The mission of every credit union is to serve its members, establishing goals that continuously improve the member experience and drive the highest return on investment (ROI). To achieve this aim, myriad large and small steps must be identified, documented and executed.
Strategic planning is the starting point from which the blueprint emanates for both short- and long-term successes – the time to acknowledge your strengths, challenges and opportunities. The blueprint provides not simply the WHAT but the WHO, the WHEN, the HOW, and the WHY for credit union leadership. It is, therefore, critical that the credit union’s strategic plan include both goals for growth and operational effectiveness, which is the measurement of a credit union’s revenue against its operating costs.
However, how does a credit union ensure that its growth goals align with its operational infrastructure and that the capacity is available to achieve the intended results?
Start with a new Strategic Planning Mindset
Strategic planning has gotten a bad rap from some who believe it’s just a pie-in-the-sky, feel-good waste of time or an initiative required to check the box of an auditor. However, when strategic planning is done to ensure effective communication across the organization, it’s far more than a required exercise; it becomes your blueprint for success.
Aligning business development for membership, deposit and loan growth with the people, processes and technologies during the strategic planning process enhances the plan’s effectiveness and the organization’s chances for extraordinary success. Let’s say one of your credit union’s strategic goals is to increase ROI for your members. Operational blueprints built from sound strategies and tactics like the following will lead to operational excellence and ensure the attainment of the desired goals:
- Measuring your data points against peers
- Enhancing human talent
- Prioritizing initiatives
- Automating pieces of different processes
- Eliminating outdated steps
Setting Operational Goals Leads to Reaching Strategic Objectives
Studying your credit union’s strategic plan through an operational lens is critical. WHY? It ensures that strategic priorities are set based on the impact they will have on the member and staff experience and that leadership can provide the proper toolkits and time to focus on the roadblocks to success. Going back to the example of improving ROI for members, the following strategies and tactics might be agreed upon and documented in the strategic plan:
1) Reducing the channels through which members transact.
2) Decreasing time spent in the branch.
3) Improving the ease of use with digital banking solutions.
It is equally important to ensure the management of agreed-upon projects is done with a sound project management methodology and a proven toolkit. WHY is this a critical requirement? So, these initiatives may be scoped, budgeted and planned appropriately. Improvements may include:
- Placing project managers on the team to research and select vendors.
- Reviewing RFPs and proposals for implementation risks and realistic timelines.
- Incorporating the member experience into the rollout plan.
These improvements should be considered to achieve strategic objectives and organizational goals.
Strategic and Operational Synergy
Strategic planning that integrates growth and operational goals is pivotal for credit unions aiming to achieve the best ROI for members. The synergy between strategic vision and operational efficiency drives every action with the purpose of achieving each overarching goal. Remember the blueprint referenced at the start of this article? It’s the integrated approach to strategic planning, guiding its decisions and actions toward tangible objectives. When strategic goals are tied to measurable outcomes, it ensures the strategic planning process is grounded in practicality rather than abstract ideas.
To recap, strategic planning provides the information needed to make informed decisions for growth and operational excellence. The planning process is vital for credit unions striving to remain relevant in the dynamic financial landscape. The synergy between strategic planning and organizational excellence propels credit unions toward sustainable growth and successfully serving their members’ needs.
If this seems overwhelming or you really want to understand how your operations can support strategic objectives, consider O2 Consulting Group. Let’s talk!
