Workers Credit Union joins MDC, sees member benefit in “comprehensive research” and collaborative model as a “force multiplier” for credit unions
COLUMBUS, OH (May 16, 2016) — Workers Credit Union’s philosophy is to “do what’s right” for members, the community and employees, so it isn’t surprising that the $1.3 billion Credit Union decided to partner with MEMBERS Development Company. MDC is a CUSO that facilitates collaboration through shared R&D and cost savings among some of the nation’s largest credit unions.
Doug Petersen, Workers Credit Union’s President/CEO, says working with MDC and its other owners will translate to tangible benefits for WCU members and, in turn, enrich the communities it serves and local economy.
“Workers’ membership will benefit from the most comprehensive research available for dozens of short-term and long-term projects that coincide with our strategic vision,” Petersen said. “Moreover, the credit union will benefit from joining a professional group of progressive credit union executives dedicated to successfully addressing the common challenges faced by all of us,” he said.
Working together, MDC and its owner credit unions envision and implement better ways to do business, enhancing members’ experience and increasing their engagement.
“Our collaborative model saves credit unions considerable time and money, compared with going it alone,” said Jeff Kline, MDC’s Chief Executive Officer. “It also makes for a richer environment to nurture creativity and think through how we do banking.”
Robert Lockett, WCU’s Chief Strategy Officer, agrees. “By applying the cooperative model to strategic planning, research and development, MDC creates a force multiplier that will better enable Workers to address our strategic, channel delivery and product development goals,” he said.
MDC’s owners generate and prioritize projects, using a structured project-management approach, with 5-8 initiatives active at any given time.
About MEMBERS Development Company
MDC is the credit union network’s multi-million-dollar R&D department. We scan the horizon, research the issues, and create actionable solutions to solve problems for today –and tomorrow. By pooling the resources of 83 credit union and CUSO owners, MDC is able to deliver meaningful solutions efficiently and affordably. We learn the lessons of what does and doesn’t work —without exhausting our owners budgets and resources for exploration and development. We also believe that our research must be driven by our owners, for our owners. While we do the heavy lifting, our credit union and CUSO owners both advise and participate in the work not just as investors, but as trusted partners.
