A positive culture matters
Create an environment where employees want to come to work each day.
When Sunday afternoon rolls around, are you excited, hesitant, or flat-out anxious when you think about your upcoming work week?
What if you and your co-workers were all ecstatic—like, jump out of bed and shout for joy excitement—to go back to work on Monday? You can’t wait to see your teammates and greet every member with a smile and a solution. What if you and your team were truly passionate about what you do and who you serve?
Creating a positive workplace culture isn’t just about potlucks and jeans on Friday. Those help, but it’s also about the staff being ready and willing to do anything needed to assist members, and their co-workers, for the betterment of the credit union. An attitude of passion and loyalty starts with a unified vision on expectations and results-oriented goals.
A strong and positive workplace culture reaps unlimited benefits. In the current competitive job market, we need to be equipped with every advantage possible. Communicating the benefits of a strong culture is just as important as taking the steps to create one. A strong culture will allow your credit union to:
- Improve communication with co-workers and members.
- Foster stronger relationships with members.
- Make improvements in cross-sales and productivity.
- Recruit and retain staff.
- Strengthen the credit union’s bottom line.
- Sustain and grow the credit union’s membership through giving members positive experiences.
Developing and growing a unique culture at your credit union takes time and dedication, but the benefits will strengthen every part of your interactions. Members will notice the smiles on the staff’s faces. You will have pride in your work and tell your friends and family about your rewarding career. Teamwork will thrive and your credit union core values will shine through.
So how do we get there? How can we have co-workers who are passionate about putting on their credit union logo gear every day? Here are a few tips to get started on creating that passion:
- Communicate your credit union’s mission and vision.
- Outline key expectations of all staff and hold everyone—from the CEO to the door greeter—to the same standard.
- Develop goals and specific ways to measure results. Include team and individual goals.
- Reinforce positive behaviors and correct negative behaviors.
- Communicate openly and create full transparency.
- Celebrate the big and small wins.
Creating a positive workplace culture comes from every level of the organization. It can’t be commanded from the top nor can it only be suggested from those on the front line. For the culture to be effective, you need to listen to the voices across the company and build a strategy together. You’ll have more buy-in from staff as the culture develops and strengthens if you build the culture together.
