Advocate for employees
Show staff they matter and identify their strengths, says Dawn Bartell.
Dawn Bartell, chief operating officer, Community First Federal Credit Union.
Advocating for Community First Federal Credit Union employees is at the heart of Dawn Bartell’s job.
“I like to inspire people and want them to look for ways they can inspire someone else,” says Bartell, chief operating officer at the $91 million asset credit union in Lakeview, Mich. “To be an advocate for employees is showing them that they matter; that each person has talents, strengths, and weakness; and that we work for them.”
Bartell was named the 2022 Professional of the Year for the CUNA HR & Organizational Development Council at its annual conference in April.
Through frequent one-on-one meetings with the credit union’s 59 employees, Bartell keeps tabs on how each employee is growing professionally and how their needs are changing. While these meetings are time intensive, they allow Bartell to create what she views as individual contracts made up of benefits and jobs that fit each employee and benefit the organization.
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