Kelly Group: Building a Credit Union Career on Compassion, Ambition & a Drive to Learn

A college degree isn’t a requirement for a successful career in credit unions. Just ask Kelly Group, service center manager for Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union ($976 million, Columbia, S.C.).

After becoming a young mother and graduating high school, Group took a teller job out of necessity at age 18 at First Palmetto Savings Bank near her home town of Elgin, S.C. Three years later, she moved 25 miles away to Columbia, the state capitol, and applied for a job at Palmetto Citizens. In less than 10 years, she advanced from serving as a member service representative on the teller line to working in MSR sales, to lending assistant, loan officer, assistant manager and finally to her current position as the first manager of the credit union’s now two-year-old location in Camden, S.C.

Her latest promotion took her away from Palmetto Citizens’ Northeast Columbia location, where she said she essentially “grew up,” for the first time, but also allowed her to return to her small town roots (she’s now living about eight miles northeast of Elgin in Lugoff; Camden is just another five miles up the road).

In an April 14 interview, Group shared her thoughts on banks versus credit unions, the importance of education in the workplace, why lending is life-changing and how routines at her branch have shifted since the onset of COVID-19.

CU Times: Why did you leave a bank to start working for a credit union, and what did you know about credit unions at that time?

Group: When I moved to the Columbia area, I began seeking employment near my new home. There were limited positions at my bank, and I came across the MSR position at PCFCU and it looked intriguing. When I was employed at the bank, I heard about credit unions but didn’t really understand the difference. The majority of the training I received at the bank was on how to technically perform my job well as a teller. While in training at the credit union, I remember thinking, “Where has PCFCU been all my life?” I liked working for the bank and loved the relationships I built there, but I realized the customers I helped in the past were really being cheated and I had a lot to learn.

CU Times: What helped enable you to “climb the ladder” so quickly at Palmetto Citizens?

Group: I’ve been very lucky, because the education programs offered at PCFCU have allowed me to be where I am. The bank I worked for didn’t offer ongoing education. When I started at PCFCU, I was told about the many training programs that would be available, like MSR certifications, ongoing online training and the Five Star Management Program. So a lot of things I’ve learned have been from these courses, peers, listening, observing and everyday member experiences.

I’ve also been very lucky to have several mentors. One of them was the first manager who hired me, who was very genuine when he spoke and made members feel like they were coming to his house when they came in [to the branch]. Like he had been waiting for them to come by all day. I saw value in that behavior and it taught me how to build trust. I feel with every member, building trust and a relationship is a stepping stone to being successful in this industry. Once that is established, the member will come to you for all of their financial advice and service requests. Being at the same service center for over 10 years allowed me to develop many relationships. Most of them see me as family.

I also read a lot – I visit the library pretty often – watch a lot of news and financial YouTube videos, and listen to financial podcasts such as The Dave Ramsey Show. I try to stay up to date on new financial trends.

CU Times: What has been your favorite role at Palmetto Citizens?

Group: My favorite was being a loan officer, because I always felt like I was making a difference. I like the challenge of strategizing to find the perfect product for a member. Most members with credit challenges just get told “no” by other financial institutions with no follow up or additional advice. I get to give them guidance on how they can be a “yes” in the future and help them set up a game plan. As a manager, I still get to lend a good bit, which is a great perk. But I also get to share my experiences and the knowledge I have learned over the years with my staff.

CU Times: Can you recall a particular time when a loan made a big impact on a member’s life?

Group: Last year, I assisted a member who was referred to me by a high interest lender down the street. He wanted a small personal loan but didn’t qualify with them for some reason. He felt he didn’t have very good credit and always went to the finance company for assistance, because that’s what his family always did. After opening his membership and taking his application, I noticed he had several credit cards/unsecured debt and a car loan at a high interest rate of 12%. After showing him his credit and giving him some encouragement about how we can lower his rates on these loans, he was really surprised. He thought since his score was under 650, 12% was the best rate he could get on a car loan. We were able to refinance his auto loan to 3.69% and consolidate his high interest unsecured debt to one payment, lowering his monthly payment. He was very grateful for our assistance and said he planned to tell everyone about us. He worked at a car wash and promised he was going to send some of his coworkers and customers to us. Over the next few weeks, several of his family members and coworkers came in to join. I love that our credit union focuses on what we can do, not what we can’t.

CU Times: How has your job changed over this past month, with the COVID-19 crisis becoming front and center in our lives?

Group: Well, we’re an essential service for our members as they still need to conduct financial transactions, but for the safety of members and employees we’ve been limiting face-to-face contact. We have a full-service drive-thru and can do almost everything at the drive-thru that we can do inside. Working as a team [exclusively] at the drive-thru has been an adjustment, but service hasn’t lacked due to the change and we’re doing every transaction that we can. At my location we haven’t had any issues – members have been very understanding of the changes and the precautions we’re taking for their safety. Communication is also important right now among staff to make sure everyone is at ease and stays positive.

CU Times: What has the team been doing to stay positive and hopeful during the crisis?

Group: Last month we were selling candy bars for Children’s Miracle Network and the team had a competition to see who could sell the most. We’re continuing to do that during this time, because chocolate makes everyone feel better, right? During our downtime we’ve been working on increasing our knowledge with ongoing training courses. And we have a dry erase board in the break room that we’ve been taking turns writing positive quotes on. We’ve made that into a fun activity – it gives us a giggle and helps motivate us as well.