opening process so there was no confusion about how to get started. Many even challenged their employees to set up the accounts together.

An online calculator also helped team members determine how long it would take to reach certain savings goals and how the credit union’s match could help them meet their goals.

Crucially, the credit union provided financial wellbeing and financial wellness educational sessions throughout the year. Those courses covered not only savings but also debt reduction, investing for the future, and more.

Lessons Learned

All told, employees opened 338 accounts and 290 received a match; the remainder were disqualified based on the number of withdrawals throughout the year. Of the 290 who received matching funds, a full 276 — approximately 58% of all employees — received the full amount, says Winchester-Middlebrook. At the conclusion of the program, the credit union paid out approximately $72,000 in matching funds, and employees built up a savings of $277,323, including funds from the credit union.

Lake Trust plans to continue offering the program in some way, although it won’t be an exact replica of the 2025 edition. Winchester-Middlebrook says one possibility is a high-yield account to help boost savings even more.

After all, helping employees build a savings discipline is a lifelong benefit that extends far beyond the credit union’s walls, a sentiment echoed in program participant feedback.

“I wanted to remain anonymous, but I also wanted to share how much I appreciated the Emergency Savings Program,” one employee wrote. “I have always tried to save but never been successful because I withdraw and then I keep taking from it. The calculator and stipulations helped me immensely. Thank you sincerely, this has truly benefitted me financially.”

Winchester-Middlebrook says if she had it all to do again, she wouldn’t make it easier —  she’d advise more communication and guidance to ensure everyone understood the details and the benefits of the offer.

“You could say, ‘Make it simple, don’t have any restrictions,’” she adds. “But some of those restrictions ended up leading to the outcomes that were desired.”

The most valuable lesson involved how to think creatively about improving the lives of those who help members first-hand every day.

“These are the folks working with our members every day trying to improve our members’ financial wellbeing,” Winchester-Middlebrook says. “We want their wellbeing to be at the highest possible level. That helps them feel more comfortable and confident working with our members, as well.”

The post A Small Match Builds Big Emergency Savings At Lake Trust appeared first on CreditUnions.com.

After a long run of merger-related growth — with a pandemic thrown in for good measure — Verve, a Credit Union ($1.6B, Oshkosh, WI), is once again poised for organic growth. All thanks to turnover on the senior leadership team and a new sales culture rooted in service.

Prior to the pandemic’s onset in March of 2020, Verve was on a run of mergers, including one of the industry’s few three-way mergers that served as the credit union’s genesis. Verve also acquired a bank and underwent a core conversion after the pandemic. Yet despite these steps, membership was on a slight downward trajectory.

“We weren’t hitting the way we should’ve been hitting,” says Kevin Ralofsky, CEO of Verve. “Our back office wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been with the efficiencies we should be gaining with a new core system. We also needed to be more savvy on our balance sheet management.”

New Team. New Eyes. New Products.

In early 2022, Ralofsky brought on Rema Momberg as the credit union’s new senior vice president of human resources as part of the leadership rebuild. a new CFO, Glen Stiteley, followed, along with temporarily outsourcing marketing to an agency. Former banker Mitchell Kime came aboard as chief growth officer in 2024 after logging time with big names like Key Bank, Capital One, and PNC, and Cyrene Wilke was added as the new chief operations officer in 2025.

“After we rebuilt the senior leadership team and had everyone rowing in the same direction, we started identifying new areas with new eyes where we can make a go at this,” Ralofsky says.

The cooperative’s average member age declined shortly after the CEO’s arrival in 2012, but it was slowly ticking back up to the high 40s and low 50s, depending on the product or service. The credit union had not focused on product development as a core differentiator, which left it trying to be everything to everybody.

“We offered a wide range of products and services, but we didn’t have a clear product strategy that truly set us apart in the market,” Ralofsky says. “As CEO, it’s my responsibility to help shape that clarity. After 13 years in this role, I know that when we align around a differentiated vision, we move forward with greater focus, confidence, and extraordinary potential.”

Armed with fresh eyes, the new leadership team conducted research to learn more about the credit union’s markets, the needs of potential members present in those areas, and the type of members Verve needed for long-term success.

That work led Verve to rollout four lifecycle-based bundles that pair checking, savings, and credit card products. The bundles anchor Verve’s new strategy of competitive pricing with a consultative approach.

“We want to help our members thrive,” Ralofsky says. “We use that word a lot now. If our members are thriving financially and personally, we’re thriving as well.”

The basic bundle aside, each package includes minimum balances requirements or fees. However, members can bundle accounts with a Verve credit card to eliminate monthly service fees. But the offers do more than benefit the balance sheet. Verve designed the bundles to appeal to specific member needs and change how members engage the credit union’s services.

“We’re focusing on helping our members thrive, both personally and financially, not just selling them a product,” Ralofsky says.

A Curve Of Acceptance

When Verve restructured its product suite, it also shifted to a sales culture that requires sharper listening to build deeper relationships with members. With that kind of change, organizations have to manage what Ralofsky calls the “curve of acceptance” to secure crucial staff buy-in.

An internal communications team led by HR and learning and development helped staff make the transition to a sales culture, walking through the changes with team members, discussing how it might feel, and assuring employees they’d have the right tools to make the switch.

“You’re going to skin your knees,” Ralofsky told his team. “But we’ll help you get back up and do it again and again.”

The credit union trained team leaders and departments — internally known as “spans of care” — on the nuts and bolts of the products as well as what it means to have a successful sales culture. Importantly, Verve gave employees permission to make mistakes and department leaders permission to embrace those mistakes, Ralofsky says.

Verve created its own online training module and every team member, including Ralofsky, completed the process multiple times. The credit union also held internal seminars to help employees communicate with members about the purpose and value of the new bundles and explain how the packaging enhances the overall member experience. For resistant members who wanted to stay in the product they already had, the credit union built messaging around what they were missing.

Ralofsky admits the move to a more intentional sales culture was a leap for some, but navigating the quick succession of mergers has made the Verve team remarkably agile.

“They know change, so they embrace it,” the CEO says.

Still, some associates did leave; others made intra-organization moves. Overall, though, Ralofsky says results have improved even as expectations have risen.

Along with consultations, those on the sales team also make calls and complete financial wellness checkups for members. That includes thanking them for their business and opening a dialogue to review current products, services, and financial needs to identify any opportunities to better position the member for financial success. Sometimes it’s a simple as a member explaining that they’re unsure how to pay for a child’s college or wedding. Other times it’s about digging deeper to understand why a member is making late payments.

“The key is to balance selling a product and meeting the needs of a member without shoving a product down their throat,” he says. “It’s a sales culture, but we’re leading with consultancy. We’re leading with solving problems.”

The Importance Of Leadership

Verve’s investments in products and people is beginning to pay off. After years of declining or zig-zagging performance, many key metrics at Verve are now leveling out or on the rise as of the third quarter of 2025, including member growth, ROA, and more.

The new senior leadership team has played no small part in that performance. Ralofsky admits to spending an extensive amount of time with SLT candidates during the interview process to ensure each one was the right fit. In most cases, he looped in other executive team members to determine a candidate’s cultural fit; some executives even met with candidates without Ralofsky. That’s just the CEO’s style.

“I’m interested in hearing what the candidate asks my executive team and vice versa,” he says. “It’s not an interview, it’s a conversation. It lasts an hour or two, then I leave the room and they talk more. Candidates understand much more about Verve, our culture, and my leadership style by the time they start, so it cuts out that first three months of tiptoeing around the office trying to figure out how the internal politics work.”

That’s been one of the biggest lessons he’s learned from the entire process: start cultural immersion and team building during the hiring process.

“The trust is already built, the excitement is there,” Ralofsky says. “They hit the ground running so much easier because they know who their allies are in the organization.”

What Can You Learn From Like-Minded Leaders? Credit unions are aligning leadership around common goals and responding to the evolving needs of members with a variety of products and services. Callahan Roundtables put leaders in the same room to share solutions, solicit feedback, pose questions, and more. Inspiration is a Callahan Roundtable away. Learn more today.

The post A New Leadership Team Focuses On Organic Growth At Verve appeared first on CreditUnions.com.