By Lisa Hochgraf
I bet from my headline you think I'm going to write about recruiting members from Gen Y.
And you're partly right.
Les Wallace, Ph.D., thinks credit unions need to be in the business of recruiting not only young members, but also young directors.
While many credit unions are on board with the idea that bringing on young members is key to survival, there's a good bit of resistance to recruiting board members from Gen Y, Wallace, president of Signature Resources Inc., Aurora, Colo., told attendees of CUES Symposium: A CEO/Chairman Exchange yesterday.
He showed a cartoon of directors that look like babies sitting in high chairs around a board table. The caption said: "In a word, waaaaaaah!" He also told about one of his favorite CEOs, a real innovator, who reacted to the idea of recruiting Gen Y directors by saying, "Why would I want some wet-behind-the-ears youngster on my board telling me what to do?"
Wallace emphasized that adding Gen Y board members is not about having them help you recruit credit union members the same age. Rather it's about adding their thinking to your mix.
He told about a credit union that got a young board member when his mother went off the board and suggested adding her son in her stead. At the first meeting, he got out his phone and demonstrated how he used it to check balances, pay his car loan and move money.
"We think we’re going after younger board members so we can get younger members, but it’s really about diversity of thinking," he said.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
Northwest Community Credit Union, Eugene, Ore., has successfully recruited younger board members. Read their story on the Center for Credit Union Board Excellence. Not a member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial.
Read more posts from CUES Symposium.
