Is Your Credit Union a Great Place to Work?

by Emily Sternberg, SPHR

Many credit unions strive to be a cool place to work, a best place to work, or to be designated as one of the best and brightest. What are these credit unions doing within their businesses to receive these coveted designations? Is it that they have a ping pong table in the lunch room? A casual work environment? A robust wellness program? Could it be that they have a 401(k) with a match or generous PTO policies? Are they committed to community involvement?  Experts say it’s a combination of these attributes, but most importantly it’s a culture that encourages employee engagement. It’s a credit union that takes down the barriers to productivity so that the real work can be done. Above all it’s a credit union where employees trust one another, take pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with. 

The Five Key Areas

What kinds of things can you be doing within your credit union to engage employees and create a great place to work? According to the Great Places to Work Institute, a great place to work is one in which the relationship between the employer and employee fosters loyalty, commitment and a willingness to contribute to organizational goals and priorities. This relationship is formed by molding policies and practices around five key areas: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.

Credibility

Credibility is an credit union’s ability to build and maintain trust with its staff. A credit union that communicates its vision openly and carries out its vision and goals with consistency and integrity will inevitably build trust with its staff. Credibility is also a credit union’s ability to follow through on its commitments; they do what they say they are going to do.

Respect 

Respect is the second attribute of great work places. A respectful organization supports its employees with professional development and includes relevant stakeholders in making important decisions. Creating a positive work/life balance is also a key component to fostering a positive relationship with employees. Providing internal education to prepare employees for leadership opportunities within the organization conveys they are highly esteemed and trusted by the credit union.

Fainess

Fairness is also a key attribute in creating a great workplace experience. Employees expect that employers will be fair in terms of reward. They also have an expectation that objective decisions will be made in terms of hiring and promoting into more responsible positions. Employers who lay out clear expectations for success and hold employees to similar standards are more likely to be trusted and to have a more engaged staff.

Pride and Camaraderie

Pride and camaraderie are the final building blocks to a great work experience. Employees strive to make a difference in the organization with what they do and how they positively affect not only their company, but the surrounding community.   Commitment to community involvement is one of the principal ways in which employers help to foster employee pride in their work (and something credit unions are well known for!). Employees enjoy their jobs, because the credit union’s values align with their own and positive relationships among coworkers lend themselves to creating a sense of camaraderie in the work environment.

Creating a great place to work is sometimes about out of the ordinary benefits and quirky perks, but when all the layers are peeled back, it is clear that the foundation of any great workplace is not what we are doing, but how we are getting to the end result. Employees who trust their organization, take pride in their work and look forward to coming to work are the building blocks so any credit union can meet and exceed its goals and objectives.

Want to make your credit union an even better place to work? CU Solutions Group can help.