A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

As a board member, you keep a pulse on your community. In recent months, you may have noticed two new additions to many local establishments — help wanted signs and reduced hours due to staffing shortages. There are varying theories as to the “why” of the worker shortage, but with your credit union volunteer hat on, one big question to ask is “how is this impacting our credit union?”

We have heard that many credit unions have had turnover and a difficulty in hiring frontline positions, as well as some of the more skilled specialty positions. CUNA’s 2021 Staff Salary Report had some interesting data in it that might be worthwhile to you as you review your own credit union’s impact.

• About 82% of credit unions* budgeted to provide salary/wage increase to at least some employees by the end of 2021
• 2022 salary increases for credit unions with over $20M in assets were higher than those with less than $20M
• 73% of credit unions* have part-time employees within their ranks

Discussions on retention strategies for employees in the post-COVID environment were also discussed. Statistics that were noted by the employee engagement firm Vantage Circle on what employees want include:

• Support of their entire life (physical, mental, and financial health) in an atmosphere of mixed work and family responsibilities
• Provide career pathing
• Be flexible in time and location
• Do the right thing (i.e. global sustainability, social responsibility, and transparency)
• Hire and promote for skills vs. academic credentials
• Unite and celebrate employees

Hiring and retaining employees doesn’t look like it did ten years ago, or even a year ago. Credit unions need to look internally to ensure their methods of hiring, training, and retaining employees are keeping up with trends and expectations.

*Credit unions with more than $1M in assets