Shifting Strategies: Why Credit Unions Must Adapt to 2025’s Uncertainties As we enter 2025, credit unions are grappling with significant economic and regulatory uncertainties. Layoffs are impacting membership growth, fluctuating interest rates are creating financial instability, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)) is tightening its oversight. The strategic plans that…
Government Printing Office Federal Credit Union (GPOFCU), based in Washington, DC, serves over 4,500 loyal members and manages $28 million in assets. With a small but dedicated team of seven employees, the credit union sought to convert its credit and debit card processing from Fiserv to MAP. This transition was projected to save the organization…
For many small and mid-sized credit unions, the temptation to manage complex projects in-house—or DIY—can be strong. Cost concerns, limited resources, and a desire to maintain control often drive this decision. However, the risks associated with DIY projects often outweigh the perceived savings. Establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) or leveraging external project management expertise…
Top Services Credit Unions Outsourced in 2024: Insights from O2 Consulting Group In 2024, credit unions across the country faced numerous challenges. To overcome them, many turned to external expertise to address their operational, strategic, and technological needs. O2 Consulting Group emerged as a trusted partner, helping credit unions achieve their goals through tailored solutions.…
Strategic Consulting Leads to Major Gains in Efficiency and Cost Savings BACKGROUND: Money One Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Largo, Maryland, is a trusted financial institution serving a diverse community of over 12,000 members. With assets totaling approximately $163 million, Money One has a strong presence in Maryland, offering a range of financial products and…
When it comes to naming a consulting firm, name choice carries significant weight. The name must encapsulate the essence, mission and vision of the company. For O2 Consulting Group, the decision to name the company after the chemical symbol for oxygen and to use a red origami bird for their logo was both deliberate and…
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…
Employee burnout can occur for a few reasons, both personal and professional. Still, credit union leaders are challenged to best address and relieve employee stress and frustration. Simply having employees take time off might alleviate a symptom, but time away doesn’t necessarily address the root cause nor provide a long-term solution. Look inward. Taking a…
We cannot overstate the importance of regularly analyzing existing people, processes, systems, and tools to achieve operational excellence. Particularly …
How Money One FCU got its groove back Operational effectiveness is a term you may have heard around the office and wondered what the latest jargon was all about. Operational efficiency, however, is far more than jargon. It’s the type of culture credit unions, which were chartered to return as much as they can to…
Project management played a critical role in the success of credit unions in 2023 and will continue to do so in 2024. However, some credit unions are still questioning the need for project management and how to best implement a strategy that meets their specific needs. There are many things to consider when figuring out…
The importance of strong project management in credit unions cannot be overstated, and a lot changed during the course of 2023. Here are 7 key evolutions that rocked credit unions’ project management world in 2023.
By Mark Arnold, On The Mark Strategies January is one of the best months of the year. Fresh starts. New goals. Yearly predictions. The challenge, of course, is that by February fresh starts stall, new goals miss, and predictions fail. But when it comes to marketing, you never want to see your credit union or community bank…
By RAECHEL DUPLAIN, PODIUM Consumers are less happy with their financial institution than they were last year. From 2021 to 2020, the number of members happy with their primary bank dropped from 86% to 78% while at least 12% reported that they were ready to change banks altogether in the next six months. During the pandemic, 10% of consumers did make the jump,…
By Meredith OlmStead, FI Grow Solutions As we finish a year like no other, and continue to navigate unprecedented times, marketers everywhere are struggling to adjust their tone and continue to interact appropriately with target audiences. Here’s a few thoughts about how to better leverage social media content as you wade through these uncharted waters. User-Generated Testimonials,…
By Scott Johnston, EVP/COO, Farmington Hills, CUSO Member Driven Technologies. Keep an eye on the rise of digital, the evolving role of the branch, business continuity planning and new ways to serve members. This has been a year that few could have predicted. The carefully planned projects and roadmaps most credit unions had laid out at…
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE TEST TO SEE HOW SECURE YOUR PASSWORD IS Most people don’t realize there are a number of common techniques used to crack passwords and plenty more ways we make our accounts vulnerable due to simple and widely used passwords. How to get hacked What we’ve come to understand about data…
By Jim Van Dyke, Breach Clarity Center your credit union’s response to data breaches and identity fraud around effective and empowered action. There are two interrelated and under-addressed threats that imperil the financial health of every credit union and its members: Data breaches and identity fraud. There’s plenty of concern for each of these issues. Data…
Tune in to hear our very own Bonnie Ortiz, share her secret sauce to great leadership and operational excellence! Full Post on I AM CEO Podcast
By: Lindsay Scott, PMO Learning You’ve probably heard many different things the PMO has been compared to, no not those negative comments! I’m talking about things like the PMO being compared to the pit crew at Formula 1 – we’re there to support the project (the car!) to remove blockers and help it be as…
By: Nivedita Gopalakrishna, Project Office Journal Project management is a continually evolving profession. The PMO contributes to successful project delivery by empowering the organization’s project managers, providing standards for project management, and increasing the visibility of project management. To accomplish these vital organizational goals and remain relevant in the industry, PMOs must be dynamic and proactive…
“From every mountainside, let freedom ring.” Martin Luther King, Jr. Contact O2 to see how we can help your organization at GetResults@O2ConsultingGroup.com
Surfacing from crisis mode, CIOs find themselves redefining IT priorities, thanks to budgets in flux, a rising need to refine business processes, and new outlooks on the future of work. By Stacy Collett, Contributing Writer, CIO Conn’s HomePlus CIO Todd Renaud spent the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic’s office shutdowns and store restrictions “just trying to…
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy Contact O2 to see how we can help your organization at GetResults@O2ConsultingGroup.com
By Joe Winn, Greenprofit Solutions Your credit union is already on social media. And it rocks, right? No? So what’s missing? To clarify, social media is not an end upon itself. It’s part of a larger strategy. For that, you need to be looking at your overall Inbound Marketing plan. So how does social media fit in? Now…
By Anthony Hernandez, Defense Credit Union Council “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” – General George S. Patton General George S. Patton was a brilliant battlefield commander during World War II. His genius was his unique ability to make quick decisions of enormous consequence based on limited information…
By CUNA The COVID-19 pandemic has credit unions doing exactly what credit unions were built for: people helping people. To help you manage the challenges of this pandemic and its impact, CUNA and the Leagues have developed a COVID-19 Response Center as a centralized hub of current resources, tools and information available to your credit union. …
By CUinsight Setting aside any arguments for brick & mortar expansion vs. online/mobile growth – I think we’ll all agree that it’s an exciting time when your credit union is ready to expand. Whether you’re looking to expand to a nearby location in a market you know well, or are rapidly expanding into new markets with…
By Leadership First No one said leadership was easy, and it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. To become one of the greats of leadership, it requires making some very tough and unpopular decision. Accepting responsibility when things go wrong while giving away the credit when things go well; running headfirst in the fire when…
Many security and IT teams suddenly have to support and protect employees who must work remotely due to the COVID-19 crisis. Make sure you cover these areas. By Susan Bradley, Contributing Writer, CSO Your boss just called and all your employees are mandated to work from home for the next two to three weeks due…
Every security operation should be asking whether they are prepared for a pandemic in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Start by focusing on these areas. By Bob Violino, CSO The ongoing worldwide outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, continues to grab headlines. As of mid-February 2020, more…
From data analytics to cybersecurity to customer experience, here’s where CIOs will direct their IT budgets this year. By Sharon Florentine, Senior Writer CIO The CIO role has become a transformational one. Forty-six percent of IT leaders say their work is primarily focused on transforming the business, according to our 2020 State of the CIO survey. But…
Nearly 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft. You might even know someone who’s been a victim… By NortonLifeLock | February 10, 2020 Nearly 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft. You might even know someone who’s been a victim, so it could happen to anyone. There are a host…
CUs announcing hires and promotions in January include Desert Financial CU, Teachers FCU and Tower FCU. By Tahira Hayes WEST: The $4.6 billion Desert Financial Credit Union in Phoenix, Ariz., promoted Cathy Graham to EVP, reporting directly to the CEO. She previously served as SVP, chief marketing and strategy officer. Along with marketing and strategy,…
By: Glen Leibowitz ~ As leaders, our people are the heart and soul of our business, and to give our team the very best version of your leadership; continuous self-development is paramount. Leaders are students for life, and we have the responsibility to lead and inspire our team by example; while developing the next generation…
The past year has shown no industry or company is immune to cybercrime. Will the heightened awareness mean fewer victims in 2020? By Roy Urrico | January 03, 2020 at 09:49 AM There is no calendar for cybercrime. Just one continuous cycle to steal data, identities and funds. A review of 2019 reveals how many…
As the clock ticks closer to midnight on New Year’s Eve, it’s fun to look back at what you’ve accomplished this year. December is a great time to take stock of everything you’ve done over the last twelve months—including all of the books you’ve read. Because I’m a data guy, I like to look at…
Let O2 take the helm and help you navigate through your next audit. The O2 team introduces innovative approaches and tools to reduce audit preparation time, equipping your organization for continuous improvement by: Reviewing your past findings Highlighting hot button topics Onboarding staff for the auditor’s arrival Organizing data and documents Identifying gaps and remedies…
Update February 2020 Support for Windows 7 has ended https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information What does end of support mean? When Windows 7 reaches end of support on January 14, 2020, your computer will still function but Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for any issues, software updates or security updates or fixes. While you could continue to use your…
Our CEO Bonnie Ortiz was featured on the I AM CEO Podcast powered by CBNation.co and Blue 16 Media with Gresham Harkless. Listen to the full episode below: Full Post on I AM CEO Podcast
Putting together the pieces of the puzzle Bonnie Ortiz is a healer of organizations. This COO thrives on assembling the puzzle pieces that make an organization run the clockwork. “The challenges facing us are steep and credit unions are consolidating every day. We have to build a model that is businesslike, but brings value to…
Bonnie Ortiz, COO for The Partnership Federal Credit Union in Arlington, Va., accepted her award for IT Executive of the Year along with other members of The Partnership team. Originally posted on the Credit Union Times: http://www.cutimes.com/2016/02/28/cu-times-recognizes-2016-trailblazer-award-winners?slreturn=1518885353&page=11 Story on the Credit Union Times: http://www.cutimes.com/2016/02/21/it-executive-of-the-year-ortiz-building-a-foundati
