Excellence in HR & Organizational Development Award Winners
University of Michigan Credit Union in Ann Arbor, Mich., was named Best of Show, Employee Engagement, Assets More than $1 billion for their entry titled “Leadership Development Camp.”
At University of Michigan Credit Union, their commitment to the growth and development of their team members is at the core of their organizational values and culture. Leadership Development Camp develops their current managers to be future successors as well as developers of the talent within their teams. The program’s development philosophy is centered around the statement, “A leader is a trusted follower who develops trusted leaders.” UMCU puts this philosophy into action through the program’s CEO chalkboard chats, DiSC and Emotional Intelligence training, professional branding, strategic planning exposure, and more. Their Leadership Development Camp embodies UMCU’s purpose and core values and is an important component to the overall success of the credit union, and they look forward to the program’s continued positive influence.
Category: Employee Engagement (Assets Less than $499 million)
Electro Savings Credit Union, St. Louis, Missouri
Winning Entry: Culture and Covid
For the last two years, the pandemic has changed every aspect of the Electro Savings employees daily lives. With the workforce shifting to a combination of both onsite and remote workers, Human Resources needed to develop strategies aimed at increasing morale and promoting a positive culture.
Electro Savings centered their focus on creating and implementing programs and activities to improve recognition, work/life balance, self-care, and employee engagement. Notable accomplishments include:
- Launch of a digital peer-to-peer recognition platform named “Power of Applause”
- Implementation of a Flexible Work Arrangement Policy
- Consistent employee engagement activities
Their efforts proved successful as they made the list of Top Workplaces and recorded their lowest turnover rate in 7 years. Their employees are consistently using the Power of Applause platform with an average of 103 peer-to-peer recognitions being sent per month. 59% of credit union positions are now fully remote and 92% are hybrid capable.
They truly raised the bar when it came to moving the culture forward in the worst of times. They looked at everything through the “lens of the culture,” which resulted in the implementation of several amazing programs that will benefit their employees for years to come.
Category: Employee Engagement (Assets More than $1 billion)
University of Michigan Credit Union, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Winning Entry: UMCU Success Celebration
University of Michigan Credit Union put their vibrant culture on full display at their annual Success Celebration. While they celebrate throughout the year as a team, they go all out for their Success Celebration to recognize their amazing team members and celebrate their success! From NFL Stadiums to Art Museums, the amazing venue options are endless, and always partnered with incredible entertainment. As the years go on and Team UMCU continues to grow, so does the scale of their Success Celebrations – they now offer a virtual component for out-of-state or remote team members to live stream the event. The Success Celebration brings excitement and anticipation every year and displays their appreciation for all the team does for their membership and credit union as a whole. Up next will be celebrating their team’s 2022 success, and they look forward to watching their next big Success Celebration unfold!
Category: Innovative Staff Development (Assets Less than $499 million)
Electro Savings Credit Union, St. Louis, Missouri
Winning Entry: Power Leaders Professional Development Program
The Power Leaders Professional Development Program is an internal development program created to demonstrate Electro Savings desire to invest in their employees and provide them with the opportunity to develop to their highest potential.
The program was designed to:
- Develop a formal system for the ongoing identification and ranking of talent
- Establish continuing professional development responsibilities for Management
- Create a structure for formal development plans
- Track and measure employee development and progress
Since the launch of Power Leaders, 17% of their workforce has been mentored by their Senior Managers. Talent Review rankings have identified an additional 10% of their staff that will receive dedicated development action plans this year. Electro Savings has seen an improvement in total ranking scores of 13% and has facilitated the continued professional development of 27% of their staff. The entire workforce as a whole is developing in a positive direction.
The program is embraced by all areas of management and truly shows their commitment to investing in their employee’s future and developing them into confident, Power Leaders.
Category: Innovative Staff Development (Assets More than $1 billion)
Consumers Credit Union, Gurnee, Ill.
Winning Entry: Learning & Development Strategy
Consumers Credit Union’s goal is to create a learning system for onboarding, training, and coaching that is both scalable and sustainable. They made significant progress toward that objective over the last year by launching three exciting initiatives.
CCU harnessed the ability of artificial intelligence to analyze vast amounts of data with lightning speed and make it available on demand. All staff members now get fast and accurate answers when they search for information, and new hires benefit from a flatter learning curve.
The rollout of a new learning management platform transformed how CCU manages its robust training practice. All courses are now consolidated into a single, user-friendly system, and employees and managers use dashboards to track all training activity.
Finally, a new model features designated coaches who specialize in department-specific topics and priorities. These full-time coaches onboard new employees and provide ongoing development for all member-facing staff.
Category: Management Practices (Assets Less than $499 million)
Minnesota Credit Union Network, St. Paul, Minn.
Winning Entry: Tim Tacheny – Minnesota Credit Union Network
The Minnesota Credit Union Network works to ensure the success, growth, and vitality of its member credit unions. Like many credit unions across the country, Minnesota credit unions deal with the challenges of providing health insurance benefits to their employees. For years, Minnesota credit unions, especially smaller ones, have faced rapidly escalating health insurance coverage costs. This affects credit unions and their greatest assets – their employees.
In 2017, in collaboration with the Minnesota Credit Union Network, a group of credit unions began exploring the option of forming an association health plan. The conversation turned into action led by Tim Tacheny, the Network’s General Counsel. Throughout 2018 and 2019 Tim, his colleague Tommy Rempfer, and executive leaders from several credit unions continued to lead this effort. The efforts resulted in the formation of the Minnesota Credit Union Employee Benefits Plan, which began offering coverage in 2020. Today, 17 credit unions participate in the plan, and it provides health insurance to over 400 credit union employees.
Tim’s leadership in driving this cooperative initiative is a notable example of Excellence in HR & Organizational Development by ensuring innovative benefit options are available to Minnesota credit unions.
Category: Management Practices (Assets More than $1 billion)
iQ Credit Union, Vancouver, Wash.
Winning Entry: Inclusion & Belonging at iQ Credit Union
iQ Credit Union is committed to building a community in which individuals are welcome, respected, supported, and valued. This commitment is lived by the leadership and employees each day, and it’s so important, Inclusive is one of iQ’s Operating Principles.
iQ has sought out authentic and meaningful ways to build an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcomed. With the emergency of COVID-19 in 2020, iQ looked to increase employee engagement through a new employee group, the Inclusion and Belonging Task Force (IBTF), launched January 2021.
The IBTF has accomplished much in the year since its inception – launching awareness building initiatives and events, providing employees with additional time off for reflection and self-growth around DEIB, developing relationships with new community partners, and the list goes on.
iQ realizes their DEIB efforts will be a life-long pursuit and are focused on Seeking (and celebrating) the UniQue perspectives of their employees and members.