By Ray Birch
SAN ANTONIO—To effectively serve military members, credit union staff must do more than put themselves in servicemembers’ boots—they have to become a greater part of the military culture and speak their language, says Danny Sanchez.
Sanchez, director of corporate communications at Air Force Federal Credit Union, spoke with CUToday.info about that credit union’s strategies for seeking to do just those things.
The $556-million Air Force FCU at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, received a 2020 Distinguished Credit Union of the Year Awards from the Department of the Air Force for CUs under $1 billion in assets. The Joint Base San Antonio branch was recognized for its exceptional service and the financial education training it provides the Joint Base San Antonio community.
“Yes, staff need to really understand the military and their unique needs,” said Sanchez. “But you get this done by doing much more than in-house training. You need to allow staff to learn firsthand what the military is about. To put staff in servicemembers’ boots via training is not enough.”
Answering the Call
That’s why staff from Air Force FCU attend regular Commander’s Calls.
A Commander’s Call is a regular meeting, often quarterly, of the entire members of a military squadron, excluding those who cannot attend due to their service. The base commander typically covers key issues affecting the squadron, reviews current actions, and asks questions of the team. The meetings are meant to inform as well as inspire servicemembers, and also include presenting individual honors.
“Our team goes out into the local and military communities to mix with people,” Sanchez explained. “Commander’s Calls are a great way to do that, as these events instill a great deal of pride within the military.”
Sanchez said attending Commander’s Calls helps the credit union gain a strong understanding of what’s currently happening in the military.
“By doing this it allows us to better meet our servicemembers’ needs,” Sanchez said. “We try to figure out the unique needs of each squadron, as well as individual members.”
Attending Commander’s Calls and other military events, as well as just getting out and meeting servicemembers in their towns, accomplishes one more very critical step, emphasized Sanchez.
“Our team really needs to be able to understand and speak the language of the military,” said Sanchez, who stressed that particularly involves grasping the subtleties of military language. “There is a lingo in the military, which if you don’t understand it, if you are not familiar with it, you could miss exactly what a servicemember is talking about. You have to understand the military culture, but also speak their language.”
Being Personal in E-Channels
Like much of the country, Sanchez said that when the pandemic swept across the U.S., Air Force Federal had to find new ways to stay in touch.
“We had to reach out to members of our community in a different way, in some cases it was virtually, via video with a cellphone, PC or tablet. Sometimes it was just talking over the phone, sometimes digitally, and we were able to connect with those people who needed our assistance or guidance,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that when connecting with members via digital channels, the CU’s staff worked hard to overcome the natural fallout that might make the conversation seem less personal than it would be face-to-face.
“We wanted to make sure that when we talk to our servicemembers, and any of our members, that we still had the same calming effect,” he said.
Third Such Honor
The 2020 Air Force honor was the third such award for AFFCU in the last 10 years.
“We have established a long history of building programs we know are helping the military community and their families—whether that is active or retired military,” he said. “We start with the children, with kids savings clubs.”
Air Force FCU also starts the education process with its own staff as soon as they come on board.
“We get new employees to understand our history and our heritage,” Sanchez said. “They need to understand what military families are go through—such as dealing with deployment issues. Maybe it could be last-minute trip where the father and mother have to be overseas and the kids stay here, and the challenges that come with that. We tell our team about the options they can provide these families, such as deferring a loan, skipping a payment, or setting up accounts so they can be managed from two different areas, such as overseas. What we try to get our staff to do is really understand our audience to deliver personal service that will help them come through all of their challenges.”
Opportunities for Counseling
Part of that personal service is always looking for opportunities to deliver financial counseling advice, continued Sanchez.
“If you hear a servicemember talking about getting a new car, talk about auto loan rates and what we can give them so they don’t turn to some 20% predatory rate,” said Sanchez, who added that often can happen with younger military members. “We put ourselves in their shoes and say and say what advice would I want in that position.”