Search
 

Your Best Recruiting Tool is Not What You Think: Guest Opinion

Abraham Maslow would have been a great recruiter. The groundbreaking psychologist described human needs from the bottom up: people first seek physical survival, then safety, then belonging and acceptance, and finally a life in which they can create and positively affect others. The work world follows a similar progression as...

By Ben Rogers | Updated on October 30, 2013
Abraham Maslow would have been a great recruiter. The groundbreaking psychologist described human needs from the bottom up: people first seek physical survival, then safety, then belonging and acceptance, and finally a life in which they can create and positively affect others. The work world follows a similar progression as employees seek out baseline security, earnings, and work/life balance, all the while, striving for a job or career that actually means something.

Filene attended recruiting conferences and hosted roundtables with MBA students to talk about how to put credit unions on their employment radar. Not surprisingly, some MBAs are so focused on strategy consulting, or investment banking, or technology startups that credit unions didn’t even register on their radar. But a surprising number responded to the ideas of “people helping people” and “people before profits.” What most surprised us at Filene was that these students were intrigued by credit unions, but few credit unions were intrigued by them.

As not-for-profit cooperatives, credit unions have social responsibility in their DNA. Credit unions were a movement long before they were an industry, and where the shareholders are the customers, responsibility follows. This history and the structural difference mean that credit unions are socially responsible in a simple, do-right-by-members way. That ethos can turn into a recruiting advantage for credit unions that recognize it and act accordingly. But too often credit union rhetoric about member service is mired in old language. Even worse, too few credit unions make an explicit link between their socially responsible structure and their recruiting. We can’t assume potential employees will discover the link on their own. We must make it explicit and compelling.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Critical CUTimes.com information including comprehensive product and service provider listings via the Marketplace Directory, CU Careers, resources from industry leaders, webcasts, and breaking news, analysis and more with our informative Newsletters.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and CU Times events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including Law.com and GlobeSt.com.

Already have an account?

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Recommended Stories

Credit Union Times

Join Credit Union Times

Don’t miss crucial strategic and tactical information necessary to run your institution and better serve your members. Join Credit Union Times now!

  • Free unlimited access to Credit Union Times' trusted and independent team of experts for extensive industry news, conference coverage, people features, statistical analysis, and regulation and technology updates.
  • Exclusive discounts on ALM and Credit Union Times events.
  • Access to other award-winning ALM websites including TreasuryandRisk.com and Law.com.

Already have an account? Sign In Now
Join Credit Union Times

Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.