Credit Unions Uniquely Positioned to Be Leaders in Diversity & Inclusion

In my full-time job, I work directly across the street from the White House. As you can imagine, it’s a busy area filled with a mix of working professionals and tourists who speak a range of languages. During the warm-weather months, I love to walk around during my lunch break and absorb the energy of the city.

I’m fortunate to live in an area that is filled with diversity; people from all over the world come to the nation’s capital for a variety of reasons, often bringing with them their rich cultural traditions, including one of my favorites – food! I’m constantly thinking about my next meal, and living in D.C. has given me so much access to different cuisines and expanded my cooking repertoire.

During my 12 years of living here, I’ve benefited so much from the area’s diversity. In addition to improving my cooking skills, I often have spirited conversations with people with different opinions and experiences, who come from a variety of different races and backgrounds, and I always walk away more informed and smarter than I was before.

I seek diversity not just in my food and conversations, but in the books I read and the friends I keep. Exposure to diversity allows me to be informed and teaches me about the world outside of my immediate boundaries, and helps me become more empathetic, understanding and supportive of those around me. It’s also essential in the workplace.

In my column last year called “The Importance of Embracing Diversity at Your Credit Union,” I emphasized that embracing diversity in the workplace leads to diverse perspectives and points of view. Because of the positive feedback I received on this topic, I felt it was important to continue exploring it.

As I mentioned in my previous article, Real Business said it best: “Staff that come from a range of backgrounds will have had different experiences, giving them a greater understanding of different points of views. This can be useful for empathizing or problem solving in various situations, offering more tailored support to clients or customers.”

Having a diverse workforce and member base just makes good business sense.

Because credit unions are so connected to the heartbeat of the communities they serve and understand their communities’ needs, they’re uniquely positioned to be leaders in diversity and inclusion.

Angela Weekley, manager of community inclusion at the $4 billion Veridian Credit Union in Waterloo, Iowa, said one of the things that sets credit unions apart is that they embody people helping people.

“One of the things my department is challenged with is finding ways to build different relationships, which is what credit unions do. With our changing demographic across the United States, it’s good business sense. The statistics show that our communities are changing, and even our smaller communities are not immune to change,” Weekley said.

And she’s right – U.S. demographics are changing. The U.S. Census Bureau predicted the minority population will rise to 56% of the total in 2060, compared with 38% in 2014. This predicted change highlights the urgency credit unions must assign to ensuring diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of their strategic planning goals. If credit unions don’t embrace diversity, they’ll miss out on opportunities to increase membership and be left behind in this rapidly-changing world.

Veridian is ensuring they’re not left behind. Diversity and inclusion are at the core of everything the credit union does, and its goal is to create an environment where every member and employee feels valued.

“We want to make sure we’re accurately representing the communities we’re serving. We want to do that in our membership and employee base, and we want to give back to our community to make sure all parts of our community are strong, because that makes the credit union strong,” Weekley emphasized.

The credit union created an inclusion council, led by the president/CEO, to meet its goals, which include:

• Training employees to strengthen their awareness of their members’ diverse needs on a range of topics, including cultural competency, socio-economic differences, understanding generational differences and unconscious bias;
• Creating a community inclusion department, which is the primary liaison for support within its communities;
• Providing sponsorship, grants and financial literacy to community members;
• Tailoring products and services to fit the needs of members;
• Hiring bilingual employees and translating select materials for members;
• Using a wide array of surveys to gather feedback to ensure efforts are on track;
• Monitoring member, employee and community demographics to ensure they mirror the communities the credit union serves; and
• Identifying gaps and looking for opportunities to address them.

Just as my experience in D.C. has made me better, so too will improving the diversity at your credit union. I challenge your credit union to find ways to improve diversity and inclusion. You can thank me later.

Tahira Hayes is a correspondent-at-large for CU Times. She can be reached at thayes@cutimes.com.