Continuous Connection

Oftentimes, there is so much to do in credit union operations that it seems all the tasks and projects will never get done.

“In this time-crunched, overwhelmed world, we’re all so busy at work, all we try to do is get through the work that is on the plate at the moment,” explains author of Do More Great Work Michael Bungay Stanier in an interview for this article.

“We all feel slightly overwhelmed, overworked and overcommitted. We need to ask ourselves, ‘‘What is the thinking I need to do to make the best possible choices of where I spend my time?”

Stanier’s book is a road map for how to push from good work to great work, from the standard to the extraordinary. He sees good work as the necessary, everyday, get-it-done business, whereas great work is “the strategic, the innovative, and the differentiating work that really allows an organization to separate itself from the pack and strive to be an organization, like a credit union, of the 21st century and to make an impact.”

To put this concept into action Stanier, who will speak at CEO/Executive Team Network, Nov. 2-5 in Amelia Island, Fla., says a key question operations executives need to ask themselves is: “What’s the right combination (of good and great work) I need to do today, this week and this month that will have the biggest impact on achieving the strategic goals for this year and the next five years?”

Communication

CUES member David Snodgrass, CCE, president/CEO of $1.6 billion/160,000+ member Lake Trust Credit Union in Lansing, Mich., says going from good to great in strategy and still getting all the day-to-day work done requires being completely open and transparent with employees.

Snodgrass asserts, “It’s a constant drum beat of talking about why, why, why. If people can make the connection (from strategy) to what it is they do every day, they are more likely to be engaged, they are more likely to be creative, and they are more likely to institute change.”

He explains that the leadership team at Lake Trust CU is constantly in contact with its employees. They hold roundtables, produce a quarterly all-staff video that expounds on the accomplishments that happened over the last three months, and send out a weekly email newsletter of things they are doing and how their progress is related to long-term objectives.

CUES member Kim Sutton, executive vice president of $190 million/23,000-member Industrial Credit Union, Bellingham, Wash., says each time her CU lays out a new strategy or road map, the leadership team spends time with employees making sure they understand how each of their positions can support the credit union’s success.

“I think that’s one of the main improvements we’ve made, trying to take our message and apply it to [the employees],” she says. She notes that although communication is something her credit union has worked hard on to be good at, everyone recognizes that a communication breakdown is a barrier to great work.

“You can deliver a message, but until you’ve confirmed what someone else heard, you’ve just delivered a message,” she says. “It’s such a big challenge.”

Sutton says her CU reconnects with employees several times a year to confirm they are communicating well.

$1.6 billion/160,000-member Idaho Central Credit Union, Pocatello, has won Idaho Business Review’s Idaho’s Best Places to Work in the large employer category two years in a row. CEO Kent Oram, CSE, CCE, says this is because everyone understands the CU’s mission and knows their place in it.

Oram knows all his employees understand the company’s mission because he asks them during meetings with each department three times a year.

“We have some big goals and everyone knows that,” says the CUES member. “They get what we’re trying to accomplish and everyone is trying to carry out that mission at their level.”

Member Input

Doing great work in support of great strategy also depends on knowing your members’ needs and wants.

Snodgrass expounds on this relationship, explaining, “One of the things I think we’ve become pretty good at is listening. There are always going to be choices and there are going to be more tactical options that you have capabilities of executing on, but it’s a constant process of listening to members and understanding what’s important to consumers.”

Lake Trust CU leaders talk with members about the design and development of products and services. They also involve members in beta testings, and sharing concept documents with them, all in an effort to be more transparent.

Industrial CU also communicates with its members in an effort to bring them into the design mix.

“One of our top three values is ‘members first,’” Sutton says. “Whenever we are looking at a strategic plan of where we’re going, the first thing we’re looking at is how it is going to impact our members. We take all of the input and info from our members about what services they want (collected from comment cards and conversations), or an opportunity we’ve missed, then those filter back and we take that into consideration.”

All of this works best if the CU has the right team members, Sutton says. “I think the key factors, the things that make the difference, are the people and the leadership. If you have leadership that has compassion and understanding of the human elements and you work as a team, I think those are the most successful credit unions.”

Snodgrass agrees. “I think the fundamental thing is that leaders in the organization are the right people, that want to do what they are doing. If this is the kind of organization you want to be, it requires the type of people who thrive in that environment and have a passion for it. In many cases, we get in our own way. We are our own barrier. It’s building a team that is capable and passionate that is first and foremost.”

Making it Work

Stanier thinks strategies should be narrow and bold.

“The narrower you can make it,” he says, “the better the odds are you are going to get this done. A great work project should have a bold impact, but at the same time still be very focused.”

Industrial CU tries to narrow its strategy, according to Sutton, and looks for guidance along the way. “It’s easier to follow a new road map that has a lot of checkpoints so you know you’re going in the right direction. When it gets down to the front-line staff, we’re pretty narrow and we’re very specific.”

After that, success in balancing day-to-day with strategic work is all about reflection. Oram notes, “Measuring is an important tool. You have to know how we are doing. Are we making mistakes or are we not? Are our processes good or are they not? Are we frustrating to members or are we not? So there is measuring and reporting back that has to happen.”

In his book, Stanier writes, “Past performance—or more specifically, past moments of engagement and meaning—is actually a very good indicator of future results.” In other words, look at what worked and what didn’t in past efforts and apply that to the future.

In the end, Sutton comments, leaders need to show staff how the day-to-day work matters and makes strategic outcomes possible.

“You have to be the cheerleader for your plan,” she says. “You have to be someone who really believes in it and understands it, and you have to be constantly out there demonstrating how to live it and making sure everyone gets it and they understand it’s achievable, and doable, and how it’s doable.”

Molly Hayman is a former CUES editorial intern based in Madison, Wis