By Ray Birch
TRENTON, N.J.—When State Employees' Credit Union disaffiliated from CUNA and the Carolinas CU League it put a new spotlight on a growing concern of many credit unions, whether their state associations are effectively serving the needs of all of their dues-paying members—big and small.
And it’s not just credit unions asking themselves that question. For the state leagues, in which for decades membership was almost automatic and when the rare disaffiliation occurred it was often due to personal politics, it has also meant self-reflection. They acknowledge they have a task ahead.
Candice Nigro, director of marketing and communications at the New Jersey Credit Union League, identified the pressing question: “How can we better engage with our member credit unions to find out what they are really looking for from a league and trade association. Times have changed, and we have to get closer to our credit unions.”
Nigro emphasized that CUs today can turn to many different resources outside the league for their business needs. “Competition is growing across the board, and that applies to businesses everywhere, inside and outside credit unions.”
In the case of the New Jersey league, part of its response has meant adding more field staff to meet with credit unions to learn their challenges.
“I think 80% of our membership is under $25 million in assets, so they are pressed thin for time,” Nigro explained. “CEOs are wearing eight different hats and often don’t have time to come to the league for meetings. But by going out and meeting with them, we will become better listeners to keep providing them with the products and services they need to do their jobs well.”
A Tempting 'Trap'
Just a little more than a thousand miles to the south in Tallahasee, Fla., Patrick La Pine, president/CEO of the League of Southeastern Credit Unions, believes it’s easy for leagues to fall into the “trap” of trying to be everything to everyone.
“I do think there are a lot of leagues facing challenges when it comes to effectively serving the entire membership,” said La Pine. “When our league consolidated five years ago, one of the first things I did was head out and talk to a lot of credit unions, asking them what they liked and didn’t like about the Alabama and Florida leagues. I asked CUs for their top priorities—the things most important to them.”
Patrick La Pine, LSCU
La Pine said those meetings have helped define the top two to three league priorities for each CU asset class—small, medium and large. La Pine explained that LSCU then focused on making sure it excelled at executing on the priorities.
“In some instances, there will be synergy in the priorities of the different asset classes,” noted La Pine. “When serving a diverse membership, you have to have focus. Again, if you try to be everything to everyone you won’t succeed.”
Large CUs, La Pine said, are most interested in federal and state legislative advocacy, while small shops want more help with compliance and development. Mid-sized CUs, he said, present the greatest challenge, as their needs can mirror those of large and small operations.
“For this group the top priorities are legislative and regulatory advocacy and compliance support,” said La Pine.
LSCU annually surveys its members to make sure the league’s focus remains on target.
“We are always working to understand the voice of the customer and give credit unions a number of avenues to engage with the league about what we are doing,” said La Pine.
La Pine often travels to meet with groups of CEOs. “At those meetings I always ask what the league can do better. I also say that if anyone is uncomfortable sharing their thoughts at the meeting, they can send an e-mail.”
Advocacy is the top priority of the LSCU, which must do work in two state capitals, and La Pine contends it should be the most important function of any league. The league consolidation has saved money, and LSCU has reinvested some of the savings into improving lobbying effectiveness.
“When I got here five years ago we had 4.5 FTEs doing advocacy, and they were wearing so many hats that they could not be effective,” explained La Pine. “Now we have eight FTEs handling state legislative affairs and three outside lobbyists focusing on the state and federal levels.”
'A Mile Deep, An Inch Wide'
At the Carolinas CU League, President/CEO John Radebaugh agrees leagues are being challenged to serve the entire membership. The Carolinas league found itself in the crosshairs of the relevancy issue when the second-largest CU in the country, State Employees CU in Raleigh, disaffiliated.
John Radebaugh, Carolinas Credit Union League
“It’s getting harder because the smaller credit unions continue to merge and the larger ones are getting bigger, so the membership is not as balanced as it used to be,” he said.
Like La Pine, Radebaugh agrees that not too long ago many leagues tried to do too much. “This is my third league and in the past we tried to be everything to everyone. You can’t be an inch deep and a mile wide. So at the Carolinas League we have reversed that situation to be a mile deep and an inch wide.”
In the case of the Carolinas league—which represents a merger of the North and South Carolina leagues—that “inch” has meant focusing on four areas: regulatory advocacy, product development, compliance and “community—our chapter system, our partnership with our foundation and connecting with credit unions through networking.”
At the Pennsylvania CU Association, President/CEO Patrick Conway emphasized that for any trade association to succeed, it has to be relevant to those it serves.
“The challenge, as we know, is that some leagues have a wide range of CU asset sizes and different needs to serve,” said Conway, who came on board in October 2013. Jim McCormack retired at the end of December after leading PCUA for 21 years.
An Internal Scoring System
“What we are doing here is fine tuning an inventory of programs—I call them tools and solutions,” said Conway. “We are closing down those programs that have been underperforming and those that are underutilized. We are investing in the tools and solutions we know are helping our credit unions.”
The association’s strategic priorities are compliance, advocacy and tools and solutions, and Conway said it has a sharp focus on products and services that generate CU non-interest income, such as ID theft protection.
To understand what is helping Pennsylvania CUs prosper, PCUA wants to get closer to its members, and to that end Conway said it has developed an internal scoring system to measure league engagement of each of its members.
“For credit unions that have a low engagement score, we focus on finding ways to build up that relationship,” said Conway.
In addition to its annual membership survey, since Conway arrived the PCUA it has conducted eight statewide meetings so CUs could meet their new league president. Conway said the meetings were critical, especially at a time when members’ needs are evolving.
“It was a great opportunity for me to get one-on-one time with credit union leaders who are not shy about saying what’s right and wrong with the association and what we need to do,” said Conway, who has also spent days working inside individual CUs.