ALBANY, N.Y.–Linn-Co FCU has selected the HERO financial counseling training program from CU Strategic Planning.
“HERO Community Development Certified Financial Counseling is essential for credit unions and other organizations serving working-class, moderate- and low-income populations, including organizations that provide counseling, community development financial institutions and low-income designated credit unions,” the company said.
CU Strategic Planning added that HERO is designed to give any staff that directly interacts with consumers the skills to better serve them, by improving their financial literacy or by assisting in times of financial hardship.
“We want our staff to have the ability to answer members’ questions,” said Linn-Co FCU Chief Lending Officer Carrie Lovell. “This allows for smoother, better communication with our members.” Linn-Co FCU’s lending staff is going through the HERO training to deepen their knowledge of issues members could be facing, according to Lovell, while its frontline team members are gaining training in concepts they might not have received otherwise and which may impact their own financial choices.
Nine Modules
CU Strategic Planning said its HERO Financial Counseling curriculum offers nine modules, ranging from buying a car to budgeting to fraud, to prepare financial institution staff to handle a variety of stressful issues consumers bring to them every day.
“The program is very user-friendly, with a modern user interface and a learn-at-your-pace structure,” the company said. “Participants may only move forward after passing a knowledge-based test following each module. Upon successful completion of all nine modules, staff are become certified Community Development Financial Counselors.”
Power of Coaching
Added CU Strategic Planning VP of Business Intelligence Aaron Duffy. “We understand the power of providing actionable financial coaching, which is why we recently reinvested in our HERO counseling training with a modern user experience and tracking system to ensure users get the most out of their investment. We’re glad to see Linn-Co appreciating the upgraded platform and taking advantage of it for many of its staff.”
For more info on the program: CU Strategic Planning