Organizations are straying away from the annual employee review process in favor of organic, year-round conversations. Annual employee reviews are now seen as both inefficient and ineffective, considering a good manager-employee relationship would cultivate this type of conversations as needed. Even though annual reviews are fading into the background, that doesn’t mean credit unions should stop monitoring their staff’s skill level. MSRs will respond better to constructive criticism and skill development if their performance is backed by numbers and data that indicates areas of strengths and weaknesses. There are key metrics readily available from your core technology to aid in evaluations and in improving credit union processes, plus these metrics can identify where your employees are excelling or where they need improvement. 

Should all Member's be Treated Equally?

Seth Godin, an acclaimed American author, blogger and business strategist, has repeatedly stood by the mantra "Treat different customers differently if you want them to remember you."  Many managers make the mistake of insisting that all members should be treated the same, or similarly stated, that all members should be treated the best. In the words of Syndrome (aka the villain in Disney's The Incredibles): "when everyone is super, no one will be." If you are striving to treat all members the best every time, not only is it unrealistic and exhausting your resources, the perception becomes your best is normal, and when certain situations demand even more than your normal, you simply can't out-better your best.

At the close of trading on August 22, 2018, the stock market made history by setting the record for the longest bull market ever recorded. The last low set by the S&P 500 index was on March 9, 2009, making this run 3,453 days of fairly steady growth, with the S&P 500 climbing by more than 320% over that period. A bull market refers to a market that is on the rise and is typified by a sustained increase in market share prices. During a bull market, investors have faith that this upward trend will continue, and will invest more. But not all investors are keen on stocks these days. Another report made the news last week that surprised some economists: Millennials actually prefer cash investments over the stock market, even in this long-standing bull market.

When it comes to people's hard-earned money, there's very little tolerance for error. Financial issues or concerns can skyrocket the blood pressure of even the most mild-mannered credit union member. From the wise mind of Albus Dumbledore, "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it." Here are 4 key, Hogwarts-approved tactics we think might help you calm a member who has gotten a little hot under the collar.

We were recently featured on CUInsight for our article, Non-Traditional Lending Can Lead to a Healthy Member Focus. In the article, Fred Dalit, CEO of the Hawaii-based Honea Federal Credit Union was highlighted for his unique view of member saving and lending. Honea FCU members, in general, save heavily and tend to avoid taking out loans. This created a paradox for the CU: After all, financial institutions were created to lend money, and interest income is typically their main source of revenue. This drove the credit union to seek out participation lending on a national level, and in turn provide member services that are tailored to the makeup of the member base. Dalit is a big proponent of participation lending and has used the program at his credit union to generate income they were otherwise lacking, thus using the funds to focus on his members' savings habits.  

With Summer upon us, many families are busy mapping out their summer vacation plans. So get out your atlas and rulers, or make the trip to AAA for that all-important TripTik Travel Planner and guidebook, the only way to get turn by turn directions and a listing of hotels. WAIT - it's not 1988! Clearly, technology has advanced significantly, and the task of planning road trips has gone digital. The same can be said for mapping out your credit union's member journey. 

Credit union presidents and CEO's come in many forms, all with a variety of backgrounds and interests. But they all share a few common bonds: a real passion for their credit union, their desire to provide excellent and inspired leadership, and a love of their jobs. Many could likely find a higher paying position, or opt to run a larger credit union, but choose not to because of their own feelings of loyalty, legacy and a strong belief in helping those in their community succeed and achieve good financial health. While they might not all have Masters in Finance or a degree in Business Management, many have created an atmosphere in their credit union that is engaging for members and employees alike, is personable, productive, efficient and overall, a great place to work. 

Many Small credit unions are fighting an uphill battle to compete in the financial marketplace and to gain a better foothold. With recent numbers illustrating their decline in membership, assets and loan growth, it seems small credit unions have a blurry future. However, with an estimated 70% (4000/5684) of total operational credit unions classified as small (having under $100M in assets,) they represent a huge portion of the industry, and their struggles shouldn’t be easily dismissed.

Small credit unions have held their own in the marketplace for years, struggling at times to compete, but with extraordinary resourcefulness, have stayed viable.The latest report from the NCUA, however, provides some alarming data: Large credit unions are getting larger while smaller credit unions are, in fact, getting smaller. It's worth noting that while this is actually a long time industry trend, the strengthening economy has brought with it mounting challenges for smaller credit unions to stay competitive in the upcoming year.