UNFCU Evolves From Training To Development

By Anita Donnelly and Elisabeth Philippe

"Everyone wants to know the secret of success.… It’s called continuously learning to do what you do not know how to do."

So say Robert Eichinger and Michael Lombardo, founders of Lominger Limited, a Minneapolis-based organizational development firm, and co-authors of "The Leadership Machine."

This philosophy echoes United Nations Federal Credit Union’s (UNFCU) values. The $1.9 billion asset, New York-based credit union encourages employees and other stakeholders to be open to new ideas, find better ways to do things, and embrace continuous learning. UNFCU focuses on learning and organizational development, not just training, to prepare employees to meet the significant challenges it faces as a growing organization.

UNFCU serves the staff of the United Nations and its related agencies, their families, and retirees in 210 countries and territories, where greetings, financial transactions, and financial advisory relationships may differ.

It recognized the need to expand learning and service training in light of its steady membership growth, which increased more than 13% during 2003. Additionally, more than half of the credit union’s members reside overseas, making foreign language, service, and sales training for a culturally diverse community increasingly important skill sets.

UNFCU has implemented a variety of initiatives to build a strong service culture, develop employees’ skills, and help employees meet members’ unique needs.

Is your training BEST?

One learning program, BEST (Bringing Excellence to Service and Teamwork), enables UNFCU staff to understand and fulfill the needs of its global membership, and to provide solid teamwork within the organization. Developed in-house and rolled out last year, BEST is a customized four-week learning experience combining online learning and self-study with coaching sessions and self assessments.

BEST focuses on the teambuilding, member service skills, and attitudes needed to support UNFCU’s mission and core values: to provide high-quality service and competitive products that satisfy members’ financial needs; maintain the credit union’s financial well-being; ensure a challenging and rewarding environment for employees; promote financial soundness; achieve success together; and embrace change. To date, more than one-third of employees have graduated from or are completing the program.

In addition to developing service standards, effective communication, and conflict resolution skills, BEST educates employees about members’ diverse needs and the implications of serving members around the globe. All credit unions, however, can benefit from more fully understanding the cultural nuances of their diverse membership base and leveraging employees’ diversity.

To ensure your training is top-notch, consider:

• Conducting interactive online training, individual coaching by managers, and videotaped role playing to let participants gauge how well they interact with colleagues and members. Simulating member service and team interactions helps identify critical areas for improvement.
• Inviting your entire credit union to attend a graduation and award ceremony over which the CEO presides. Photographing award recipients with their coaches and with senior management truly makes this an organizationwide celebration.
• Organizing a sales and service committee consisting of employees from entry-level staff to the CEO. This committee can shape your service culture by determining the direction of sales and service training, reward and recognition programs, and employee participation in process improvements.
• Identifying service standards. UNFCU developed a quality service index that measures results achieved on service-oriented activities against established service standards, arriving at an overall quality service index score for the credit union.

UNFCU also equips staff with the skills needed to deliver premium service and meet the challenges presented by rapid change and continuous growth. Service and sales are indistinguishable: Member service representatives (MSRs) are encouraged to take a consultative approach to service, educating members about products and services that support their current and future needs. Members appreciate the credit union’s efforts to develop long-term relationships with them.

Cross-train the front line

UNFCU recently created a program that prepares MSRs to work collaboratively with its investment area. As a result, UNFCU Investment Centre receives more referrals from the MSRs, and members receive expert advice on investment products and services.

Learning also can take a less formal approach. As an extension of BEST, senior team members serve as subject matter experts and facilitators to improve employees’ business-knowledge and sales skills. Some programs educate employees about specific products and services. MSRs, for example, attend mortgage lending training to help them advise members about these loans.

Encourage leadership development

The growing need to attract, develop, and retain high-caliber employees has resulted in a new UNFCU initiative called the Employee Leadership and Development Program (ELDP). Created by UNFCU’s human resource department, the program helps employees develop new job skills and achieve career goals. Lessons UNFCU has learned from the program apply to other credit unions, large and small.

ELDP’s first goal was to create a talent-management strategy. This included identifying employees with an interest in and the ability to be developed to fill leadership positions. The talent-management strategy includes 360-degree evaluations, during which multiple parties evaluate employees’ performance, and employees rate themselves. This provides a more complete view of employees’ strengths and weaknesses, and enables participants to create individual development plans (IDP).

UNFCU has begun to create IDPs for all employees to chart their development in their current jobs and for the future. Employees meet with their manager to develop an IDP, listing competencies or skills employees need to attain, such as advanced product knowledge or specialized service skills. Managers and employees complete plans specifying how employees can improve performance and advance their careers via focused, on-the-job development in addition to training.

"ELDP also allows staff to explore opportunities across UNFCU departments to develop new talents and share new experiences," says Philip Vetrano, assistant vice president, applications development.

"From an information technology management perspective, employee development isn’t just a good idea, it’s a necessity," says Tom Kurian, network manager, information technology. "ELDP allows my direct reports to define their career paths and develop professionally. It’s one of the most rewarding aspects of my role as a manager."

Employees also can participate in diverse project teams outside of their usual accountabilities to develop project management and leadership skills. In these forums, employees develop transferable competencies such as team leadership, planning and organizing, conflict management, and communication. These skills improve employees’ performance in their current positions and further their development of competencies they’ll need in the future.

Virtual and online learning

Bringing training to overseas staff is one of UNFCU’s biggest challenges. To save travel costs and time, the credit union uses a virtual classroom, LearnLinc, to ensure international team members receive quality training.

Online courses such as "Product Knowledge" and "Critical Policies, Procedures, and Practices for New Managers" bring liaison office staff in Nairobi, Kenya; Geneva, Switzerland; and Vienna, Austria, up-to-date on these topics. Employing a technical trainer provides customized learning and ensures employees’ proficiency.

Tuition reimbursement also encourages continuing learning and development. At UNFCU, staff from all levels pursue advanced degrees, as well as language courses the United Nations offers.

Charting employees’ path to success requires commitment and support from staff, managers, executives, and board members. Crucially, commitment to employee development aligns employees’ interests with your institution’s business goals.

"There’s a direct relationship between employee development and positive organizational growth," says Kurian. "The best organizations are made up of motivated employees who grow and challenge themselves, thereby growing the credit union as a whole."

Anita Donnelly is assistant vice president, organizational development, and Elisabeth Philippe is public relations/special program associate, for UNFCU, New York.