President's Message

This week’s President’s Message is from Dave Hinchey, Director of Community Impact, on providing leadership in the employee financial wellness space. Let us know how the League and the League’s foundation—Credit Unions Building Financial Independence—can support your efforts.

As always,
Bruce

“Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge,” says Simon Sinek, a thought leader on leadership and leadership qualities. This current public health crisis has stretched us so thin that thinking and caring about those in our charge can feel like an overload. It is so easy to relegate leadership to the bottom of the to-do list.

In her presentation about credit union employees mirroring the financial health of your members, NCUF Executive Director Gigi Hyland noted that more than 60 percent of credit union employees struggled financially during the pandemic based on current research. Of all people, how could credit union employees—the ones we task with helping members improve their financial lives—mirror the financial lives of those they’re trying to help?

In the credit union space, we talk about supporting our members at every turn, so it’s easy to overlook the financial health of the very employees who deliver that advice and counsel for your members. In short, if your employees are the lifeguards for your members, then who is making sure the lifeguards themselves are ready willing and able to jump into action when someone is drowning?

Have you had the conversation about financial health with those in your charge? Or, is the only time you talk about employee financial wellness is the once-a-year meeting during 401(k) renewal day. This is an area, especially in a pandemic, where you can provide real leadership.

As leaders, we should strive to create an environment where we can provide a judgment-free space where employees can feel comfortable talking with you about financial challenges they’re facing.

If there’s anything we’ve learned in the financial coaching program it’s that every member (or employee) faces a unique set of circumstances that requires not only time and attention but beseeches us not to not to pass judgment. In business, we often set an open-door policy for our employees, but my challenge to you is to open that door just a little wider during these challenging times and actually invite people in.

At CUBFI—the League’s Foundation—we value educating credit union employees by providing access to FiCEP training that will help credit union members, but the advice and lessons learned also help our fellow co-workers and even ourselves.

Thanks to the generous donations from credit unions, strategic partners and vendors, League staff and League board members, we piloted a 46-person cohort to train them as financial coaches and make an impact. We offered this training at no cost to our affiliated credit unions and hope to offer it again in 2022.

Let us know how you’re taking care of those in your charge and what the League and Foundation can do to help.

Thanks,
Dave