A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

The most recent issue of CUNA’s Director’s Newsletter had an excellent article that discussed six ways to combat the great resignation among executives.

According to the article, the 2022-2023 CUNA CEO Total Compensation Report “offers six ways to meet this challenge:
1. Review succession plans and demands. Make sure your plan keeps pace with an evolving organization, as well as the marketplace for talented leadership.
2. Examine executive salary and benefit packages. Credit unions compete with other financial institutions for talent. Meanwhile, CEO resignations for all companies are expected to rise nationwide.
Remaining competitive in a marketplace with a high demand for executive leadership will likely require credit unions to offer higher levels of compensation.
3. Think ahead. Discuss the best approach to a CEO search now instead of waiting until a vacancy
occurs. Consider whether you’ll recruit internally, externally, or both; how you’ll hire a recruitment firm; and what qualities you’ll require to lead the organization into the future.
4. Anticipate candidates’ concerns. Shifting attitudes about work-life balance, working from home, and other concerns among all employees also affect executive candidates. Discuss these concerns
during the hiring process.
5. Hire for change. Your next CEO should provide the expertise needed to fulfill your vision for the
credit union’s future. You may want a candidate who can build community connections, achieve digital
transformation, boost lending, foster collaboration, or recruit younger and more diverse directors.
6. Nurture leadership candidates. Assist promising internal candidates in gaining the experience and education required to step into the top spot.”

It is easy to think about your teller line or loan department when turnover and lack of employees is discussed in the boardroom. Those are the member-facing areas that might mean having a branch open or not, but  don’t overlook the importance of your credit union’s leadership through this challenge. We certainly have a number of planned retirements occurring in our state right now, so the suggestions above could be helpful there too.