DENVER – "Stop speaking in bank language." When it comes to working with a younger age group than many credit unions are used to, nixing financial terminology was one piece of advice offered by speakers at the America's Credit Union Conference and World Credit Union Conference in Denver.
Working with millennials was a topic repeated multiple times at the four-day convention. With 2.5 billion millennials in the world – one-third of the population that now surpasses baby boomers – speakers helped credit union executives get up to speed with the younger generation that will prove to be the lifeblood of many credit unions in the future.
Their first piece of advice was to hire millennials and convince them that they have a place on the board. Having younger staff present a report to the credit union's board of directors once a quarter is essential for understanding the millennial generation, and how they work, think, live and, ultimately, how they bank.
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Another piece of advice given by speakers is to understand that it is never too late to become engaged on social media, however it is a bad idea to put someone in charge of social media who doesn't use it in his or her personal life and doesn't understand its importance of it.
Speakers from the session "At the Intersection Between Millennial and Credit Unions: Lessons Learned on a Global Scale When You Pair Millennials and Technology," offered three takeaways for working for millennials:
1. Use mobile banking. Mobile banking is simple to use and most millennials will not join a financial institution that requires them to deposit checks in person at a branch. Credit unions around the globe, such as Navy Federal Credit Union, offer mobile deposits and other mobile offerings so that customers rarely, if ever, have to go into a branch unless they choose to.
2. Focus on security. Speakers encouraged credit unions to take a hard look at anything that requires a signature on a piece of paper and then see if there is a secure app that could replace that paper. But don't be lax on security. Millennials like their apps, but they don't want to be hacked.
3. Offer financial education. Younger generations are not getting the financial education they need in school, according to speakers. Credit unions have a prime opportunity to work with schools to give that education, but they shouldn't count on kids being willing to fill out a checkbook register. Instead, look at ways technology can help give the younger generations the important information they need to secure their financial futures.
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