Social media opens lines of communication with your members, but you must make sure you’re having the right conversations. Start your policy with a review of your credit union’s core values and mission. This will automatically lead into the type of communication that is acceptable. Read dos and don’ts for social media in Credit Union Management’s online-only “PR Insight” column, below.

Also read an article about CU compensation and check out a profile of an up-and-coming credit union leader, all in this issue of CUES FYI.

PR Insight: Put Social Media Policies in Place
Dos and Don’ts to succeed in the Web 2.0 world

CU Executive Compensation Over a Rocky Decade
CEOs, other execs post modest raises—and achieve near-parity with banking peers.

Next Generation Leaders: Rob Mizerski
Profiles of up-and-coming credit union employees

Credit Union Management Featured Article 

Starter Cards
Prepaid and share-secured programs offer a marketing opportunity.

CUES, CUES Director and CUES Supplier members, as well as subscribers to Credit Union Management, can now access a complete digital version of the September issue, plus archives back to December 2009, by logging in at cumanagement.org, then clicking on the magazine image in the top bar. E-mail cues@cues.org for password help.

From Our Sponsor

Four ‘First Steps’ for Boards to Follow When Setting Objectives for Executive Compensation

CUNA Mutual Group is a leading provider of financial services to credit unions, their members, and valued customers worldwide. As we celebrate 75 years of market commitment in 2010, CUNA Mutual's vision is unwavering: to be a trusted business partner who delivers service excellence with customer-focused products and market-driven innovation.

Member Benefit Section

Online Learning for Boards: Mergers

Merger attempts can be derailed by a number of different issues:

• mismatched expectations of the two groups;
• significant differences in values, culture or strategy;
• inappropriate behavior of participants, ranging from attitudes to integrity issues; and
• inability to agree on proposed governance and management structures.

The key for directors is to understand the rationale for the proposed action and its effect on staff and members. Circumstances will dictate how much control the board has and what its options might be. Regardless of circumstances, the board will need to be convinced that the proposed merger or alliance is necessary and in the best interest of the credit union and its members, has a solid strategic rationale, and has a good chance of success.

CUES Director members can study further aspects of delegation and board governance—then test their knowledge—in the CUES Director Education Center, now a member benefit (password required; e-mail cues@cues.org for help).

To learn even more, considering upgrading to a membership in CUES’ new Center for Credit Union Board Excellence. Governance is one of seven key learning areas; others are finance, committees, advocacy, board/CEO relations, strategy and risk management. Check it out and sign up for a free trial membership at http://www.myccube.org.

Tracking the Relationship Between Credit Union Governance and Performance

A new report by Jesse Chen, Antonio Spizzirri and Matt Fullbrook of the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, finds a direct link between effective CEO evaluation and credit union performance. This research also shows several areas ripe for improvement by CU boards:

Time management. Effective meeting management is a challenge, and boards seem to have only a vague sense of how their meeting time is spent. To improve, boards must know how their time is currently spent and then prioritize agendas to spend more time on strategy.

Director evaluations. A dearth of board introspection means board chairs and other directors need to be proactive in formally evaluating their own contributions. They should consider implementing annual board effectiveness surveys, formal peer feedback, formal reviews of the chair, and feedback from management.

Continuing education. One way to encourage better governance is to demand individual improvement. Surveyed directors who ranked their boards in the top decile of governance performance all had formal continuing education policies, while those in the lowest decile rarely did.

CUES and CUES Director members can download Tracking the Relationship Between Credit Union Governance and Performance and nonmembers can read an executive summary here.

Review all your member benefits here.

Blog: CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec finalists have been blogging. Catch up on their posts here. The finalists will present their projects at CUES’ CEO/Executive Team Network™, Nov 7-10 in Dallas. Attend the conference to help pick the winner. 

Cool Web Site: Vintage Technology highlights late 20th Century gadgets like calculators, radios, and lots more.

Member News:

 Milestone: Numerica Credit Union, with 85,000 members, Spokane Valley, Wash., has reached $1 billion in assets.

Recognition: Robert O. Witty, president/CEO of $690 million/57,000-member CFCU Community Credit Union, Ithaca, N.Y., was recently inducted into the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame at the Credit Union Association of New York's annual convention in Cooperstown.

$885 million/81,000-member SELCO Community Credit Union, Eugene, Ore., was honored in late August by the Lane Workforce Partnership for SELCO’s “investment in the local workforce.” This recognition noted that with more than 250 employees and more than 80,000 credit union members, SELCO offers its regular employees a competitive compensation package that includes a 401(k) plan, and the opportunity to participate in wellness, employee assistance and life balance programs. In addition, SELCO offers in-house training to help employees further their careers and reimbursement for business and finance certifications. Lane Workforce also recognized SELCO’s internship programs for local youth which included one that allows for school credits.

People Helping People: More than 150 area kids, ages 2 through 10, geared up and broke a sweat by competing in the Summit Credit Union Du Run Run on Aug. 15 to raise $8,641 for Special Olympics Wisconsin. Kids ran, biked and then ran again in support of the more than 1,600 athletes with cognitive disabilities in the Madison area.

Read more—and submit your own--CUES member news here.

CUES Golden Mirror Awards Winners

Congratulations to the 2010 CUES Golden Mirror Awards winners! The marketing excellence displayed by the credit union industry this year was astounding, and CUES is proud to recognize all GMA winners on the interactive Web site cuesgma.org. Get inspired. View the winning entries today.

CUES Calendar

Webinar: Compliance – An Operational Issue That Demands Efficiency
Sept. 9
1-2 p.m. Central time

Webinar: Diagnosing Employee Performance
Sept. 13
10-11 a.m. Central time

CUES School of Sales & Service - Canada
Sept. 14-17
Vancouver

CUES School of Risk Management™
Sept. 20-21
Seattle

CUES School of Business Lending™ - School III
Sept. 20-24
Seattle

CEO/Executive Team Network™
Nov. 7-10
Dallas
 
Directors Conference
Dec. 5-8
Phoenix

Check out all the upcoming CUES events.

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