5 minutes
Key ideas about response oversight and future strategy
If you’re like most in this world today, you likely feel like you’ve lived a lifetime in just the last week. I know that we have. As we write to you safely from our home offices, we send well wishes to you and everyone in your circles that you are safe, well and doing what you can to “flatten the curve.”
But we also know that you all have immense responsibilities. Personal responsibilities to your families and your loved ones. And professional responsibilities to your employees who are looking to your credit union for stability and, yes, a paycheck. Responsibilities, too, to your members who are counting on you to keep your doors open—or at least your drive throughs and your ATMs—so that when they need access to their funds, you are there. And eventually, they may need even more from you.
In 2005, the White House, through the Homeland Security Council, issued the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza—which addresses the threat and potential impact of a pandemic. At the time the experts issued that document, they were focused on a pandemic resulting either from a flu strain that existed then in birds or another influenza virus. The National Strategy is still very relevant, and it outlines how the government prepares, detects and responds to pandemics of all kinds. It is still in use today.
“It also outlines the important roles to be played not only by the federal government, but also by state and local governments, private industry, our international partners and most importantly individual citizens…” It states that the “private sector should play an integral role in preparedness before a pandemic begins and should be part of the national response.”
A few short months after the federal plan was released, the National Credit Union Administration issued a guidance letter in March 2016 stating that “credit unions and their service providers supply essential financial services and, as such, should consider their preparedness and response strategy for a potential pandemic.” It went on to say, “The National Strategy addresses the full spectrum of events. The main components of the National Strategy address: Preparedness and Communication; Surveillance and Detection; Response and Containment.” In 2007, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued its own guidance through the Interagency Statement on Pandemic Planning, which was just updated earlier this month due to the current COVID-19 Pandemic.
If you’re like most credit unions, in response to all of this guidance and these recommendations, someone at your credit union prepared a pandemic response plan back then, and put it on the shelf, thinking that you’d never in a million years need it.
Well, a million years has come to pass.
We spoke just a few days ago with the CEO of a $500 million credit union who remembered that her staff had developed a pandemic response policy some time ago, and they “dusted it off” (her exact words) and put the policy into motion. To her relief, so far it has been working well for her credit union.
Some of the specific elements of that credit union’s implementation plan include:
- Any employee who has remote work capabilities is required to work from home until further notice. (This includes at least one employee from every department, as well as multiple call center employees).
- All branch lobbies are closed until further notice, with only drive-thru options open.
- Additional deep cleaning services have been contracted for all facilities.
- Additional technology has been purchased to support increased remote capability.
- New member products and services have been created including a new short-term loan product, a low interest rate, no down payments, no documents required, reduced restrictions on skip-a-pay loan program, etc.
- A communications program has been implemented to reach members via email, social media, website and on-hold messages.
- The credit union has contracted with CUES Supplier member CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, California, to provide overflow call center support, if needed.
- An emergency sick leave policy has been created and enacted.
If you don’t have a pandemic response policy, you are likely developing the components of your policy as you respond each and every day to the mounting issues that confront you. Ensure that someone is memorializing the good actions that you take as you move through this crisis so that you can thoughtfully, when we all come out of the pandemic on the other side, translate your actions into a comprehensive, cohesive policy.
And very, very importantly, ensure that the overarching framework and strategy of your plan is developed in constructive conversation with your board of directors. Does this mean that the very detailed elements of your plan, i.e., what does deep cleaning mean or which individual employees should be designated to work from home, should be approved by your board? No. But it does mean that the overall, strategic approach of your plan should be developed in discussion with your board and that your board should ultimately approve the key principles underlying your pandemic response plan.
If it’s been a while since you “dusted off” your pandemic response plan, consider this template that we’ve crafted and take a look at the National Strategy, both of which we hope will provide some support and direction to you and your credit union’s leadership (board and management alike).
Stay well and stay safe.
P.S. Be sure that you and your Board are staying up to speed on all of the regulatory updates regarding COVID-19, including those impacting annual meetings and board elections!
Michael Daigneault, CCD, is CEO of CUES strategic provider Quantum Governance L3C, Herndon, Virginia, CUES’ strategic provider for governance services. Daigneault has more than 30 years of experience in the field of governance, management, strategy, planning and facilitation, and served as an executive in residence at CUES Governance Leadership Institute.
Jennie Boden serves as the firm’s VP/strategic relationships and a senior consultant. She has more than 25 years of experience in the national nonprofit sector and served as the chief staff officer for two nonprofits before coming to Quantum Governance.
Quantum Governance provides credit unions, corporations, nonprofits, associations and governmental entities with strategic, cost-effective governance, ethics and management consulting, facilitation and evaluation. With more than 40% of Quantum Governance’s clients representing credit unions, the organization fields more engagements in the credit union community than in any other.
