By Robin Kolvek
Want your credit union to boast a culture of collaboration? Are you tired of seeing various departments in silos and not communicating? Well, stop with the talk and start with some action. Most companies know that teamwork is a key to success and, in order to have a functional team, you must promote cross-functional collaboration. In order to get your employees to buy in, a culture shift toward collaboration must start at the top – they look to you as the leader, so executive leadership must be the spark that ignites change.
First off – don’t try to force a collaborative culture on your employees. It needs to come naturally and strategically. Prioritize your employees, and remember that they are people – not machines. Respect your people and their time by being flexible about personal obligations. If they are enduring a hard time in their life, provide them with appropriate support and illustrate that your credit union team truly cares. By doing this, you will spur mutual respect and deepen bonds between your fellow employees, allowing the opportunity for collaboration to be encouraged and real trust to be built.
To do this effectively, you must promote transparency throughout your credit union and foster an inclusive, cooperative and open work environment. Make sure your employees feel empowered to speak candidly and know that their voice will be heard. A great way to achieve this is to encourage truth-sharing and a flat hierarchy. Additionally, as a leader, you should be transparent about the goings-on of your credit union, and encourage your team to come together to talk through issues and celebrate wins. When providing your team with information, become a clear and effective communicator – whether that entails sharing messages or updates through regular, detailed emails or by holding impromptu, yet informative, meetings. By being transparent, you will build trust and openness, inspiring your employees to speak up and work together.
Don't Let Technology Inhibit You
Use technology to drive collaboration – not inhibit it. Invest in tools that not only ease communication, but also assist with the efficiency and efficacy of your team’s work by allowing them to co-labor through technological solutions. Shared platforms, video-conferencing or communications tools like Slack or Chatter are great ways to empower your team to work together – especially if your employees are often out of the office or if you have multiple locations.
As with everything in business, you must monitor and measure your results to see if collaboration is increasing throughout your credit union. Discuss the results and take the temperature of your work environment. If you recognize that one tactic is not working, implement a new touchpoint to see if that drives increased collaboration. There is no perfect formula to automatically achieve success, but I can assure you – the trial and error will be worth it when you have greater efficiencies, efficacies and overall happiness in your workforce.
Robin Kolvek, Interim CEO at EPL, Inc., Birmingham, Ala. For info: www.epl-inc.com