Are We Having Fun Yet?

Editor’s note: Direct Federal Credit Union is a one-branch, $750 million credit union located in Needham, Mass. It is undergoing its first core conversion since 1984 and has partnered with CU Times to document its journey until the new core is anticipated go live in 2021. Contributing authors will be members of the project team and each article will tell a story from a different point of view. Read its previous four articles and continue to follow along at cutimes.com/instantinsights.

More than four months have elapsed since Direct Federal Credit Union’s core conversion began. We are taking the inherent challenges of the conversion itself in stride, and we have also adapted successfully to the curveballs thrown to us by the COVID-19 pandemic. How have we been so successful? We not only have a great team of engaged employees; we are also encouraging our employees to think about their individual roles in the core conversion.

Under these circumstances, you may be asking how we are keeping everyone on board with this huge undertaking. From a culture standpoint, we’re taking a two-pronged approach. First, we’re trying to make it fun, and second, we’re encouraging employees to define their own roles and development opportunities as part of the core conversion.

The fun part is easy. Given the 1980s vintage status of our incumbent core, we’ve adopted a kitschy cruise theme as we “Cruise to Corelation.” We had a “Captain’s Table” kick-off event, complete with messages in a bottle, life rings and boatswain’s whistles, and we are tracking our virtual journey on a world map. All conversion milestones are recognized by our arrival at a new port of call. Individual departments have decorated their work areas in cruise-themed décor that would make Love Boat’s Captain Merrill Stubing proud.

Fun is fun, but corporate culture gurus are pretty much unanimous in believing that the real driver of engagement and strong corporate culture is when employees feel they are truly part of the work being done.

To that end, we’ve launched a culture campaign that asks employees to “Play Your Part in the Core Conversion.” We want all employees to be thoughtful about their own role in the conversion, whether they are deeply involved in the project or keeping the day-to-day operations of the credit union running smoothly.

Each month we’ll focus on a key cultural element, including Goal Achievement, Continuous Improvement, Team Building, Systems Understanding, Broader Knowledge, Universal Recognition and Career Development. These concepts were not chosen at random, but rather identified as cultural elements that we believe will be addressed throughout this 15-month journey. We’re asking our employees to share their thoughts and experiences on each of these elements through a discussion board on our intranet. Employees are excited about the improvements the new core will bring to their day-to-day work, and they are equally excited to see all the ways the conversion project will help them grow personally and professionally.

It is no secret that a core conversion is a tremendous undertaking. We know that our systems and processes will be enhanced with great new technology, but we’re also confident that our employees will recognize this time as one of the greatest opportunities for development in their careers to date. Fair winds and following seas as we continue our voyage!

Jennifer Cavan is Director of Human Resources for Direct FCU in Needham, Mass. She can be reached at 781-433-2900 Ext. 252 or jcavan@direct.com.