AUSTIN, Texas—Credit unions understand the value of a detailed onboarding program for members–but how many make the same kind of effort with new staff?
Trailhead FCU CEO Jim McCarthy believes more credit unions should spend time developing an extensive employee onboarding program, saying that if the organization can’t onboard staff effectively, how can it do the same for members and offer the best service?
During the CUTomorrow Conference here, some of what McCarthy shared is how his credit union’s staff have helped to turn the credit union’s fortunes around, moving away from negative share and loan growth for seven years to now 10% average annual membership growth, including 20% loan growth last year. Checking penetration has increased from 58% to 73%, and interchange income has jumped to $75,000 a month from $25,000.
The change in performance also followed the Portland, Ore.-based credit union—formerly known as Northwest Resources FCU—changing its name and brand, instilling a more lively culture that focuses on younger members.
Understanding the ‘Feel’
McCarthy said that a key goal of the credit union’s staff onboarding is to get employees to understand and “feel” that the credit union is a warm and friendly place to work.
“If your staff don’t feel that way about the credit union, your members certainly won’t,” McCarthy said.
“One of the things we are trying to do here is greet and welcome new employees just the way I would like to be welcomed and greeted by a new organization,” he said. “When you first work someplace new, you are nervous, unsure of yourself, trying to remember everyone’s names. We just want to put our new employees at ease, make them feel that they are part of the team and that they belong right away. A lot of good things happen when you do that.”
Trailhead gets started right away, sending new employees a “goodie box” even before their first day at work.
“It’s a box we mail them full of Trailhead swag, an employee handbook, a New Employee Trail Guide, and a welcome letter from me that also lets them know more about the credit union and what they can expect,” McCarthy told the meeting. “The team loves it. When one of our employees first got her goodie box she told me it was one of the nicest things she had ever received from an employer and that it immediately gave her a warm feeling about Trailhead.”
The Checklist & The Ranger
When staff come on board, the credit union follows a checklist that includes employee orientation.
“And they will visit each of the branches and all of the staff, including the entire senior leadership team,” he said.
McCarthy said another important step the CU takes is assigning a “Trailhead Ranger” to each new hire.
“When new employees start, they can feel lost. They don’t know where the break room is, they don’t know the best places to go to lunch … So we assign one of our tenured employees to the new employee to be their buddy at work. This is a person they can ask the questions they don’t want to ask their manager. The Ranger makes the new hire feel more comfortable and gives them the lay of the land. And it has worked out extremely well.”
McCarthy added that the Ranger is a person who is similar to the new employee in personality and job role. He also said that the time the Ranger spends with the new employee is flexible, and based on need. He said Rangers typically work with new staffers for one to three months.
“It just depends on the individual,” he said.
Low Turnover
McCarthy said Trailhead’s approach to new hires has led to not only better business results but low staff turnover, as well. The $120-million CU has three branches and 31 employees.
“People who leave us generally leave for reasons that are not work related,” McCarthy said. “We had only two people leave in the last two years—one left because she decided to have a baby and quit working to raise a family, and another employee had a really long drive to work and found a job closer to her home.”
McCarthy said that Trailhead always looks for ways to have fun at work, as that leads to staff satisfaction and lets members know the credit union is a welcoming place.
Building Reputation
McCarthy, now in his eighth year as CEO, said Trailhead is building a reputation within the community as a great place to work, which is helping the CU attract younger employees and members.
“Our member target is young Portland urbanites, and the employees we hire are typically of the same demographic,” he said. “We want our young members to walk in, see a young staff, and say ‘My credit union understands and gets me.’ That has been our focus for the last few years and now nearly 40% of our membership is under the age of 35.”