MADISON, Wis. – The Filene Research Institute has produced a case study of its “Filene Loaned Executive Program” as a potential model for credit unions to follow.
Filene CEO Mark Meyer said the program was developed in response to the challenges to credit unions and other non-profits face in hiring talent while also achieving operational efficiencies.
“For Filene, 80% of our revenues go directly to creating and delivering actionable research for credit unions,” said Meyer. “To add specialized talent while maintaining that ratio, we needed to innovate and try something new. We launched the Filene Loaned Executive program to test the viability of this solution in-house and provide a case-study for credit unions to replicate, if successful.”
According to Filene, the new program matches its business needs with executives on loan from a credit union or industry provider for a focused service period of up to 24 months.
“This very well could work as a model for credit unions, especially those with a focused business need or limited resources,” said Meyer.
Under the program, a credit union sponsor or local organization would loan talent to a credit union that has specific talent needs for a project or business objective. The loaning organization gets to further develop top talent and the loaned individual builds and deepens their skills, Filene said.
Filene launched the program with Sue Racine from CUNA Mutual Group as its first loaned executive. Racine most recently served as director, enterprise marketing and communications for the company. Her background includes leadership roles in marketing and communications, as well as serving as chair of Great Wisconsin Credit Union and a member of the Summit Credit Union board. Racine steps into a new role as Filene’s Head of Play and Experience.
Filene said the program is an experiment in offering a new way for the credit union industry to tap into the power of cooperation and work collaboratively to improve people’s financial lives.
“With this launch, Filene is exploring how the program will align with i3, Incubator and The Cooperative Trust communities that also innovatively bring together bright, creative people passionate about credit unions with the goal of developing ideas, testing in the marketplace and creating positive change,” Filene said.
For more info: Tansley Stearns, chief impact officer, at tansleys@filene.org