Board Members Opt for Less Time on Micromanagement, More on Financial Soundness

MADISON, Wis. – Credit union board members generally have a confident level of satisfaction about their role but some areas need a little more work. This, according to a new study from the Filene Research Institute, Enhancing Board Satisfaction at Credit Unions, which explored the perceptions of directors and CEOs about the involvement of the board in strategic and non-strategic activities at their credit union. Responses on satisfaction of board members were obtained from directors only. Filene commissioned a study by Florida Institute of Technology professor Julie Siciliano to examine both strategic and non-strategic activities of credit union boards. Siciliano administered surveys to directors and CEOs of credit unions in Massachusetts and New York. The report assesses the relationship of 16 activities to satisfaction and three composite groups of activities – strategic planning, strategic decisions, and non-strategic activities. The research finds that in general, credit union board members have a good or high level of satisfaction with their role. However, there are notable variations across credit unions. There is a statistically significant correlation between board satisfaction and the board’s level of involvement in 17 of the 19 activities or groups of activities measured. However, the strength of this relationship varies considerably across different types of activities, the report revealed. Only one activity was negatively correlated with satisfaction – spending a large portion of meetings dealing with day-to-day operations. “Satisfied boards are not micro-managing credit unions, and they should not be doing so,” according to the report. Of the activities positively related to board satisfaction, the strongest relationships were with several non-strategic activities including: close monitoring of financial soundness; involvement in assessing the appropriate skills/characteristics required of board members; conducting a formal evaluation of the CEO annually; and active involvement in policy making. Furthermore, the overall average degree to which the board is involved in all four of these activities in this composite group is the strongest indicator of board satisfaction, the study showed. Other activities that show a very strong relationship with board satisfaction are strategic planning activities including reviewing environmental conditions to identify trends; identifying long range goals; developing strategic action plans to achieve these goals; and monitoring implementation of these plans. Activities that have relatively weak relationships with board satisfaction include involvement in developing a mission statement; participating in a formal strategic planning session; and having 75% or better attendance at board meetings. It appears that being at a meeting or a planning session is not as important as what happens at these sessions, the data revealed. “The importance of director satisfaction cannot be overstated,” said Bob Hoel Filene executive director. “The cooperative nature of credit unions makes board activities and board-staff relationships critical to the overall service level provided to members.” [email protected]