Notes from – March 23, 2006
Council meeting-open forum
- Review of last meeting: The hot topics from the previous meeting that were revisited were dress code issues and health insurance strategies. Delta Community Credit Union had samples of the corporate wear that they are phasing in for their front line employees, specifically from color coordinated pants to shirts to sweaters and shells. The provider is Oobe (www.oobestore.com); a fit kit ensures the correct size, and has been workable for different body types. The credit union supplied their front line staff with 4 shirts, 3 pants and 1 sweater; employees have the ability to purchase more directly from the vendor. They are also starting to look into maternity attire and plus sizes.
Other credit unions discussed what they allow or provide to their employees in terms of logo wear, giving the employee the ability to purchase more shirts if they so choose, and the always difficult season of summer attire-whether to allow open toe shoes, cropped or Capri pants, and dealing with having a less than professional appearance in terms of camisoles and ill fitting attire. The point of dress code issues still arising after instituting a uniform environment was made, so finding materials (and a variety) that are more wearer friendly and wrinkle resistant appeared to be key.
Cheryl Thomas from CUNA Mutual discussed a speaker that she had heard recently do a good presentation on navigating consumer driven healthcare plans and finding strategies to cope with rising insurance costs: “Controlling Healthcare Costs: Healthcare Cost Control Though Quality Management by Kenneth Scroggs, CEO of EAPworks. Mr. Scroggs would be available to speak at a HR Council meeting from an educational standpoint and not a sales presentation for approximately 10-15 minutes, or to give a presentation during the HR Conference.
- Web site: The HR Council website is live; the site can be accessed by http://hrc.gcua.org or on the GCUA website by following the “Councils” link on the right hand side. Each page of the site was highlighted from the Council general information, the useful links, the “Ask the Attorney” section which will allow members of the Council to submit a question and have a selected question be answered by the law firm of Fisher and Phillips, LLP (ideally on a quarterly basis), the member directory, previous meeting information, and the file archive. The consensus of the group was to utilize the file archive for sample policies that are shared within the Council to make it easier to retrieve information, and the bulk of the website is password protected as the information is for HR Council members only. The website will be a work in progress, and requests for feedback, information, and/or changes will always be on the table. The request for a listserv was given at this meeting, and it is an item that is being researched.
User id: hrcouncil
Password: rocks
- Topics discussed in the round table format:
Hiring
This was an issue for many credit unions ... recruiting good talent who will both a. pass credit and b. actually come to work was a common complaint. A credit union asked if the others pulled the credit before the interview took place or if they did this afterwards as so many candidates will state that they can pass and then not. Another credit union said they do work questions into the phone screening to indicate whether a person would be a viable candidate in terms of passing credit standards. Regardless, it is a common issue for all of us.
Bankruptcy issues were discussed ... as in terms of what do you do-hire or not, and if you hire someone with a bankruptcy, how do you handle a negligent hiring charge if they are subsequently terminated for theft or loss? There were different responses amongst the credit unions, but for those that hire someone with a bankruptcy look at circumstances surrounding it as well as the time involved and what the applicant has done since that point.
Other credit unions have a standard of credit that mirrors the standard of credit for a member – the thought process is that they do not want to hire anyone who could not receive services by the credit union, and as such some have the executive over loans review questionable applicants' credit.
Training
Hiring employees who can provide excellent member service was discussed, as in the frequent Jekyll and Hyde effect happening where they interview positively and then get in and become something altogether quite different. Training was discussed as a way to combat this, as well as getting employees to do something as simple as thanking the member for the business. This issue is not unique to the credit union industry, and has been experienced at any customer service environment. One credit union issues a list of service standards and they hold them accountable to each of them. Constant coaching and the drive to follow up falls upon the managers – and this is an area where some are experiencing success and some are not.
Training for leadership was discussed as well ... developing talent within the ranks so as to be better equipped for changing workforce. Some have career development courses that they make mandatory for certain groups but give others the option to participate if they are interested in learning, and some utilize outside sources such as DCSI (out of Florida) as well as Project Adventure.
Payroll
Direct deposit was discussed in terms of giving employees another option such as debit payroll cards . . . and that direct deposit could not be the only option. The credit union that offers debit payroll cards did not have much participation, but they utilized it as their second option. Of those that do give employees another option do not give them the option of checks, but if they do they offer checks it is on the following day-thereby making it much more convenient to enroll in direct deposit.
Most of the participants no longer issued pay stubs to their employees – they utilized an online payroll voucher system through their payroll software provider, similar to issuing W2s online instead of paper. All that utilized the online version were very pleased.
Sales and Service Culture
Many of the credit unions were looking at or have phased in to the sales culture change, and discussed several different training programs that other credit unions have had success with in helping everyone embrace the change from the top down. Some of the training programs mentioned were LDP Coaching (CUNA), Sales Development and Training programs (CUNA), as well as the CUES Sales & Service Conference. Everyone seemed to agree that you could not just hire a sales/service person and expect everything to change; that you needed to train everyone to do it and that it is easy to forget that you have to change the entire culture. It was discussed that coaching and mentoring is key in the success of the change, and the aspect of holding them accountable to their positions and goals is important – and that service is reemphasized throughout. Cross selling software was discussed (either purchased or home grown), and different challenges in embracing sales culture change were discussed. Ideas of having bonuses tied to sales, whether that be individually or collectively, are used at some credit unions.
Records
There was a discussion on record retention, specifically in terms of employee confidential information and what should be stored and how. The widespread manner was to divide out the file in different sections (and some dividing out into more sections than others), and as long as certain items were separated such as medical information from the rest of the materials, there appeared to be no need to keep them in separate filing cabinets or systems.
One of the credit unions recently went to the Performease/Compease product... had graded every job and was starting the process of using it. Others used Performance Pro.
There was some discussion on who has used employee benefit statements for their credit unions; the two companies that were mentioned were www.hiddenpaycheck.com as well as CUNA Mutual. No one utilized an ethics “hotline” number for their employees, but www.eapconsultants.com was mentioned as having that service as a part of the EAP package.
The question was raised if anyone had an Emergency Response Plan specifically for the HR Department. Seemed like some did, it was then mentioned that the HR Council website had a link to a good example of this (see front page of HR Council website).
In closing, we discussed different morale enhancing initiatives that have had success at each of our respective shops. In regards to future meetings, there were several that either offered space or suggested areas of the state, and the Council will continue to attempt to move meetings around so as to be accessible to different areas.
Next meeting to be held on June 22nd at:
Coosa Valley FCU
2010 Redmond Circle NW
Rome, GA 30165 |
