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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…