Manitoba's Top Employers

5 www.accesscu.ca dream. build. live. right here. Access Credit Union prides itself on being one of Manitoba's Top Employers by staying ahead of the technological and informational curves and creating a strong workplace culture that encourages growth and retention among its 260 employees who meet those demands with confidence. "We keep our focus on our people, our investment in those people, and working towards stronger engagement from all of our staff," says President and CEO Larry Davey. "We are looking to create and build on a great employee experience." Access Credit Union invests for success in their people. "We cover all of their post- secondary education and provide significant ongoing training, so we're now up to a dozen people who have completed or are completing their MBAs," Davey says. "And our board wants us to invest about twice as much as what any other credit union would." Ongoing "A-Plus" training develops interactions among staff and with members, improving the organizational culture. "We're providing more effective tools and management programs to our staff in customer relationship that make it easy for them to know how the members can be best assisted." Davey says very competitive salaries and benefits are also provided. "We see that as a strong investment in them, so we offer things like a clothing allowance in addition to ongoing training," he says. Communication channels are kept open with staff surveys. They show that 87 per cent of staff would recommend Access Credit Union as a great place to work. "We seek that kind of engagement because we understand that our staff are our best ambassadors out in the community," he says. Additionally, an outside company is contracted every two years to do candid, anonymous surveys of the employees. "Our human resources staff research best practices in this and other industries for reviewing satisfaction among employees, and how they feel toward their employer, the industry and their jobs," Davey says. Providing courses in "change management" for all management personnel develops confidence with the shifts that are happening and gives them the skills to help staff confidently manage growth and development as well. "I know that in the first two thirds of my career there was very, very little change, and that would have been the experience for many of the staff that work here, but that has been flipped on its head," he says. Davey says the introduction of their new Innovation Center, located between Winkler and Morden, is demonstrating how a branch might develop going forward. The centre tests all new technology and processes before rolling them out to the branches. "We chose three people who think outside the box and gave them innovation training that would help them look at every process the credit union has from the members' point of view rather than from the credit union's point of view to create a much more engaged membership," Davey says. A key element in fostering staff engagement is that the credit union shares their values and beliefs in their commitment to community. "We look to hire people that are committed to their community," Davey says. One community initiative that was brought forward by a staff member was to invite everyone to pay to wear jeans on a weekly basis, using the money raised to benefit local charities. The credit union matches the total. "The 2018 total raised will be $50,000," Davey says. "But for 2019, they are raising it to $3 a week which means we will be in the $70,000 to $75,000 mark. It shows us that our staff were on the same wavelength as the credit union is in supporting the sustainability of the community." Davey says that people who are engaged are not looking for other work and by seeking out people who are geared for change, looking for support and continuous education, retention rates are high. Davey sees Access continuing to grow, an indicator that members are happy with the services provided by staff. "When we talk about our people, we know we couldn't be a top employer without all of the strong people we have working for us," Davey says. "We celebrate them and we really appreciate that our people are always working to improve on and provide the best expertise and advice they can to all of our members." ACCESS CREDIT UNION FOCUSED ON INVESTING IN PEOPLE Access Credit Union employees are collaborating at their Innovation Centre to formulate new technology solutions. PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY BY WENDY KING The financial services industry is in constant flux. Frequent advances in delivery technology and product development paired with increased demands by consumers for convenience drive the kind of change best met with a nimble and committed workforce.

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