MADISON, WIS. – Visa is contributing $1 million to the Filene Research Institute to fund Filene’s Center of Excellence for the War for Talent. The goal of the partnership is to fuel critical research surrounding the issue of attracting and retaining talent in the credit union industry, according to the organizations.
The announcement was made during a breakfast sponsored by Filene at CUNA’s GAC.
Lead by Filene Fellow Dr. Sekou Bermiss, the research center will focus on attracting, developing, and promoting top performers within credit unions, from the front line to the board table, Filene said.
“Recruiting and retaining top talent in credit unions is key to keeping our movement strong and our mission long-lived,” said Andrew Downin, Managing Director, Research at Filene, in a statement. “We’re especially thrilled to have the generous support of Visa to make this research a reality. Their participation will help bring to life insights that allow credit unions to better compete in the talent marketplace.”
“This important research will generate the insights and data needed to help the industry recruit and attract the best and brightest talent,” said Oliver Jenkyn, Group Executive of North America, Visa Inc., in a statement. “We hope the research will cultivate fresh thinking and innovation that will empower the entire industry for decades to come.”
According to Filene, one of the first challenges the center will target is investigating recruitment tactics that can best attract talented candidates who share the credit union social mission.
“While the tagline ‘our people are our best asset’ is espoused by many organizational leaders, the implementation of this simple principle is remarkably complex,” explained Bermiss. “The War for Talent research center provides a powerful platform to share insights to help improve both the quantity and quality of job applicants.”
Bermiss is Assistant Professor of Management at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. His research focuses on how human capital capabilities provide competitive advantage—which lies at the center of the credit union talent challenge. His award-winning research has been published in several highly acclaimed publications.
The War for Talent research center marks the final of the five Centers of Excellence launched by Filene, just one year after announcing the new strategy.
Filene said The War for Talent research center will For info: filene.org.
Above right, at Filene’s Chairman’s Breakfast at the Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, from left, Mark Meyer, CEO of Filene, Sekou Bermiss and Oliver Jenkyn.