1 minute
At Pima Federal Credit Union, employees rank opportunities for advancement very high. This is why I included the $473 million/55,000-member CU in the People Perspectives Distinguished Credit Unions of the Year, an award I created to feature some of our successful clients. Of all the CUs that conducted employee surveys with my company in 2015, Pima FCU had the highest average on the opportunity for advancement dimension.
Credit unions can follow these five best practices from Pima FCU.
Be genuine. Provide honest feedback and have frequent conversations about performance so employees understand both their strengths and opportunities for growth and are ready for the next opportunity.
Promote internally whenever possible. Don’t be afraid to promote internally, even if the learning curve is a little steeper than hiring externally. Your efforts will be rewarded with dedicated, loyal employees and higher morale.
Encourage open lines of communication throughout the organization. Starting from the top, promote frequent and transparent communication; encourage employees to trade feedback and ideas.
Invest in your employees’ development. Show a personal interest in each employee, find out what interests them and help them get there.
Create a culture that values employees and make the tough decisions necessary to protect it. By defining who you are as a company and then making sure your actions both promote and protect that culture, you naturally build trust, respect and dedication with your employees.
Kerry Liberman is president of People Perspectives LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in conducting employee engagement and satisfaction surveys for credit unions. She can be reached at kliberman@peopleperspectives.com or 206.451.4218. You can follow People Perspectives on Facebook at www.facebook.com/peopleperspectives.
