Implementing an Internal Communications Strategy within your Credit Union

Oftentimes, companies don’t recognize the need for improving internal communications until it’s too late—when their employees are unhappy and their culture is suffering. If you do not have an internal communications strategy implemented within your credit union, you are already two steps behind. Did you know that ineffective internal communication leads to lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, massive miscommunications and rapidly decreasing employee engagement and retention? According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, 70 percent of employees are already not engaged.

Make it a priority

After digesting the above news, you probably just had a revelation—you are going to prioritize achieving great internal communication within your credit union, but unfortunately it’s not as easy as simply making an intentional decision to do better. Prior to establishing a new strategy, you need to accept that change could be inevitable and that these changes should be embraced by you and your fellow executives. Additionally, prior to implementation, it is necessary to gather information from your employees to develop a baseline. You can begin gathering the pertinent information by distributing short anonymous surveys to your employees, or by meeting with them in small groups or one-on-one to discuss their views and concerns regarding communication within your company.

Tailor your approach

Once you have established a baseline, you will need to discover which internal communications methods are the best fit for your credit union. All companies are not created equal and will have different needs and preferences. Hone in on improving horizontal communication by exploring tools that allow your employees to communicate most effectively and encourage collaborative, open conversations. If employees feel mass emails are clogging up their inboxes and leading to miscommunications, perhaps you should consider services like Slack or Google Hangouts. If your company’s Intranet is not being properly utilized, it may be time to consider discarding the service for something more appealing to your employees.

Appreciate your employees

Another important aspect of internal communication is to ensure your employees feel included and appreciated, as it increases their engagement, work ethic and loyalty. Intentional efforts ranging from something as simple as recognizing a celebratory day, such as a birthday or a noteworthy accomplishment, to focusing on improving the vertical communication between your executives and employees will have a noticeable effect. If your employees feel that there is not a sufficient amount of vertical communication, consider holding a weekly team meeting so that everyone feels in the loop and included.

Measure your success

The best way to discover appropriate internal communications tools for your company is to pick your employees’ brains for their suggestions—and once you select the most appropriate communication methods, be sure to set goals surrounding them in order to measure your success, or to learn you need to reroute. Use metrics such as Intranet logins, surveys, retention rates and sales changes to measure your internal communications success. It might take time to figure out what is right for your credit union, but we assure you, once you do—it’s worth it.

EPL Staff

EPL, Inc.

Attracting and Retaining Gen Y Employees

By 2025, millennials (those born between 1981 and 1995) will account for 75% of the U.S. workforce.  Don’t wait until then to start planning for their arrival in your business. Take a close look at how millennials work in order to understand how to work with them.

As employees hailing from Generation Y, they have the ability to be a positive influence on the culture of a workplace based on their enthusiasm for networking and collaboration. They can assist current leaders with newly emergent challenges. They desire to join the succession pipeline for their supervisors’ positions because they have high expectations of themselves. They want to be challenged and make meaningful contributions right away. They want opportunities to use the knowledge, skills and talents they have to solve problems, innovate and lead.

Millennials have gotten a bad rap.  They are perceived as entitled, insubordinate, lazy and ungrateful.  However, the truth is that they are anything but. More than any other generation, millennials want to make a difference, and they’re willing to put in a lot of time and energy to do so. In addition, they do what their managers tell them to do more frequently than those of any other age group. 

To make better connections with millennials, keep these ten (10) tips in mind:

1. Let go of your stereotypes and focus on their positive attributes.
2. Pair them with executives who can support their careers while having millennials teach executives about new technologies.
3. Focus on their results more than where and when the job gets done.
4. Use social networks to engage them — not to just post jobs.
5. Don’t restrict Internet usage; if you block social networks, they may not want to work for you.
6. Establish internal hiring programs to give millennials — and all members of your workforce —opportunities for growth.
7. Align your company’s message to a cause to give them a sense of fulfillment at work.
8. Sit down with them and be open about the company’s health, their performance and the future of your group. They will trust you in return.
9. Millennials want to make a major impact at your company, so give them the tools, support and resources to do so.
10. Develop gamification applications to engage millennials and build your brand.

Other Takeaways:

•    #1 Complaint?  Hearing you say, “When I was your age…”
•    No news is bad news.  Feedback is essential.
•    Technology allows work and personal life to overlap.
•    Remember. They can’t imagine being as old as you are. 

Generation Y wants to keep learning and be developed incessantly.  Every single day more than 10,000 baby boomers reach the age of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next 19 years. Generation Y is in the pipeline to replace them all, but they can’t prepare themselves without proper mentoring, development and succession planning.  Ask yourself and your company leadership this question: What are you/we doing to help our company prepare for the future?  The times to act is now, and keep the lines of communication open.

Cathy Hulsey

VP-Human Resources

EPL, Inc.