‘Coffee with Caroline’ discussion addresses top CU challenges

In a recent “Coffee with Caroline” session at the Cornerstone Credit Union League’s Women’s Leadership Conference, Cornerstone’s President/CEO Caroline Willard discussed top credit union challenges with attendees from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Top issues included card breaches, the war for talent, and lending from nontraditional financial institutions. The group also addressed the importance of investing in technology, growth in credit unions, and CUNA’s new awareness initiative.

For card breaches, the conversation focused on the reissuing of cards. “We are continuing to support state and federal legislation that puts that burden back on merchants,” said Willard. “EMV chips have cut down on card-present fraud, but now we’re seeing more online (card-not-present) fraud.”

In the war for talent—especially for frontline employees—minimum wage makes it difficult. “We recruit by culture,” said Sherri Osterlund, PHR, SWP, SHRM-CP, director of Recruiting at TDECU. “We talk about Credit Unions for Kids and how you have the opportunity to be more visible and wear lots of hats. Most of our turnover occurs in frontline staff; $1 an hour is lot of money, and they can get that at the fast food restaurant down the street.”

Lending trends and the rise of peer-to-peer lending, crowdsource funding, and other nonfinancial institutions was another a topic for discussion. “Credit unions’ secret sauce is our level of personal service,” said Willard. “Millennials like high-touch service.”

“It’s important to stay on top of what members want,” said Jackie Palmer, True Sky Credit Union branch manager. “Otherwise, they will go somewhere else. Listen to members, do more surveys via email, get feedback, and share it with the board.”

Member experiences and new technology are also important. “We are building new member experiences, updating our application, rolling out a new logo, adding new services, and growing leaps and bounds to make sure our members get what they want,” said Amanda Wingate, vice president of Member Services, United Arkansas Credit Union. “We’re investing in new technology to be more current. We have one branch, and our members drive for miles because they love us. Eventually that may be inconvenient.”

Willard also addressed growth and technology in credit unions. “Credit Unions tend to be conservative. They are hesitant to invest in new technology, but it’s easier (than banks) because most don’t have 100 branches to roll out.”

She added, “We are seeing assets in big banks growing, and a decline in community banks. The market share for credit unions has been the same for decades. Most are satisfied with 7-8% growth. How do we increase that growth and make sure consumers are considering credit unions as a choice?”

CUNA’s new awareness initiative “Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union,” will help. According to CUNA’s research 98% of nonmembers have heard of credit unions; 72% aren’t likely to consider a credit union. “Most consumers didn’t know they could join and are afraid they can’t access their funds because there are not enough branches and ATMs,” said Willard. “Through shared branching and a credit union finder online, consumers can find credit unions based services and geography.”