...but they are super important to your CU. Build these five things into your culture be better poised to serve them. By Erin Templer
...but they are super important to your CU. Build these five things into your culture be better poised to serve them.
By Erin Templer
"The organizations ahead of the curve get to write the rules of the game," said speaker, author and consultant Jamie Notter during the opening general session, "When Millennials Take Over: What it Takes to Attract the Future of your Members and Employees," at CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange early this year. Despite what Notter’s session title suggests, millennials are not, in fact, taking over. But they are strongly aligned with the future direction of business. So, he says, if you want to be the one writing the rules of the game, you need to build the “millennial mantra” into the core of your credit union's culture. You need to be:
- Digital: This piece is user-focused, meaning your technology needs to meet the needs of your members and your employees. It must be customizable, innovative and constantly improving.
- Clear: Transparency is the key here. No more closed-door meetings and bringing people in only as needed. Making things visible increases the quality of decisions being made in the organization. The more information people see, the better the decisions being made.
- Fluid: This is about hierarchy and enabling people to act within a flexible structure. Welcome and empower decision-makers at every level. To make a system like this work, you need a deep understanding of what drives success at your organization.
- Fast: Notter’s not talking about gaining incremental improvements in efficiency. He’s talking about how to leap ahead fast, get something done so quickly, people stop and ask: “How did they do that?” Speed like this is achieved by letting go of control and trusting in the power of what is most valued at your credit union.
Notter believes strongly that digital, clear, fluid, and fast are capacities credit unions need to strengthen to be ready for millennials. He recommends identifying what these capacities look like in your own shop, then identifying which of the four are more or less important to you. Finally he encourages understanding how your culture connects to what drives your success with millennials—and in the overall marketplace.
Erin Templer is CUES’ director of marketing. Also read “Millennials Matter,” “Mortgages for Millennials” and “Loan Zone: Making Mortgages ‘Hip’” from CUES’ Credit Union Management magazine. Learn about CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange.
