At DecisionWise, we are fortunate to collaborate with numerous financial institutions. Among these, Credit Unions are prominently featured in our benchmarks. Over the years, we have surveyed employees from a wide array of Credit Unions, revealing their unique characteristics compared to other organizations, including financial institutions and regional banks.
Credit Unions Have Positive Employee Experiences
One distinguishing feature of Credit Unions is the strong sense of connection their employees experience. Employees feel genuinely cared for by their organization as well as empowered and trusted to perform their duties. They also feel free to voice their concerns and share their thoughts openly.
It comes as no surprise to those familiar with Credit Unions that the highest-scoring survey items in the DecisionWise benchmark relate to team dynamics. An impressive 93% of Credit Union employees report enjoying working with their team members, a favorability rate higher than other financial institutions and the DecisionWise global benchmark. Additionally, 92% of employees feel respected by their team members, and 88% believe their teams collaborate effectively and support one another. These scores surpass both industry and global averages.
Furthermore, Credit Union employees benefit from effective working relationships with their managers or supervisors. A notable 91% of employees feel respected by their managers, 89% have a trusting relationship with them, and 89% appreciate the communication from their managers. The vast majority also feel that their managers care about them and empower them to perform at their best.
Certainly, there is a significant advantage to fostering closeness among team members. In many of the Credit Unions we have worked with, this closeness is actively cultivated and encouraged. If you were to ask Credit Union employees what the best part of their work is, they would likely highlight the relationships they have with their colleagues.
However, a common challenge that nearly all Credit Unions in the DecisionWise benchmark face is difficulty working across departments. While employees enjoy working with their immediate teams, the strong team cohesion in Credit Unions often surpasses that of other industries. Yet, when employees need to collaborate with other teams, it becomes problematic.
The Problems Credit Unions Face
Only 58% of Credit Union employees agree that their organizations work effectively across departments and functions. This is the lowest-scoring item in the DecisionWise benchmark for Credit Union employees, with the next lowest item scoring five points higher. This is one of the few areas where Credit Unions score below the global benchmark. Additionally, only 65% of employees respond favorably when asked if other departments willingly cooperate with theirs, which is eight points below global averages.
On the surface, this seems paradoxical. Most Credit Unions have a level of employee closeness that rivals other industries. Many describe their cultures using words like “family” or “friendly.” Yet, this environment breaks down when employees need to work beyond their immediate teams.
Providing front-line, member-facing employees with the information they need to answer questions can also help. This can be as simple as implementing a centralized resource with FAQs for each department or providing a call list of departments to contact for various situations, reducing the frustration of calling around.
Managers Have A Big Influence on Collaboration
While these strategies have seen varying levels of success, they do not address the core issue, which is ironically linked to what makes working at a Credit Union so great—the camaraderie and closeness within teams. Intra-team cohesiveness is valuable and should be preserved, as many employees describe it as the best part of their jobs. This closeness is often fostered by well-meaning managers who take a team-first approach, prioritizing the needs of their team members. However, this can lead to conflicts with other teams and a lack of organizational belonging.
One of the major purposes of surveying employee populations is to determine the conditions necessary in organizations for people to be engaged. It turns out managers play a critical role. However, they do not create engagement through continual advocacy and protection of employees on their teams. They create engagement by unlocking the rest of the organization for their team members. This means they advocate for the priorities and goals of the organization as a whole. Managers provide context and reasoning behind organizational decisions, and they familiarize their teams with other departments in the organization. The top driver of employee engagement across all organizations—not just credit unions—is the degree to which employees feel they belong in their organizations. A sense of belonging can be fostered at the team level, but it does not carry with it the same long-lasting impact that belonging at the organizational level does.
Managers who advocate for their own teams have nothing but noble intentions. A certain amount of team advocacy is in the best interest of the organization. It must be balanced with an organization-first mentality, which will guide employees to not only feel a sense of belonging with the team, but also to feel the same thing when they call another department with a member standing in front of them waiting for an answer.
Believing in Something Bigger
When teams and people in the organization have a higher-level belief in what makes the organization successful, they tend to be more willing to subordinate the needs of their own teams for the greater good. When this happens, the silos in the organization naturally disband. Managers begin working with each other instead of working against one another. Front-line employees speaking with members will get the information they need faster, because other parts of the organization will be ready and willing to help.
The caring, team-friendly atmosphere in credit unions is a powerful advantage compared to other financial institutions and other companies in general. To break through silos and to work more effectively across functions, credit unions should focus on expanding the friendly environment beyond their nuclear teams. Managers should bring an organization-first mindset to the way they lead their teams, advocating for the organization, and introducing their teams to other departments and functions in the credit union. Doing so will go beyond the typical silo fixes and get to the root of the issue.
