CUs – the four-leaf clovers in the financial service industry
For those of us who have been lucky enough to land ourselves in the credit union movement after working for other financial institutions, we know how truly unique our movement is. Some might even say that our movement is truly a four-leaf clover – a rarity and hard to find.
We had a powerful reminder of that during the 2020 CUNA GAC with all the inspiring mainstage speakers, breakout sessions, hill-hikers advocating for credit unions and the Foundation’s Wegner Awards Dinner.
Not only is it hard to find a movement like ours where we work around the “people over profit” model, truly striving to put the needs of our members first, but getting the word out to non-members about the qualities that differentiate us from others is also a challenge. Hello, Open Your Eyes Campaign!
So how do we make sure that we capitalize on the aspects of our movement that set us apart and make us that rare four-leaf clover? When you get those new members in the door, are your staff armed with knowledge around the credit union difference to keep them inside?
At the organizational level, here are some of the nuggets of gold that are important for employees and staff (specifically the front line) to know about credit unions:
- Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations.
- Credit unions are cooperatives and adhere to the 7 Cooperative Principles.
- Dividends get returned to members/owners rather than stockholders.
- For the most part, credit unions offer lower interest rates and higher return rates. More information about that can be found here.
These are four simple facts that can help tell our story so when that new member does stumble upon the four-leaf clover that is the credit union, they don’t want to leave.
