Managing Rising Operational Costs

Welcome to The CU Leadership Mixtape, the newsletter serving up insights and takeaways from our Grow Your Credit Union podcast. Here, you'll discover fresh perspectives and practical tips from leaders in the credit union movement. Join the community to learn, grow, and stay ahead.

The Challenge You Face

The latest Credit Union Trends Report from TruStage reveals a concerning shift: credit union operating expenses have increased nearly 6% over the past year, significantly outpacing the 4.2% growth in assets.

This gap is creating new challenges for credit unions as they navigate rising costs in an increasingly competitive landscape.

With operational costs rising faster than asset growth, how will your credit union adapt and stay competitive?

What Credit Union Leaders Are Doing

We launched a program called "Automate and Elevate". - David Tuyo

When faced with rising operational costs, David Tuyo , CEO of University Credit Union , didn’t just focus on cost-cutting. Instead, he turned the challenge into an opportunity for growth and innovation.

Tuyo launched the "Automate and Elevate" initiative, where the goal wasn’t just automating repetitive tasks, but empowering employees to focus on more meaningful work—like deepening member relationships and driving community impact.

To keep the momentum going, he introduced the "Credit Union Olympics," a team-based competition that encouraged employees to submit process improvement ideas. This initiative was so successful that, after four years, the credit union was still receiving 75 new ideas a month.

We brought ROA down to the branch level... The branch manager was the CEO of their own branch, and the branch employees were responsible for, ultimately, the profitability of their branch. - Becky Reed

Empowering employees by making them responsible for their branch’s profitability fosters a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

This approach motivates teams to optimize operations, leading to significant efficiency gains and contributing to the credit union’s overall financial health.

?? Listen To David's Episode

Key Takeaways

? Turn Cost Challenges into Opportunities

Instead of focusing solely on cutting costs, look for ways to improve operations and create growth opportunities by automating tasks and freeing up staff for higher-impact work.

? Launch Innovation-Driven Programs

Create team-based initiatives, like a competition or challenge, to encourage employees to continuously submit new ideas for process improvements. Keep the momentum by rewarding creativity and implementing the best ideas.

? Empower Branches with Accountability

Assign individual branches financial goals like Return on Assets (ROA), and make these goals understandable and actionable for employees at all levels. This fosters ownership and drives operational efficiency.

? Invest in Scalable Technology

Make strategic investments in cloud or other scalable technologies that improve efficiency without the need to dramatically grow your team or infrastructure.

? Embed Initiatives into Your Culture

Ensure that any new programs or operational improvements are woven into your organization’s culture, so they become natural, long-term strategies rather than temporary fixes.

Other Topics From The Episode

?? The 3 A's OF Building A Sales Culture

?? Employee Investment & Developing Talent In 2024

?? Listen To David's Episode

Listen To The Episode For More

?? Check out the latest episode of Grow Your Credit Union on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon Music

?? Want to come on the podcast? Visit growyourcreditunion.com for details.

?? Interested in sponsoring the podcast?

Sources For Our Topics

?? Credit Union Trends Report - TruStage

A Huge Thanks To Our Sponsor, Strum Platform

Strum Platform revolutionizes credit union marketing with hyper-targeted segmentation and campaigns that drive loans and deposits. Let us show you how to triple email open rates with campaigns that target the right member at the right time with the right message in minutes. Schedule a demo today to see the power of Strum Platform in action.

Voices From The Community

Thank you Kevin P. for the comment.

To the community: How are you dealing with rising operational costs at your CU?

???? Leave a comment down below

Artificially Intelligent Jokes

PROMPT: a credit union leader successfully dealing with increasing operational costs

AI:

Love The CU Leadership Mixtape?

Subscribe and share it with your friends - we’ll be back in two weeks to bring you more on how to grow your credit union. Grow with us!

?? Which Credit Union Leadership topics would you like us to cover? Tell us in the comments.