By Ray Birch
WASHINGTON—A great deal of focus has been placed on diversity, equity and inclusion in recent years, but how much attention has been paid to making DEI part of the CU’s business model?
One credit union that has made inclusivity a big part of its business plan—and which has just been recognized nationally for its accomplishments--says the focus not only helps people, but the bottom line, as well.
“When I got here a few years ago there was not any sort of culture of employee development and inclusivity,” said Thomas Domingue, CEO of the $120-million Labor Credit Union, which was previously known as Department of Labor FCU. “So, the last couple years we've just focused on employee development and inclusivity, which are our core pillars that we live by. We make sure that every employee has a voice.”
Dominique said that’s been accomplished through strong onboarding programs that let new hires know they will be heard. The credit union has formal individual and company meetings, reviews, and surveys, but as Dominique explained, informal communication also takes place, including things as simple as the CEO or manager walking through the office and talking to employees.
2022 CU Of the Year
That culture of inclusivity led to Labor Credit Union being named the 2022 Credit Union of the Year (less than $250 million in assets) by NAFCU.
“By making sure that our employees know that they have a voice in terms of what we work on…If something isn't working well or isn't going well our employees know they can speak up and to be part of the solution,” said Dominique.
Thomas Dominique
A Stepping Stone
He said that culture of inclusivity has served as a stepping stone for staff to provide a higher level of service that has inclusivity at its core.
“When you know you have a voice in the credit union you translate that to the members that you are interacting with,” explained Dominique. “We are now placing staff in what we call ‘service to sales training,’ which takes eight months. We teach them things like empathy, active listening and how to use those conversations to understand exactly the root cause of what the member is needing—and not just be an order taker.”
Dominique said that training has been effective in helping employees help members, translating into more business for the cooperative.
“When the member comes in and says, ‘I need a loan because I can't pay my taxes,’ we can certainly help with that. But let's figure out why you're not budgeting for your taxes. Let's sit down and get through this,” Dominique told CUToday.info. “This approach to business makes sure our employees have that voice internally, teaches them how good that feels, and then turns it around to help our members.”
Grant Program for Homebuyers
In selecting Labor Credit Union for the honor, NAFCU said its programs aim to contribute to the financial futures of members. For example, it offers a Make First Time Home Buying a Reality grant program that assists underserved members in moving into their first homes, and also offers free financial coaching through BALANCE.
“We have served more than 1,500 members so far, said Dominique. “Our initial goal was to have to 500 members go through the program.”
Nineteen of these members improved their credit scores by 100 points and were rewarded with $100 from LCU.
Dominique noted that like many credit unions, many of the staff the credit union hires in member service roles are young.
“Young employees are not terribly life-experienced,” Dominique said. “I was in a conversation one day with some of them about IRA minimum distributions. And none of the staff knew why the IRS even requires you take a minimum distribution, or understood about the benefits and the tax consequences of IRAs. I said you need to have these conversations with our members, and we have to fix this. So, we just changed the job requirement and now every one of our financial wellness advisors must complete the CUNA certified financial counselor program.”
Deeper Engagement
All of the CU’s efforts—the emphasis on inclusivity internally and externally and the financial education for staff and members—has led to deeper engagement with account holders, Dominique stated.
“Inclusivity teaches our staff to have a better understanding of the lives of our underserved members,” Dominique said. “Especially the empathy training. We're excited about the direction in which we are going. It's really exciting to see we are actively engaging with our underserved communities. Many low-income consumers just have not been given a chance before. It's really about making sure that everyone has a voice, and the opportunities and the resources to do better in life.”