By Suzanne Boniface
Today (May 4) I asked Jon Reske, VP/marketing from UMass Five Credit Union, to describe in one word how he felt about our two-week visit with credit union executives from the country of Azerbaijan (read previous posts about the visit here and here). He quickly replied, "Success." Next I asked him to tell me what one word the visitors would use about us. John said, "Gratitude."
What exactly did Jon mean by success? "They are rethinking how they will be doing business and organizing themselves; they also have seen the value the credit union association has in this industry," he explained. Jon added that he feels the Azerbaijans will be changing their approach because of their experiences over the last two weeks.
The word "gratitude" grew from the positive impression that nine U.S. credit unions took the time to welcome the Azerbaijans and help guide them. They were impressed with the quality of the work we all do and enjoyed how organized we could be.
What seemed new to them was the informal type of teamwork that can work so well for us. "They were inspired by the way we can joke together and have fun, and that this can work amongst executive levels and staff," Jon conveyed. "They like that model."
Employee coaching was also a new concept to the Azerbaijan visitors. They observed the value of staff training and selling. They heard about it, watched it; they seemed to store that concept in their very busy minds.
The seven visitors depart tomorrow. This afternoon they are spending time at the Ingleside Mall in Holyoke, Mass., doing some last-minute shopping of gifts to take home. This past Wednesday night I joined them at a local Chamber of Commerce After 5 networking event, one of the many additional experiences they enjoyed. Pictures of that can be found on my blog, Shout out to Credit Unions and also on UMass Five CU's Web site.
These seven gentlemen had 14 full days of the United States, credit unions, education and experiences. I hope they do understand the admiration we have for their vast and diligent efforts for the credit union movement world wide.
Suzanne M. Boniface is VP/marketing for ValleyStone Credit Union and chief blogger for Shout out to Credit Unions, a blog on the importance of telling the CU story.
