Our greatest asset

Over the last few blog posts, I’ve written a lot about transformation and technology. In fact, if I were to count the number of times the word “technology” pops up, I’d probably decide I need an editor! The thing is, transformation is the goal; that should be clear by now. And technology, well, that’s one of the most important tools we have to facilitate – and even accelerate – that transformation. 

But perhaps technology isn’t the most important part of the story. I would suggest it is actually people. And it’s culture. Specifically here, I am speaking to our connectFirst story and our people and our culture.  It is because it will be our folks who are thinking differently around how we are solving problems and truly transforming banking. Sure, many of those problems may be solved using technology but it will be our people who are those that are listening, connecting, and understanding our members so that we can truly transform the experiences we are creating so that we can change the world. 

Hey, did I just say that? Yes, I did. I have been a student of transformation for a long time and it’s kind of what I am about and what I believe in. I got into banking because I didn’t believe it was working the way it should. While so many industries seemed to be capable of change, it seemed strange to me that banking seemed cold and just not very focused on its customers (or members in our case). Worse, it didn’t always feel like banks even had people on their radar. We can do better. 

And why can’t a credit union, based in an innovative place undergoing as much change as Alberta, be the instigator in changing the way banking works so that we can make banking work for people? When I write that, it seems kind of obvious that there is no better place and no organization better positioned than we are, right now, to transform banking. Unlike most other organizations in the business of banking, we made a decision to re-invent ourselves including a new brand, value proposition, member experience, technology stack…well, we are going all-in to become a credit union designed for the 2020s and to be what Alberta needs right now. 

But me saying that our aspirations are to change the world isn’t enough. It takes people. And I find myself working with close to a thousand folks at connectFirst that are here because they think and believe we can. It isn’t easy and I know that sometimes we are asking a lot of our employees. They are working through the same challenges all Albertans are and at the same time, we are asking them to put aside some of the things that have been the way of the past – but that will get in the way of our own re-invention and transformation. We are asking them to be connecting and understanding our members. We are asking them to be experts in our business, in technology and to light the way for our members with their passion.

Yes, I am talking about a bunch of bankers at a credit union that have real passion for our members. 

So, our employees are taking on an incredible amount of change and we know that change is hard. We covered that. But on the other hand, the challenge we are taking on to re-invent ourselves and our credit union and to transform banking is absolutely one of the most exciting experiences one can have in their career. I feel it every day at work. The collective passion that builds from rejecting the status quo and always going beyond where we may have stopped in the past. There’s nothing much more fulfilling than seeing change come to life and to make a meaningful impact on the lives of Albertans. 

More than a week ago, we brought hundreds of our employees together (in completely COVID-safe ways) to give them a sneak peek of what form that collective passion will take. Because it’s one thing to change our name (officially) to connectFirst Credit Union, roll out new logos, products, apps, experiences and, well, everything. But it’s completely another to help employees feel what that name means. 

Quite simply, the feeling I hope all of us had leaving those events was belonging. I hope we all showed up and felt that we were part of something bigger, together. Because when we find a place that we belong, we show up as our most authentic selves – we are more vulnerable, we share our ambitions and we’re honest about the things that keep us up at night. We can’t give Albertans a place to turn to, to share their ambitions and mistakes – really, to feel that sense of belonging – if we don’t feel it ourselves. 

This is just one piece of a much larger puzzle as we build a place that makes Alberta better, but I feel a new energy around here. I truly believe that a company’s employees are its greatest asset – and typically the least realized. By creating an environment where each and every team member can share their stories and experience, companies can grow in unexpected and innovative ways. A diversity of perspective will fuel collaboration and progress – you’ve just got to make it possible. It’s a cultural change. Let solutions grow from the bottom up, from the places where they are going to be enacted. Inspire your teams with your vision and empower them to execute it. 

That’s how to succeed. That’s how to transform. That’s what it’s all about.