CU*Answers, a 100% credit union-owned CUSO, held their 2014 Annual Leadership Conference and Stockholders Meeting on June 18th at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event brought together credit union leadership from across the country for a briefing on the organization’s overall direction and major projects in the works for the coming year. At a separate session, CU*Answers Stockholders met for the annual board member election and to hear a recap of the CUSO’s financial position and projections for the fiscal year.
This year’s conference theme was “Walking in the Members’ Shoes” and included several CU*Answers- and client-produced videos that emphasized the importance of seeing credit union products and services from the perspective of a member. Said CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes, “We’re not talking about a member survey; we’re talking about an employee doing business with the credit union as a member: from the outside in, with the same tools, the same access, and the same day-to-day pressures the average consumer faces.”
Karnes challenged the group to adopt a new mindset for designing member experiences by first becoming first-person advocates for the things the credit union offers to its members. “If you can’t say, ‘I know what it’s like to do this for myself’ about your products – say, a bill pay program or your mobile app – then you will never be able to transform your business model to be ready for tomorrow’s world.”
The day-long conference was attended by 135 leaders from 87 credit unions, along with 39 vendors and 44 internal staff. And nearly half of the credit union’s 123 owners attended the evening Stockholders Meeting, with many more sending their vote electronically or by proxy.