Are you ready to take on a new challenge that will inspire others?

Do you feel disconnected in your current role and wish to broaden your horizons by pursuing a new organization where you can thrive? You feel as if you have arrived at a dead end in your current organization and want to make a difference, lead teams, guide the institution through innovations and new opportunities, and deliver exceptional service.

Everyone yearns to be impactful, and part of the vision as an organization grows through the ever-changing world of technology.

Executives, it is OKAY to pursue other career opportunities and expand your skillset and experience. Take on a new challenge in an organization where you can run with your ideas and mold your department with concrete expectations and unwavering support. It is also important to remember to keep that value in people approaching you for answers and input, giving light to ideas, having a heart for collaboration, and putting the right people in the right places. Take your past professional experiences, whether good or bad, and create a version of yourself that people want to be led by.

Whether you are currently employed or seeking a new opportunity, how will you know if it’s the right job for you? There are many reasons people continue to stay in the same position for years, for better or worse. Here are a few discussion points that might help you decide you are in the right place or decide to move on.

Does the organization have the same goals and desires you are seeking? Individual, team and organizational goals should be cross aligned, ensuring connection and contribution to the overall higher goals. The business should also support these goals and help you achieve them the best way they can.

Is this a position where you can make an immediate impact? The organization should be able to create an atmosphere where you can feel comfortable enough to initiate new ideas and show individuality while also listening to your team and learning from leadership.

Do you always feel like you are in survival mode? Does every day going into work feel like a battle, or do you dread going in? We mostly all have had those thoughts/feelings in specific jobs, and there is a reason you aren’t there anymore. So why waste more time in a dead-end job?

Suppose a job is not fulfilling your needs personally and professionally. In that case, it might be time to accept a position within an organization that will and take the next step in your career. Only you can make that decision!

Is there such thing as the perfect candidate? As an employer, during your hiring process, this is a question you should ask yourself. If you have a long list of qualifications that are required to fill this position, you could let a potential candidate slip through before you even get to the interview stage. Usually, the final candidate hired will not tick every box you once had at the beginning of the process.

Teachable candidates with the necessary technical skills, who are a culture fit should be your ideal contenders. If a candidate is lacking in an area where they can be trained and developed, they should not be overlooked. It’s hard to find quality talent especially in a competitive market, being flexible and transparent can help with attracting the candidates you want.

As an employer, you want to stand out amongst the competition, making personal connections with candidates could identify their management style and how they will fit within the company. Think outside of the box, try not to focus on the minute details of the requirements. The perfect candidate is not out there but finding the right candidate can be done!

Working cohesively with the Search Committee of the Board of Directors as a recruitment firm is crucial during the recruitment process. While the relationship between the Board of Directors and the recruitment company is an obvious factor, the bigger picture is finding the right successor.

Making a significant succession decision means a lot of details have to align – A thorough understanding and identifying the core competencies needed to prosper in the position; realization there is not the perfect candidate that will meet a whole laundry list of requirements; and objectivity about candidates a whole, not focusing entirely on who and where they are coming from – including external or internal candidates.

While recruiters can be an essential part of the process, ultimately, each member of the Board of Directors has to be content and satisfied with their decision. Pinpointing the needs of the credit union and who will lead the culmination of the internal transformation process should be the main objective of the Board.

Each credit union is unique, and their search for a new leader is not ‘one size fits all.’

Managing Client and Candidate Relationships

Respectable recruiters are successful in managing the two relationships – client and candidate – during the recruitment process. Both relationships are equally important, requiring trust and communication.

Technology has evolved and streamlined the recruitment process, primarily through Client Relationship Management (CRM) software and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These systems are beneficial to recruiters; however, the rapport between the recruiter and their contacts gets lost in translation.

Personal connections are unequivocally the foundation for recruiters, clients, and candidates alike. Simple callbacks and touching base with clients and candidates on both sides of the recruitment process on a frequent basis is essential, making sure both your clients and candidates feel involved in the process.

Getting back to the basics is vital for successful recruiters, especially during the current climate, where we may not be getting human interaction as much as we used to. People want to feel like they aren’t just another number, and reassuring them they are as important as the next client or candidate can foster a reputable reputation.

What defines Cultural Transformation within an organization?

Facilitating cultural transformation in the workplace is a necessary commitment to ensure employee satisfaction and inclusion. The development of changing the organization’s culture should transform the outlook, policies, behaviors, and practices. Change has to start from executive leaders to assure the rooted, existing culture shifts from the outdated practices to the newly improved values and beliefs.

To get to the root cause of the existing culture, the company should conduct a cultural assessment to evaluate what changes need to be made. The cultural review should consider internal beliefs, such as honesty and integrity, while also examining outward actions like collaboration and information sharing. This valuation should help the business understand and indicate any dysfunction at any level within the organization.

Once executive leaders pinpoint the source, they can then cultivate change and transformation by using mindful behaviors to other leaders and managers to accomplish employee engagement in all departments. For cultural transformation to be effective, every individual must want to change any negative beliefs and values within themselves to the chosen cultural shift.

Board of Directors Recruitment – What do innovative companies look for in the selection of a new Board member?

A Board Member is an essential function in navigating a company’s future direction. When recruiting new members for a Board of Directors, the current Board Members desire candidates with fresh ideas and original thinking to be a significant and impactful contributor to the organization. Their uniqueness should have a philosophical alignment with the business, along with a mentality to give back to others in their personal and professional lives.

An innovative intellectual is fundamental to a strategic skillset for the governance of the company with a collaborative mentality. The diversity each individual brings with different life and work experiences help facilitate a well-rounded vision of the organization’s future.

Dedicating time and commitment with the eagerness to participate in meetings and beyond is a necessary attribute in a Board Member. The individual’s flexibility and preparedness are ideal in the board’s progression, immensely when they contribute questions, research, and creativity.

There is so much more to a Board of Directors than just attending meetings. Someone with futuristic views and able to identify trends contribute to being a valuable asset. Tangible attributes are valued when seeking new Board Members; however, intangible characteristics reach beyond tradition and appeal to innovative individuals.

Educational leadership can benefit significantly from blended learning by both formal education programs and virtual training. Bringing these two facets to key leaders can prove to be valuable in the development of building relationships, innovative thinking, and employee engagement within the organization.

The paradigm where everyone learns differently could be addressed by offering the opportunity for blended learning, as some excel from in-person institutions and others with webinars or virtual classrooms; bringing both options could provide a foundation that can be embedded in the workplace. Once critical leadership competencies are formed, these new behavioral skillsets can help bridge organizational gaps by building informal connections, fulfilling company goals, and guiding shared visions across all functions.

The combination of individually driven virtual learning and formal educational programs offers executive leadership the tools to provide a better overall workplace atmosphere.

New market, new demand!

Ask yourself, what are we doing as a company to retain our talent within our mortgage division?

The mortgage industry is in high demand of employees, as mortgage rates continue to remain under 3%. Due to the urgency of hiring candidates with mortgage operations experience, employers are seeking mortgage leaders to join their organization.  Quality talent is being swept away by other mortgage companies by virtue of monetary base compensation and incentives.

As an organization facing some of these challenges, employers are being creative on compensation structures to incentivize workers.  Incentives offered are hiring bonuses, retention tools tied to compensation, with the ability to work remotely.

If your company is facing the same challenges, reflect on your incentive strategy and retention tools needed to be competitive in a demanding mortgage rate environment.

Securing quality talent within your organization should include an internal strategic plan. Retention plans for top credit union Executives comprise of competitive salaries, targeted performance incentive goals and retention bonuses, stock options, paid time off, and ancillary allowances and benefits.

Robust, targeted performance incentive plans are successful when implemented at the offer stage/onboarding process, and even more lucrative when these plans align with industry standard. Specifically, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual performance incentives are beneficial at the Executive level and should be established to incorporate non-financial metrics and financial metrics. Non-financial metrics might include engaged members, member survey results, staff turnover ratios. Financial metrics may encompass loan growth and earnings, return on assets, capital ratio, membership growth, net income, and board evaluations (if applicable).

Once you establish the targeted goals, each metric should be broken out to a percentage of the final goal. Non-financial metrics could be 10% of the total bonus, while financial metrics are 90%, it depends on the organization’s focus to meet the needs of its employees and business strategy. Evaluating your Executive Compensation plans should be assessed annually to ensure they are in-line with the industry standard to achieve employee engagement and retention.