Virginia Credit Union: Earning Credit
Financial
Written by Eric Slack   
Thursday, 01 May 2008
Virginia Credit Union: Earning Credit - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Jane Watkins says this credit union grows by understanding and educating its members.
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By every available statistic credit unions in America are growing, from membership numbers to total assets and deposits to loans. With the banking industry rocked by the current economic downturn, it is conceivable more citizens will turn to credit unions for banking needs. Credit unions are perceived as more interested in the customer’s best interest than in the internal bottom line. For the Virginia Credit Union, making that perception a reality is central to success.

Virginia Credit Union: Earning Credit - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Jane Watkins, president and CEO
“Right now there are lots of choices for the consumer, and you can’t really experience the benefits of being with a credit union in a short ad. You have to experience the difference, because the difference is working with people who are interested in helping you,” said Jane Watkins, president and CEO. “Sometimes that means forgoing profits on products that may help our bottom line if we don’t feel it is in our members' best interest.”

Opening up
The credit union’s membership field is still primarily employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions and agencies. County, city, and state government employees, regional authorities, and state employees are eligible to join, as well as faculty and students at state universities. These individuals and their family members make up the vast majority of its membership.

But to facilitate growth of the membership field, the credit union added individual companies known as select employee groups (SEG). These companies are not large enough to have their own credit union, but have been approved for membership with Virginia Credit Union. The organization has about 250 different SEG’s today. Most are in the Richmond area and all are located near where the credit union has a physical location.

In the last few years the credit union also added geographic areas it calls eligible communities. These communities are considered to be underserved because of income, employment, or other factors determined by the US census. It doesn’t necessarily mean the areas have no banking facilities; it means the area is financially challenged or could be well served by the presence of a credit union.

Those communities are the cities of Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Petersburg, and also the town of Farmville and three neighboring counties around that town. With its traditional membership field of state employees intact, the addition of SEG’s and eligible communities gives the credit union plenty of room to expand its membership in the future.

Building and teaching
Growing its membership field isn’t the only key to the credit union’s future. Understanding and responding to members' needs is even higher on the priority list for Watkins.

Regardless of income, people are changing preferred delivery channels and are looking to find simplicity in the complex mess of services offered by many financial institutions. More people are turning more often to electronic access to account information, but at the same time people like the comfort of knowing there is a branch around the corner when needed.

Virginia Credit Union doesn’t focus all its energies on one side of the equation. Instead, it is currently involved in research to understand member expectations for online banking services while also building four new branches over the course of the next two years. It also has a
state-of-the-art call center actually located in Richmond to answer member questions.

“We are seeing a big wave of people accustomed to using online banking as their primary source for everyday transactions,” said Watkins. “Members still want a physical location close by, but we won’t build until there is enough member demand for the area to warrant a new branch.”

Watkins also believes education is a critical piece of not only the credit union’s future but also the future of Virginia’s citizens. Financial literacy helps people understand the long-term implications of monetary decisions. Last year, the credit union hired a former teacher as its financial education director. The position is responsible for developing curriculum and programs to instruct students, teachers, and members about the peaks and perils in today’s American economy. So far, the director presented in front of about 6,300 high school and college students. Watkins also hopes to influence legislators about the need to make this type of curriculum mandatory in Virginia’s public schools.

“Right now, Virginia schools are required to provide some type of economic and financial education,” she said. “We want to provide resources and sample curriculum they can use to raise those standards. Education is the only way to prepare people for whatever they might be faced with financially.”

For the credit union to reach its own goals as an organization, Watkins believes living up to the needs of its members is the most important factor. Competition for business is high, and the only way credit unions can compete is to serve members so well they feel value in their membership. Virginia Credit Union’s corporate structure certainly serves as a reminder of that fact, as its board of directors and supervisory committee are both all-volunteers. Also, the board is directly elected by the membership.

The other reminder is staff. The credit union’s face is the people behind the counter at the branch and the voice on the phone. Watkins believes treating employees the way she expects employees to treat members goes a long way toward achieving customer satisfaction goals. Employees have a voice in decisionmaking and also know they don’t just come to work so the company can turn a profit. They come to work with an opportunity to help members get ahead. Watkins believe employees feel coming to work each day is worthwhile, which helps retention of employees and members alike.

“We deal with the competition through more emphasis on current members and targeting and addressing their needs,” Watkins said. “If we give back to our members, they do the marketing for us.”
 
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