By Christopher Stevenson
Credit union leaders regularly sacrifice their time, the spotlight and even their own self-interests for the good of individuals and teams. Their goal? To see employees become more engaged and the credit union succeed.
But interestingly, moving the needle on “engagement” per se can be difficult. After all, employees choose whether to engage in their work, and leaders have no direct control over this decision.
What leaders can decide is whether and how to invest in their employees, which sets the stage for employees to choose to be engaged in their work.
In the article, “Why Leaders Should Focus on Employee Investment, not Engagement," Millennial entrepreneur Rob Bellenfant identifies three ways leaders should invest in their teams: communicating about value, encouraging professional growth and showing proper appreciation for good work.
What It Means
Communicating about value means having an ongoing conversation about what is important within your credit union’s culture. This dialog needs to begin on the day of hire and continue through the successes and challenges of doing the work of fulfilling your credit union’s mission.
Encouraging professional growth means creating opportunities for two-way dialog about expectations, progress and—yes—setbacks. An article from the Harvard Business Review (http://tinyurl.com/hbrwantnegfdbk) says employees actually want the constructive feedback managers are often afraid to give. Of course, investing in and tracking (cues.org/clt) your team’s formal learning (cues.org/offerings) is another way to encourage engagement and organizational success.
Finally, properly showing appreciation for good work starts with measuring what’s being accomplished and comparing that to your credit union’s values. If you identify successes, know what matters to your team members before you recognize them. Do they prefer to be acknowledged publicly or privately? Is a choice next assignment or a raise more important to them? Keep in mind, something as simple as a phone call or email of appreciation can mean a lot.
Since credit unions are steeped in the principle of “people helping people,” investing in team members should come fairly easily. I’m confident you’ll reap the rewards.
Christopher Stevenson, CIE, is CUES’ SVP/chief learning officer. CUES (cues.org) is a Madison, Wis.-based associated dedicated 100 percent to talent development.