By Lisa Hochgraf
Here at the inaugural CUES Director Strategy Seminar in San Diego, attendees are already having a great dialog with presenter John Oliver, president of Laurel Management Systems, Palm Springs, Calif. One of the things discussed yesterday morning is what questions credit unions might ask their members to get feedback that will help their boards develop a strategy to take the credit union into the future.
Formulating such a question can be really difficult, experience suggests. Oliver related that during a break an attendee said his credit union had asked members: "What will you need from your credit union in five years?" And members had overwhelmingly responded that they didn't have a clue.
Oliver suggested that a very important question to try to get answers to before formulating a strategy at your credit union is "Why do you come to us rather than going to someone else for your financial services?"
What questions do you ask members to help lay the foundation for setting or refining your credit union's strategy? And what are your best strategies for getting useful answers?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
In the photo, three directors from $184 million Parda Federal Credit Union, Auburn Hills, Mich., talk over what they've been learning. From left: Leon Troeger, secretary; Tina Escalona, director; and Manny Hernandez, treasurer.
