Manitoba's Top Employers

4 4 MANITOBA'S TOP 25 EMPLOYERS 2015 A ccessCreditUnionLimitedinvestsinitsemployees and acknowledges the value of their ideas and initiatives. For president and CEO Larry Davey, employee satisfactionisakeycomponenttoasuccessfulcompany. "We run an employee survey every couple years. This past year, we focused on how engaged our employees are, whether they feel there are strong career opportunities at Accessandhowtheyfeeltheirwork-lifebalanceis.Allthree areas went through the roof in comparison to other financial institutions," he said. "It showed us we are on the right track with our staff. I think they believe the credit union is on the right track as well. There's been lots of really good things happening. We've been very pleased with how everybody has taken on the autonomy that we've provided and have embracedchangesgoingforward." With nearly 300 employees, the staff members know that their opinions are valued through a new program called Ask theCEO. "Wecreatedaportalthatstaffcanusetosendanonymous emails to ask any questions about the organization. Our beliefisthatifonepersonisasking,thenthereareprobably otherswhohavethesameconcern,"Daveysaid. "We've had people come forward with questions about policy or process and include recommendations of what we might want to look at. It's been very helpful for theorganization." With its corporate office based between Winkler and Morden, Access Credit Union Limited is made up of seven creditunionsthatcametogetheroverthepastfiveyears. "Probably one of the major tasks we've had over the last coupleyearsistotrytocreateoneculture.Wehaveastrong focus on our members, a strong focus on our communities and a strong focus on our employees. We understand that therehastobesynergybetweenallthreeifwe'regoingtobe successful,andwe'vehadstrongsuccess,"Daveysaid. "Our employees certainly appreciate the compensation and benefit package we have, but they also expect more from their employer. They don't just want a place to go to work. They want an employer that's going to support their communityaswellasthemselvesandthemembership." While Access Credit Union shows support for the 17 communities it serves, its employees also back up this commitmentthroughtheirownactions. "Our employees had close to 10,000 hours of volunteer worklastyear,whichmeansagreatdealtoourcommunities. Therearealotofsmallerorganizationsinthosecommunities that would have a hard time getting by without the volunteer support,"Daveysaid. "In addition, the employees started the Jeans for Charity initiative a couple years ago. They contribute $2 per week to wear jeans every Friday. At the end of the year, Access matches whatever contributions have been raised and the individualbranchesdecidewhichcharitytheywilldonatethis moneyto.Lastyearthatprogramraisedabout$50,000." For the past two years, employees have also organized a charity golf tournament that has raised about $60,000 for A Port in the Storm. This organization provides affordable overnight housing for rural residents who need to travel to Winnipegforhealthreasons. "People coming from rural communities are able to utilize this service, so it's been a very good fit," Davey said. "It's beenagreatcredittothestaffhere." To show appreciation for its employees, Access offers opportunitiesforthemtocontinuetheireducation. "We are strong believers in ongoing education for staff. Many of our staff have embraced continuing their university education — some as undergraduates, some with graduate degrees and some taking their master's programs. About 15 per cent of employees take advantage of this program, and Access foots all the costs for them to continue the educationalprograms,"Daveysaid."Thebiggestreasonthat we're a strong supporter of this is that we understand that our employees have busy lives. They're not only involved in the community, but they're involved in their family life. We feel that if they're going to take more time to pursue these programs, we're happy to support them financially. That's workedoutreallywellforeverybody." ByJenniferMcFeeforTheFreePress ACCESSCREDITUNION AccessCreditUnionvalues itsemployees www.accesscu.ca dream. build. live. righthere. Righttoleftare,ReubenSchulz,SVPandCFO,MyrnaWiebe,SVPandCOO,andLarryDavey, PresidentandCEOofAccessCreditUnion. AccessCreditUnionphoto

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