HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – In order for their training programs to be successful, credit unions should closely align them with their corporate goals, an SWBC training specialist emphasized at the CUNA HR and Training & Development (HR/TD) Council Conference Thursday.
Loraine Catlett, senior training and performance consultant for the San Antonio, Texas-based insurance, mortgage and investment services firm, led a one-hour workshop on strategic thinking with a group of credit union training and HR managers.
During the session, participants brainstormed ways to strengthen their training programs by answering questions such as: Who are my credit union's key stakeholders? What resources do I need to accomplish my training? And, what types of learning events are available to deploy training?
Catlett said it's important to consider individual business unit goals, as well as to involve personnel from all departments throughout the credit union, not just those at the executive level, while planning training programs.
"If you don't sit down and talk to people from those key business units, what you decide to offer may not hit what they really need," she said. "So you have to get them involved from the very beginning. You need to have discussions with your front-line managers and ask them: What's our best course of action? What do we need? At the end of the day, every organization is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all program. But a good program requires careful planning and a true understanding of your corporate goals."
She also noted it's critical to remain flexible and think ahead in terms of the credit union's hiring forecast and new technologies, products and services that may be available for use in the training program down the line. In addition, she said maximizing resources is key when designing a successful training program.
"The best training doesn't always come from the biggest budget," she said. "The best training comes from utilizing the budget efficiently so that it produces results."
The CUNA HR/TD Council Conference runs from April 22 to 25 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, Calif.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
