Fall 2007 - Montana Credit Union Network

Fall 2007
Working Together, Sharing Resources
Credit Unions are a Cooperative Bunch!
Montana CU System
pg 3
•
REAL Solutions
pg 4
•
New Ideas for HRM
pg 10
editorial & reports
From My Perspective
Thanks to the overwhelming support of Montana’s
credit unions for their first-ever cooperative advertising campaign, I’ve been able to spend some quality
time in Montana talking to folks about the credit
union difference.
cover story
Working Together
page 3
REAL Solutions
page 4
Philosophy in
Action Award
page 5
Candidate Academies
Scheduled
page 6
What Creates Success
page 9
CO-OP
in the Community
page 10
page
Cover Story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Philosophy in Action. . . . . . . . . . 4
Recognition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
For Your Dues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 7
TSCCU Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9
League Service Group. . . . . .10, 11
Events Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Network News
Publication Staff
Beth Satre
Editor and Design/Layout
Photographer
I’ve also had the chance to visit credit union lobbies,
participate in annual meetings, and hang out with
really cool credit union staff, volunteers, and members. It’s been great fun, and I’m always looking for
Bob is pictured here with a group of friendly representatives from
EDTECH FCU in Butte, Montana. He was invited to their Back to School
Ice Cream Social in August.
more invitations! I’ve gotta say … I’ve got a great job!
Working as the spokesman for credit unions is great
because YOU make it all worthwhile.
Bob, The Credit Union Guy, is the spokesperson for the Montana Credit Unions, The Difference: YOU campaign. He’ d also
like to thank the Utah League of Credit Unions for making his
move to Montana possible.
Hot Fla hes
~ In Each Issue ~
And, I’ve got to tell you—I’m impressed. An amazing 70% of Montana’s credit unions decided to pool
their resources to fund my travels and put me on
television and the radio. Talk about working together to increase awareness about credit unions and
spread the word about the benefits of belonging to a
credit union and the good work that credit unions­—
YOU—are doing in your communities.
Editorial Board
Tracie Kenyon, Tabitha Garvin,
Janet Harper, Sylvia Jackson,
Marcy Martin, Donya Parrish,
Jeanne Saarinen, Karen Smith
leslie: Well, here we are again…what’s on the agenda this issue?
Tracie: We’re all about cooperation…
leslie: Ahhh, what a timely topic since October is
Cooperative Month.
Tracie: And credit unions are financial cooperatives!
leslie: I’d like to revisit some of the cooperative
principles that credit unions were founded upon.
Tracie: I love that idea—you first!
Leslie: First, cooperatives have open and voluntary
membership … we don’t force participation. Secondly,
co-ops are unique for their democratic member control—in credit unions that means “one member one
vote,” regardless of the amount on deposit.
tracie: Also, that we have volunteer boards that
serve without pay! Another tenet of cooperatives is
that we encourage education and training amongst
our members.
leslie: For us, the translation is financial education—from simple budgeting to complex situations
like estate planning, credit unions are great resources
2—network news
Tracie Kenyon
Leslie Hunter
for education. Remember that another cooperative
principle is that we have social responsibilities.
tracie: Yes, and that’s why we established Montana
Credit Unions for Community Development—to assist Montana’s credit unions in reaching out to
underserved Montanans.
leslie:We are also directed to cooperate with other
cooperatives.
tracie: A shining example of that is the System
Conference that we co-hosted earlier this fall with
CUsource, Treasure State, and UniPro.
leslie: You bet; it took a lot of cooperation and
coordination to pull it off!
tracie: Cooperative businesses and cooperating
businesses – now that’s a powerful combination!
leslie: I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Cover Story
Working Together and Sharing Resources
by tracie Kenyon, MCUN president/ceo
When my youngest sister was a kid, Sesame Street
was in its infancy and she was a two year-old addict!
I recall her watching Bert and Ernie, the popular
muppets, struggle with cooperation—they called it
“canooganogle” as they frustratingly attempted to
work together to solve a problem.
Zoom forward 36 years and I am delighted that I
work in the canooganogle movement! Credit unions,
and other cooperatives, are unique in that we’ve built
our foundation on pooling resources and working
together to serve the common good. We can find
examples of cooperation from the micro (members
combining savings to provide lending) to the macro
(credit unions participating loans and sharing data
processing) and even the “super-macro” (credit union
organizations working together to provide solutions).
Montana Credit Union System Conference
Just last month, after nearly a year of preparation,
Montana’s credit unions were treated to such a “super-macro” display—five credit union organizations
working collectively to provide education, networking, and business solutions—the result, the first ever
“Montana Credit Union System Conference.”
And, by most accounts, the conference was well-received. Was it perfect? No … just like Bert and Ernie, we’re striving to find the delicate balance called
“cooperation.” Was it a success? You bet, by the mere
fact that CUsource, League Service Group, Montana
Credit Union League, Treasure State Corporate, and
UniPro Systems pooled our collective time, talent
and treasure, our credit unions came out ahead.
Ongoing Projects
As we look for additional ways to cooperate, we will
continue to delight and surprise the Montana credit
union movement. The key organizations and their
leadership are committed to providing solutions as
evidenced by the fantastic participation at the System Planning Meeting in August. Several participants commented that it is both exhilarating and
challenging to create plans with your direct competition sitting at the table. Some experts within the
cooperative system have dubbed the phenomenon,
“coopetition.”
ABOVE: The four President/CEOs
of the five Montana Credit Union
System Entities pause for a moment
before their panel discussion at
the System Conference. Seated
from left to right: Shirely Bailey,
CUsource; Steve Howke, Treasure
State Corporate Credit Union; Tracie
Kenyon, Montana Credit Union
League and LSG; and Tom Dedman,
UniPro Systems.
Right: Steve King, Community
FCU–Great Falls, facilitates the
discussion during the Information
Exchange, the last session of the
1st Annual Montana Credit Union
System Conference.
Coopetition among Friends
Coopetition creates another need for balance; however, this isn’t unusual for many of Montana’s credit
unions who’ve been working together through the
CUSO structure for nearly 20 years to provide back
office functions for their credit unions. And, it’s
clear to all who participate with these efforts, Montana’s credit unions come out ahead as they direct
their resources back into the state.
So, here’s a nod to “super-macro conooganogling,”
Bert and Ernie, and Montana’s credit union system—you make the world a better place!
network news—3
Philosophy in action
Montana Credit Unions Provide REAL Solutions
To help consumers across the state, Montana Credit
Unions for Community Development (MCUCD)
garnered $65,000 in outside grants that will support
Montana credit unions participating in the National
Credit Union Foundation’s REAL Solutions program.
resources to the program by attracting funding from
outside the credit union community.
REAL Solutions is active in 19 states, with leagues
using their own funds to cover REAL Solutions
implementation expenses. Montana is the first to add
Project Funding
The project funding includes $45,000 from the Kellogg Foundation and Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Montana to hire staff and enroll in
NCUF’s program and $20,000 from the Montana
Homeownership Network (an affiliate of Neighborworks Great Falls) to establish a guarantee fund to
offset a percentage of the credit union losses associated
with offering payday loan alternatives.
Currently 15 Montana credit unions have enrolled in
the REAL Solutions Program (see list below).
“Without the great support of our funders, this payday loan alternative project would not be getting off
the ground,” states MCUCD Executive Director
Jeanne Saarinen.
above: Nancy
Pierce, Montana’s
REAL Solutions
field coach, speaks
to a rapt audience
of credit union
representatives at
the REAL Solutions
Introductory
Conference on
September 13,
2007. 45 people
representing 26
credit unions
attended.
4—network news
Experienced Field Coach
Participating in REAL Solutions offers
Montana credit unions an additional boost
in the form of “field coach” Nancy Pierce.
Pierce is a former chair of the Credit Union
National Association and a 25-year veteran
of the credit union industry. In her role,
she will provide personalized assistance to
MCUCD and local credit union staff as
they design and roll out affordable alternatives to payday loans. 
REAL SoLUTIONS
CREDIT UNIONS
Avanta FCU
Bear Paw CU
EDTECH FCU
Great Falls Teachers FCU
High Peaks FCU
Kootenai Valley FCU
Lincoln County CU
MDU Employees FCU
Missoula FCU
Montana First CU
Park Side FCU
Ravalli County FCU
Russell Country FCU
Sky FCU
Trico Educational FCU
“I’m thrilled that Nancy Pierce is our field
coach,” states Saarinen. “In the past year,
Nancy has worked with three other REAL
Solutions leagues to implement payday loan
alternatives with very positive results.”
ABOVE: Montana State
Representative Mary
Caferro, a long-time
activist for low-income
Montanans, applauds
MCUCD’s work on this
issue and encourages
conference attendees to
participate in the REAL
Solutions program.
“We’ll follow the same format that has
worked so well in other states,” affirmed
Pierce, “By pooling our resources with the
League’s, Montana credit unions and their
members will benefit from our shared experiences across the country.”
The National Credit Union Foundation
took on REAL Solutions as its signature
program in December 2006. Over the next
three years, REAL Solutions is projected to
help more than 2,000 credit unions in 33 states provide new products and services, attracting more than
250,000 low-wealth members.
Recognition
2007 Philosophy in Action Award Announced
Midland Empire Chapter Honored
During the first night of the Montana Credit Union
System Conference, the Midland Empire Chapter of
Credit Unions (Chapter) received the 2007 Philosophy in Action Award for their You and Your Money…
Take Control Today financial education program.
The Program
You and Your Money is a free financial education
program that aims to educate members about using
credit properly, how to read and understand credit
reports, and how to guard against identity theft. Free
daycare is provided so that members with children
can easily attend. Participants who complete the series receive a $50 savings bond.
The Chapter offered its first set of classes in February 2006. The initial response made it clear that the
classes were filling a community need, so the Chapter decided to make them a regular offering. Since
their first set of classes in February 2006, the Chapter
has held five sessions—reaching about 120 members.
And, it is committed to continuing to offer the You
and Your Money classes each Spring and Fall.
The Cooperative Spirit
The You and Your Money program is a combined
cooperative effort among all Chapter members. The
Chapter provides the overall funding (including purchasing the savings bonds), and credit unions contribute in a variety of ways. Credit union staff serve as
presenters, provide refreshments,
and volunteer as babysitters. Each
credit union also promotes the
classes to their membership.
Midland Empire
chapter Members
“This kind of a shared project is
difficult to develop and implement
in a way that creates an effective,
sustainable program,” remarked
Montana Credit Union Network
President/CEO Tracie Kenyon
at the presentation ceremony.
“By working together, the partner credit unions are offering an
invaluable service to their members and the Billings community.
They’re very deserving of our 2007
Philosophy in Action Award.”
Avanta FCU
big sky FCU
Billings FCU
Montana Health FCU
Homestead FCU
Rimrock CU
SEG Fcu
Sky FCU
Summit CU
Valley FCU of montana
The Award
Montana Credit Unions for Community Development established the Philosophy in Action Award in 2006 to recognize credit union staff, credit unions,
or chapters whose work and efforts reflect the credit union philosophy to an
outstanding degree. Janna McCormick
of MDU Employees FCU received the
2006 Award for her outstanding membership education project.
Bingo, Banana Splits and Mulligans
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Montana Credit
Unions for Community Development fundraisers during the
Systems Conference in September. We raised $2,170 to help
MCUCD improve the social and economic well-being of Montanans! Special thank you to CUsource, Montana Credit Union
League, League Service Group, Treasure State Corporate CU,
and UniPro Systems for sponsoring the banana split and bingo
fundraiser. And, another special thanks to Steve King of Community FCU for providing the bingo equipment, to MCUCD Program Support Coordinator Robert Coble for serving as the bingo caller, and especially MCUCD Americorps*VISTA member Amita Patel for planning and coordinating the entire fundraiser. Also, thanks to the golfers who purchased much-needed mulligans!
We appreciate everyone’s support!
New TRICO
Educational FCU
President/CEO
Kim Carter (left)
and MCUCD staff
member Carin
McClain (above)
enjoy themselves at
the Bingo Fundraiser.
network news—5
for your dues
Your Network Staff
Tracie Kenyon
President/CEO
(
135
tracie@mcun.org
Laurie Boles
Marketing Specialist 123
(
laurie@mcun.org
Robert Coble
Program Support Coord., MCUCD 142
(
robert@mcun.org
Patricia Garvin
Senior VP–Education & Training
(
126
pat@mcun.org
Tabitha Garvin
LSG–Chief Operations Officer
(
132
tabitha@mcun.org
Jamie Guenther
VP–Marketing
(
123
jamie@mcun.org
Janet Harper
Director, Governmental Relations
(
136
janeth@mcun.org
Katie Lockett
Administrative Assistant
(
120
katie@mcun.org
Marcy Martin
Director, Administrative Services
(
120
marcy@mcun.org
Coleen Noziska
Administrative Assistant
(
121
coleen@mcun.org
Donya Parrish
VP–Advocacy & Compliance
(
122
donya@mcun.org
Bob Pyfer
General Counsel
(
168
pyfer@mcun.org
Jeanne Saarinen
Executive Director, MCUCD
(
131
jeanne@mcun.org
6—network news
Welcome to New MCUCD Team Members
This summer MCUCD welcomed new
Americorps*VISTA members Amita Patel and
Joanne Martonik, and new employee Robert Coble.
They join second-year Americorps*VISTA member
Carin McClain, with Karen Smith and Jeanne Saarinen rounding out MCUCD’s team.
Amita Patel’s project is BSAFE, the matched savings
account program for women survivors of domestic violence (www.mtbsafe.org). Her education is perfect for
this project: with graduate degrees in sociology and
finance, and an undergraduate degree in women’s
studies. She comes to MCUCD from New Jersey.
In her VISTA application, Amita said that after
spending a year as a commercial loan officer in New
York City, she realized that she wanted something
more fulfilling and wanted to use her teaching, writing, and business skills to help others. She is certainly
doing that with BSAFE!
Joanne Martonik is working on Montana Students
Save, the matched savings account program for students to save for college. She is from Virginia and has
recently completed her BA in finance. After graduating, she began work for Georgetown University, coordinating the school’s financial literacy seminars for
students.
On Montana, Joanne noted, “I like that the towns
are smaller and the people are friendlier than the East
Coast. Even the landscape is so different—it has really changed the way I view the world.”
When Robert Coble joined MCUCD as a program
support coordinator, he had just finished a year as a
VISTA member working on a consumer law project on the Blackfeet
Indian Reservation
with the Montana
Leagal Services Association. He also
volunteered at 1st
Liberty FCU’s Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance (VITA)
site preparing taxes
for low income filers
in Cut Bank and the
Reservation’s VITA
site in Browning.
Robert is from South
The MCUCD team work at the Bingo and Banana Split Fundraiser during
the System Conference. Above: Amita Patel, Robert Coble, and Jeanne
Saarinen work the Bingo calling table. Left: Karen Smith and Joanne
Martonik check people in and distribute bingo cards. Carin McClain is
pictured on page 5 distributing tickets for door prizes.
Carolina, and has a BA in History. When asked why
he wanted to work for MCUCD, Robert said “I believe in the MCUCD’s projects, saw the great way
employees were treated and the fact that they loved
their job. I wanted to be a part of that team.”
CCreati ns
U
LSG Marketing Service
for your dues
The Campaign Academies are Coming in 2008
If you’re thinking about a run for public office or
maybe working on a political campaign, you’re in
luck! The Campaign Academy is coming to a city
near you in 2008.
Please encourage your staff, members, or volunteers
to attend. The more
credit union supporters we can elect to office, the better.
A Cooperative Effort
The Montana Credit
Union Network, the
Montana Chamber
of Commerce, and
the Montana Rural
Electric Cooperatives’ Association offer this day-long
training session as a cooperative service to the communities they serve and the state as a whole.
Scheduled Dates in 2008
•February 4 – Great Falls • February 6 – Missoula
• February 7 – Bozeman • February 8 – Billings
Academy Topics
The Campaign Academy is designed to provide the
information, tools, and knowledge a person needs to
put together an effective campaign for election to a
local, county, or state office. The topics that academy
participants will learn about are
• Writing a Campaign Plan
• Raising Funds
• Election and Finance Laws
• Communicating Your Message
• Working with the Press
• Getting Voters out to Vote for You
For more information, contact Janet at janeth@
mcun.org. For a registration form, call 406-761-8333
or email sharonm@sofast.net.
Your Network Staff
Beth Satre
Director, Communications & PR
134 (
beth@mcun.org
Karen Smith
Director, Outreach Services
124 (
karen@mcun.org
Ranel Smith
Director, Marketing
127 (
ranel@mcun.org
League Board
*Leslie Hunter
Chair
*Kathy Shea
Vice Chair
*Chris Sisco
Secretary
*Jeremy Presta
Ask Compliance
Q: If our credit union is interested in compliance
training for our staff, do we contact the Compliance
Department or the Education/Training Department
at the Network?
A: Either! These two departments at the Network
work closely to meet the needs of our affiliated credit
unions. That means we coordinate events to ensure
that new regulations with operational impact are covered, existing subjects requiring training are offered,
and hot topics are included. The result
this year alone has included quarterly compliance webinars, a
two-day Compliance Conference, a session at the Directors
Conference, and two Fraud Seminars (scheduled for November
6 and November 8)!
Since both education and compliance are services
provided to you as part of your annual affiliation
dues, sessions cost far less than what training vendors
advertise. And, we know your credit unions and can
customize these sessions to make sure they fulfill
your expectations. We plan to continue a mix of in-
Controller
Wally Berry
Director
person sessions and remote learning because you have
told us that both are still valuable to you.
Training events have been the result of the cooperations between these two departments for years.
In fact, the first Network webinar was held in June
2002 on a compliance topic! Since that time, hundreds of training webinars have been offered on a
variety of topics. Some are through cooperation with
other leagues, and others employ Network staff
training, but the compliancerelated sessions continue to
be a regular part of our
Events list.
For more details on upcoming training opportunities, visit the Events
Calendar at www.mcun.
org. If you are interested in receiving the monthly Education & Events email that
is sent, contact Pat Garvin (800-745-5546 x 126; pat@
mcun.org). In addition, ideas and suggested topics are
always welcome. Visit with either the Compliance or
the Education/Training Department.
Bob Bjelland
Director
Tom Boos
Director
Dave Stenberg
Director
Al Vukasin
Director
LSG Board
Chari Lucas
Chair
Kathy Briggs
Vice Chair
Bernie Niebauer
Director
The League Board’s table
officers (those marked
with an *) also serve
on the LSG Board.
network news—7
CEO Corner
The Credit Union System Conference is
now behind us, and—as the rookie—it
truly was an eye opening experience.
By rookie, I don’t mean that this is the
first big event that I have ever attended;
on the contrary, I have enjoyed many
MCUN and Treasure State functions
in the past. But, as a credit union employee, my participation was limited to
attending the meetings and making sure
the hospitality room was functioning
Steve Howke, President/CEO
properly. This time was different as I saw
all of the hard work that went into organizing and
putting on an event of this size and complexity, especially with five different organizations.
Your TSCCU Staff
Steve Howke
President/CEO
(128
steve@tsccu.org
Sylvia Jackson
Director of Compliance
and Risk Management
(129
sylvia@tsccu.org
Tracy Thornburg
Director of Administration
and Operations
(139
tracy@tsccu.org
Kara Connors
Business Development Analyst
(137
kara@tsccu.org
Frances Calhoun
Operations Assistant/MSR
(125
frances@tsccu.org
Diane Halferty
Member Services Representative
(130
diane@tsccu.org
Bringing five very different organizations together is
not easy. Each has a different structure, ownership,
vision, and limitations as to what we can provide.
Treasure State, for instance, has strict regulatory
guidelines that must be met, and that affects how we
can participate. While we all strive to bring as much
8—network news
The staffs from all of the organizations worked together wonderfully with nary a glitch. After seeing
Tracie, Pat, Tabitha, and the rest of the MCUN crew
put it all together for the final product, it is obvious
they truly are the experts in this area. Of course, with
respect to specifics of the conference and based on
your valuable feedback, there is room for improvement. The cooperative model to enhance value to our
member credit unions works best when a specific goal
or outcome is well defined.
I am confident that given the cooperation and willingness of the five organizations to work together,
future shared projects will be ever more beneficial.
Because—“Together We’re Better!”
Without a comprehensive ACH origination program, your
revenue opportunities, processing efficiencies and enhanced
service could disappear like the dinosaurs. TSCCU can help you
evolve your business services strategy to offer a more robust,
Web-based origination solution.
You can originate your
own payments, as
well as those of your
sponsors and business
members, improving
service and creating
revenue opportunities
for your credit union.
Escape the …
www.tsccu.org
value to our member/customers as we can, the very
definition of value for each organization varies, not to
mention what operational path it is chosen to deliver.
CU Student H.E.L.P. is on the Way
Have you been trying to flag down that next generation of member? Don’t worry—CU Student H.E.L.P
(Higher Educational Loan Program) is on the way.
Treasure State can now help you bring this lucrative
market through your door.
TSCCU has partnered with Charlie Mac (a CUSO
that purchases jumbo mortgage and auto loans from
credit union originators) to provide CU Student
H.E.L.P. The cost of college tuition is rising at 7.5%
annually, and government loans sometimes fall short.
As a result, more and more students are turning to
private student loans to help fund their education.
Reach New Members
Offering student loans provides new growth opportunities for your credit union. Once a student is on
your credit union’s books, you can use this relationship as a springboard to sell additional products such as credit cards, auto loans, and eventually
mortgage loans. CU Student H.E.L.P. offers additional benefits to credit unions and their members
(see the list in the box below).
If you already offer government student loans, offering CU Student H.E.L.P. will help you round out
your loan portfolio. And, in the credit union spirit,
Charlie Mac will contribute a portion of the fees
received from CU Student H.E.L.P to BizKid$, a
credit union-sponsored television series dedicated to
financial education for middle school students.
Rest easy now that CU Student H.E.L.P. is finally
here! For more information, call Treasure State today
(800-745-5546) or visit www.charliemac.org.
—ALMonitor—
Big Sky FCU v
Rimrock CU
v
SEG FCU
v
—APEX-ACH—
Full service ACH origination and receipt package
MT State Hospital CU
v
Elkhorn FCU *FTP
v
(File Transfer)
— Bill Pay Services —
Community FCU
v
— Member Business Services —
(CU Business Group)
Gateway Community FCU
v
Avanta FCU
v
—SimpliCD—
Full Certificate of Deposit program for credit unions
to invest in federally insured institutions
Missoula FCU v
Heritage FCU
v
Annamarie DeYoung
Chair • Sky FCU
Kevin Mayer
Vice Chair • Richland FCU
Kathy Briggs
Secy/Treasurer • Family First FCU
Gary Clark
Director • Missoula FCU
Rhonda Diefenderfer
Director • Avanta FCU
Steve Grooms
Director • 1st Liberty FCU
Paula Ruddock
Director • Rimrock CU
Asset/Liability
Committee
Brent Martin
Chair • Helena Community CU
New Service Starts
“Thank You” to the following credit unions who have
enhanced their services by using these TSCCU services.
Your TSCCU
Board of Directors
Program Benefits
• Attracts Gen Y depositors
• Cross-sells to existing members (a grandparent, aunts, or uncles)
• Reduces origination fees
• Offers cooperatively priced loans with
low APRs
• Loans are serviced by a strong-rated, nonbank entity (Am. Educational Services)
• Access is easy through your CU’s Web site
• Approval can come within minutes of
applying online
• No risk, no additional staffing, IT hardware or software support is needed
• No funding or liquidity is necessary
Annamarie DeYoung
Sky FCU
Gary Clark
Missoula FCU
Al Vukasin
Bear Paw CU
Steve Howke and
Sylvia Jackson
TSCCU
Supervisory
Committee
Teri Reardon
Chair • Southwest Montana
Community FCU
Ed Gillig
Valley FCU
Laura Scoville
Gateway Community FCU
Greg Strizich
Helena Community CU
• No expenses are involved other than
marketing
• Complete, credit union-branded marketing kit is provided
network news—9
league service group
LSG Business
Partners
CO-OP Financial
Services
Counterfeit Cop
CU Auditing
CU Recovery
CUNA Mutual Group
CUNA Strategic
Services
CU Succeed
Fidelity Card Services
HRValue Group
ICUL Service
Corporation
Indirect Lending
Technologies
(DILLS)
John M. Floyd &
Associates
Mountain West
Benefit Solutions
Office Depot
Student Assistance
Foundation
Wolters Kluwer
Financial Services
What Creates Success?
This is a question that we think about as leaders, but
we often question our answers. Is it our products? Is
it a result of the service we provide to our members?
Does it come from management? How about our
employees?
Does our business success come from our employees?
Let’s answer it this way: if you did not have employees, would you be successful?
Employees are the key to our success indeed, but
there is much more involved. Take the sweatshops
of the 1800-1900s, they had plenty of employees and
they were successful, to a limited point. What if a
business owner of one sweatshop changed the way
they treated, compensated, and provided benefits
to their employees? Do you believe the quality and
quantity of production would improve for that
business owner?
Success is a result of our employees, but it is limited
by the work environments created in a businesses.
Here are a few questions credit unions should ask.
• Are a credit union’s reward and recognition systems
appropriate for the mission and business goals and
do they link to the performance expectations for all
positions in the credit unions?
• How well are credit union employees compensated
compared to other employers? Are credit unions
providing the appropriate benefits to meet the
needs of employees or prospective candidates?
HRValue Group (HRVG) is an Executive Search
and Professional Human Resources Consulting
Firm, built by the Credit Union movement to exclusively serve the HR needs of Credit Unions.
• Are we marketing our “employment brand?” Do
we have one? What is our “employment brand”
and are we delivering it to our employees?
So, to answer the question, does success come from
our employees? Yes, although to have sustained business success for your organization, employees need
the following:
• A comfortable working environment that includes
physical comfort along with an emotional, social,
and trustful environment that shows care for
employees;
• A clear understanding of the business goals and
how they link to jobs and corresponding performance expectations;
• The recognition and reward of an employee’s
strengths that positively impact the business; and
• A coaching environment that is consistently encouraging and supports the incremental improvements of employee’s behaviors to
ensure they are repeated
Human Resource Management
Adding or
Reviewing
Services?
Think of
LSG First!
call
Tabitha Garvin
800-745-5546 ext 132
tabitha@mcun.org
Every Credit Union’s Challenge
In August, leadership from 17 Montana credit unions met for a joint
planning session in Helena. One of the key needs the credit unions
voiced was for more Human Resource Management (HRM) support
and resources. As your League Service Group (LSG), we have several
solutions for your credit union.
New HRM Service
Approximately ten years ago, LSG offered a model employee handbook for credit unions. Many of you have used the program and kept
your handbooks up-to-date. However, we heard your desire for more
HRM services. We are eliminating the original program and rolling
LSG offers NEW HRM Service continued on page 12
10—network news
To ensure unlimited business
success, examine your credit
union’s culture and dig into the
limits you have placed in your
employment practices.
Written by Jon Drogheo, PHR,
MEd., a Human Resources Consultant with HRValue Group
working to assist credit unions
with their HR consulting needs,
including compensation, recruitment, training, performance management, coaching,
and leadership development.
league service group
CO-OP Financial Services in the Community
Credit unions were founded on the doctrine of
“people helping people”. This altruistic approach
to corporate life has led CO-OP Financial Services
to work side-by-side with its credit union member
owners, raising dollars and awareness for mutually
supported charities.
Children’s Miracle Network
CO-OP maintains a long-standing affiliation with
Children’s Miracle Network, a non profit organization that is dedicated to saving and improving
the lives of children by raising funds for children’s
hospitals across North America. CO-OP helps
support these children and the hospitals by pledging a certain percentage of each ATM transaction
to Children’s Miracle Network and CO-OP is the
national sponsor for Champions Across America, a
program that honors youngsters who have overcome
life threatening medical problems, including brain
tumors, heart transplants and cancer with the help
of children’s hospitals.
NCUF and Finanacial Education
CO-OP continues to support programs that advance the credit union movement, including the
National Credit Union Foundation, a CUNA affiliate that funds programs to improve consumers’
financial literacy; the National Endowment for Fi-
nancial Education,
an organization
that supports high
school-level curriculum on managing money; and the
Applied Research
Institute, whose
credit union-related projects include
studies on lending
channels, collection best practices,
alternative financial
services and identity theft.
Working in the
Community
CO-OP Financial Services “credit union community” has blossomed to 50 states and ten countries in
recent years, yet the overriding corporate philosophy
remains focused on assisting member credit unions
in their communities. For more information on how
your credit union can work with CO-OP Financial
Services to get involved with philanthropic organizations, please contact Tabitha Garvin at the Network
(800-745-5546 x 132; tabitha@mcun.org).
LSG services
CU Creations
Employee Handbook
Strategic Planning
Home Equity
Loan Program
CO-OP Head urges Support for CMN
Network Compliance
Pledges $10,000 in matching funds
No question. Stan Hollen, President/CEO of CO-OP Financial
Services, believes strongly that the Children’s Miracle Network
deserves credit union support. His organization already is a generous donor (see article above) but, to encourage increased credit
union giving, he is willing to go even further.
Adding or
Reviewing
Services?
During his address at the Montana Credit Union System Conference in September in Helena, Hollen offered to match any funds
Montana’s credit unions raise for CMN—up to $10,000.
Think of
LSG First!
“Stan has offered us a great incentive,” said Tracie Kenyon,
President/CEO of the Network. “CMN has been our charity of
choice since Winter 2006, and it would be wonderful to gather
$20,000 to support Shodair Children’s Hospital, Montana’s sole
CMN facility. Network staff plan to meet with Shodair staff to
come up with a plan for Montana’s credit unions to raise funds
and match CO-OP’s $10,000 pledge.
call
Tabitha Garvin
800-745-5546 ext 132
tabitha@mcun.org
Stan Hollen, President/CEO of CO-OP Financial Services,
speaks to the attendees who gathered the first morning of
the Montana Credit Union System Conference.
network news—11
calendar
LSG offers NEw HRM Service, cont. from page 10
out a more robust HR service. Over the past several
months, LSG has been working with Holland &
Hart—a Billings law firm specializing in employment
issues—to create an up-to-date, employee-friendly,
and employer-compliant model employee handbook.
What Comes with the Program
The new annual subscription HRM service includes
an electronic version of the model employee handbook that a credit union can easily update and modify to its specifications with Holland & Hart providing legal review of any changes.
The annual subscription will also include a quarterly
news bulletin highlighting HRM topics, a ready-touse staff training module, an HRM resource book
to guide you through common HRM situations, an
HR webinar, and a discounted registration fee for an
HR Conference.
Additionally, your League Service Group has been
working with HRValue Group to offer HRM support to Montana’s credit unions. The HRValue
Group staff provides excellent consulting on a wide
array of HRM issues from creating an incentive program to evaluating a CEO.
LSG’s HRM Service and HRValue Group are two
solutions to help your credit union address your human resource management needs. Please contact
Tabitha at ext 132 for more information on our Human Resource Management solutions.
Events Calendar
2008 Dates
Nov 6
Nov 8
Feb 20
Feb 21-22
Apr 24-26
May 7-9
May 20-23
June 11-13
July 8-11
Aug 4-6
Sept 23-26
Oct 15-16
Regional Fraud Conference, Ruby’s Inn & Convention Center........................................................Missoula
Regional Fraud Conference, Holiday Inn Grand Montana............................................................... Billings
New Managers/Presidents Orientation................................................................................................TBA
Lending Workshop..........................................................................................................................Helena
Network Annual Convention & Exposition, Heritage Inn............................................................ Great Falls
IRAs – Essentials, Advanced, HSAs.......................................................................................................TBA
Regional Identity Theft Training...........................................................................................................TBA
Executive Staff Symposium..................................................................................................................TBA
Mountain Regional Credit Union Roundtable.............................................................................. Cody WY
Roundtables........................................................................................................................................TBA
Montana Credit Union System Conference, BW GranTree Inn....................................................... Bozeman
Compliance Conference.......................................................................................................................TBA
Montana
Credit Union
Network
1236 Helena Avenue
Helena, MT 59601
Phone
406.442.9081
800.745.5546
Fax:
406.442.9085
Web Site
www.montana
creditunions.coop
Watch for the monthly Education & Events flyers to register for distance learning opportunities.
network news—12
Presort Standard
US Postage
PAID
Helena, MT 59601
Permit No. 221
1236 Helena Ave • Helena, MT 59601