BELFAST, Northern Ireland–At Libro Credit Union, it all comes down to being passionate about the who, the how and the what that underpins “Be Libro.”
Rick Hoevenaars
The London, Ontario-based credit union is now in the second year of an intensive focus around a core philosophy that was developed after much discussion and input, including from among employees.
“Our core fiber of who we are remains the same,” said Libro’s CFO and Executive Vice President Finance, Rick Hoevenaars, in remarks to WOCCU’s World CU Conference here. “Credit unions were founded with a social purpose. This sentiment continues to this day. We call our members ‘owners,’ because they own the credit union. In 2015 we created the foundation of Libro’s vision going forward, which is ‘Be Libro.’”
“Be Libro” rests on a three-legged foundation that describes and reinforces what it is about:
Why: To grow prosperity in southwestern Ontario by transforming banking.
How: Be epic humans; be passionately accountable, be bold explorers, be mutually inclusive
What: Inspiring financial happiness in members. Be joyful in our work for staff.
“This is the catalyst for everything we do and is the framework for our future growth and strategies,” said Hoevenaars, who joined Libro at the age of 15 and has been with the CU now for 43 years as it grew from $6 million in assets to $3.8 billion today.
Hoevenaars said Libro has remained true to its credit union roots and principals by focusing on three things: prosperous owners, prosperous Libro, prosperous communities.
Prosperous Owners
“The success of each springs from the others,” said Hoevenaars. “We are owner-obsessed. Our owners’ well-being is the center of everything we do. We focus on long-term, trust-based relationships with the right owners. We know the type of owner that fits with Libro. Our owners share in our profits through profit-sharing.”
Prosperous Libro
Hoevenaars said prosperous Libro defines a strategy that is simple, straightforward, and inspiring to its staff. “We align their individual performance to our business goals. We are not driven by quarterly results. Our capital is patient. Libro needs to be prosperous to ensure mutual success.”
Hoevenaars said Libro has put a significant focus on staff engagement and strengthening a culture that supports innovative thinking and supports its business objectives.
“We hire the best people aligned to our strategy who can execute our plans,” he said. “We also work on developing the next generation. Our core values are prominently displayed.”
Among the programs Libro has implemented for employees is a “CEO for the Day” program in which young staff members can apply to shadow the CEO; a “human library” program, which Hoevenaars described as being “kind of like speed dating with the executives with the organization. They can ask us anything and move from table to table;” and sending staff to various industry events each year, including to the WOCCU meeting in Belfast.
Prosperous Communities
Hoevenaars said Libro has intentionally invested in the place it calls home. He said Libro has a deep understanding of shared, mutual success, and that its owners, its communities, and itself must rise together.
“By emphasizing our core values we ensure we can evolve along the right path,” said Hoevenaars. “You should never compromise your core values. We are passionately accountable.”
A video on Be Libro can be found here.