UW Credit Union Wins Employee Engagement Excellence Award

Lisa Girdharry
Director of Marketing & Communication
UW Credit Union
lgirdharry@uwcu.org
800-533-6773, ext. 2274

April 13, 2011 – Madison, WI – UW Credit Union has been named a recipient of the 2011 CUNA Human Resource Training and Development Council (CUNA HR/TD) Excellence Award for Employee Engagement. This award recognizes and honors credit unions that exemplify excellence in the human resources and training disciplines.

A panel of CUNA HR/TD Council members reviewed entries and determined winners based upon criteria that included the program’s innovation, business outcomes and impact, sustainability, quality and integration in the organization.

UW Credit Union was selected for their initiatives used to create a culture of high engagement with employees. Their primary initiative has been to develop an annual employee satisfaction survey that elicits valuable staff feedback, which is used to identify areas for improvement in the
organization. In addition, they have been recognized for their commitment to transparent communication throughout all levels of the organization, sharing business strategies, critical issues, performance results, successes, challenges and new initiatives with all staff, which strengthens employee engagement.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the CUNA HR/TD Council for our employee engagement efforts,” said Lee Wiersma, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at UW Credit Union. “Since 2006, we’ve seen a measured increase in employee engagement each year. Most recently, 86% of our employees reported solid engagement with the company and their work. The feedback we receive through our employee survey helps us shape our policies and ensure that the organization is committed to our core values.”

UW Credit Union has been able to measure the benefits of their engagement initiatives not only internally, but through membership growth and satisfaction.

“We have definitely seen the connection between employee engagement and member satisfaction and growth.” said Paul Kundert, President and CEO at UW Credit Union. “Member satisfaction has improved dramatically in the past five years, with an 82% increase in the portion members we describe as net promoters of the credit union. At the same time membership has grown by 50%. This growth reaffirms the importance of organizational engagement. It’s a privilege to be recognized by our industry for these efforts.”

About Us
UW Credit Union is a growing, federally insured financial institution and a leading provider of a full range of financial services to University of Wisconsin communities. UW Credit Union’s 371 employees serve the financial needs of more than 155,000 members through world-class technology systems, and through a convenient network of 18 branch locations and 93 ATMs. With assets totaling more than $1 billion, UW Credit Union is ranked nationally among the leading credit unions. Founded over 75 years ago by members of the University of Wisconsin community, UW Credit Union continues to operate as a not-forprofit, member-owned financial cooperative with locations in the Madison, Milwaukee, Stevens Point,
Green Bay, Oshkosh and Whitewater areas. Visit UW Credit Union at uwcu.org to learn more.

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