December 1978 - Enterprise Magazine

Transcription

A MAGAZINE FOR CREDIT UNION OFFICERS
ENTERPR
ISEBEHINDTHE SCENES
December 1978
U.S.CREDITUNIONS
ADVERTISENATIONALLY
CENTRAL'SPLANNING
STRESSES
ACCOUNTABILITY
CASTLEGARSAVINGSKNOW>
HOWTO COMMUNICATE
MEMBERCOMMUNICATIONS
POLL RESULTS
HOWTO EFFICIENTLY
CONDUCTA MEETING
IU
!c
HEADOFHCE
P.O. Box 2038, 1441 C reekside Drive
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 3R9
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
ncral Cred it Union
734-2511
734-25 11
Counselling Ltd.
734-2511
Financial Corp. Ltd.
ocessing Division
736-2911
~& Supp lies
734-2511
ee Developments Ltd .
734-2511
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
P . J. Heyming, cha irma n, Kelowna
J. Weremc huk, vice-chairman, Surrey
A. R. Glen, second vice-chairman, Nanaimo
E.T. Cross, Coquitlam
J .·W. Darl ing , Burnaby
H. A. Down, Sidney
Ron Davies, North Vancouve r
T. Sankey, Victoria
H. Krueger, While Rock
Lloyd Biech, Prince George
S. Raschdorf, Nelson
S. Suther land , Vancouver
G. Viereck, P rince Rupert
John Quail, Vancouver
ENTERPRISE
Pub lished by B.C. Cent ral Credit Union, in
the interest of its member-organizations .
·ibution is controlled and circula tion is limited
on the following basi s:
• one copy to th e office of each memb erorganiza tion of B .C. Central Credit Union
• one to each credit uni on director and cred it
committee membe r;
• member-organizations may order additional
)pies at the rate of $2 per year per subscription
payable in advance .
Opinio ns expressed in this publication are not
,ecessa rily those of the publisher or edito r. The
:ontents are covered by copy right and all rights
are reserved .
No material in this publication may be
reproduced in any form without permission.
For information concerning the publication
contact:
Communications Department, B.C. Central
Credit Union ,
Publications Editor: Maxine G lover.
Associate Edito r: Pixie McGeachie
ISSN 0319-8626
r design: Bruno Madsen
)graphy: Joe Lederer
-18-051
. 38 No. 11 December/78
Central's planning stresses accountability
MBOs is still the modus operendi
but there are some changes
Have you tried plannicating?
Combine planning and communications and
you come up with a new word and a new concept.
Poll results of member communications
This random poll exposed some problem areas.
How to efficiently conduct a meeting
You first decide if calling a meeting is
absolutely necessary. If it is then make
every minute count.
TITI
Other features:
Christmas 1978
Castlegar Savings knows how to communicate _____
U.S. credit unions advertise nationally
Western provinces combine advertising dollars
Enterprise· Behind the scenes
Kick your communications
Manpower planning is vital
BCTCU becomes "art gallery"
Another look at the Bank Act
5
12
14
15
16
19
22
23
29
Departments
Drawing Board
----------Forum ------Af te rshock
Security
Idea Exchange
Small Credit Union News
The Way It Was
The Economist
Marketing
People and Places
8
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21
22
24
24
25
26
27
30
In this issue
This issue isn't really very "Christmas-y." You didn't,
for examp le, f ind a Christmas tree on the cover, and you
won't find Santa Claus within these pages either. However,
December is an important and reflective time of year, so
you will find Christmas messages from Peter Heyming and
Peter Podovin ik off .
The cover portrays the theme of this month's issue,
which is communications. Feature articles include a "case
study" on how Castlegar Savings Credit Union
communicates with its members , and a "poll" of ten credit
unions on mem ber communications . Vicki Thomas , vicepresident of marketing and advertising for CUNA, discusses
the U.S. national advertis ing program. (B.C. 's provincewide advertising program will be unveiled in the next issue.)
If you've wondered how Enterprise is produced, the photo
story in this issue gives a reasonably accurate account,
without mentioning deadlines and other editorial torments.
Pat Grant willingly took on the task of rebutting
"Van" der Gracht's arguments on common bonds, which
appeared in the November Enterprise. Other reactions to
"Forum" appear in "Aftershock", our letters-to-the-editor
column .
There is one more thing we would like to do, on behalf
of you , our readers, and for o~rselves. That is, to thank
everyone who wrote articles for Ent er prise this year . Thank
you to all the credit union managers and directors who, if
asked, agreed to write, in spite of busy schedules. A
particular thank y ou to others who weren't asked for a
specific article, but wrote anyway - we wish there were
more of you! And thank you to our regular columnists,
Peter Cook, Miriam McTiernan, Michael Bolnick, Edna
Oberman, Stan Alexander, William Clark, Marnie Vanstone
and the Credit Union Reserve Board.
Writing as many as ten columns a year requires an
amount of ded ication that one can only guess at. Your
favourite columns nevertheless exhibit planning and
forethought, and above all, consideration for what you , the
reader, might want to read. So we thank them on your
behalf. (However, if you 'd like to do a little "thanking" or criticizing - of your own, a letter to "Aftershock" would
be apropos!)
The postal strike has created havoc with our
determination to revamp our mailing list for this issue.
(Remember that little yellow card in the October issue?) So,
you are receiving this issue whether you want it or not. But
starting next year, as a promise to you (and ourselves) if
you don't want Enterpr ise, you won't get it. On the other
hand, if you want to continue to receive E nterprise, please
fill out and return the pre viously mentioned yellow business
reply postcard, or drop us a note .
Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
RegionalExecutives
THE KOOTENAYS
•J . Harasin, Ross land
A. Leamy, Castlegar
C. Manson, Grand Forks
D. Zaremba, K imber ley
W. Finch, Cranbrook
K. Billings ley, Warfield
0 . Almaas, Kootenay Sav ings
S. Raschdorf , Nelson
THE OKANAGAN
•J. Taylor, Vernon & District
G. Bow ie, Kelowna & Distr ict
M. DeNeef. Thompson Valley
A . Olson, Salmon Arm
L. Campana , Summer land & District
F. Noe l, Salmon Arm
F. Olynyk, Reve lstoke & District
P. Heyming, Kelowna & Distr ict
J . Quelle, Quesnel & Distr ict
P. Fradette, W illiams Lake
C . Tarr , Kaien Consumers
A. Bretherick, Terrace & Distr ict
D. Griffeth, Lake V iew
L. Biech, Pr ince George & District
G. V iereck , Kaien Consumers
WESTMINSTER & FRASER VALLEY
•R. Lew is, 0.F .I.
B. Elliot, Maple Ridge
E. W itta l , Westminster
G. Loewen, Clearbrook
B. Voth, East Chi ll iwack
K. Sheaves, De lta
W . Carpenter . Surrey
W . Read, Dogwood
J. Weremchuk, Surrey
E. Cross, Distr ict of Coqu it lam
H. Kr ueger, White Rock
THE NORTHLINE
VANCOUVER ISLAND
•D. Burdge, North Peace
•V. Devr ies, Victor ia Public Service
E. H . Kellow, Comox Distr ict
A. Philip, Courtenay
4
ENTERPRISE DECEMBER/78
L.B . Berner , Alberni Distr ict
J. Grant, CP Te lecom Emp loyees
H. W. Eastland, Quadra
N. Hulsho f, Lake Cowichan
O. Maxwell, Duncan & Distr ict
H. A . Do wn , Saan ic h Peninsu la
A . A. Glen . Nanaimo Distr ict
J. Deelman
GREATER VANCOUVER
eD . E. Gal laghe r, Compensat ion
Employees
B. Ph illips, Ri chmond Sav ings
R. W. Slater, North Sho re
G. T. McCu lloch, Un ited Services
J. Duffie, Gr . Van Catholic
Cha rles H . Lee, Elco
A. E. Ty ld sley , V .P.
H . Al brecht . Metro Services
P. Moore, Gr . Va n. Catho lic
E. J. Simpson , B .C . Teachers
J. W. Darling, Vanfed
D.G. Campbel l, VanC ity
As we rapidly approach the end of ano th er
eventfu l year in our existance, it is appropriate to
pause, reflect, and say thanks.
To many of us, it seems that 1978 ha s slipped
by very rapidly. The pace of activity in our communities , and our country, and the world, has continued to become more rapid with each passing da y.
Our organ ization , together with the environment in
which we functioned, continued to experience strain,
turmoil, and unrest.
Yet in spite of this, 1978 was a good year, in
that we were able to continue with the building of
stronger understandings within the credit union and
co-operat ive movement in our country, and we were
further ab le to begin under standing, in more detai l,
the new relationships which must be developed and
maintained within our own credit union movement
in the province of Brit ish Columbia.
All in all, we continue to have mu ch to be
thankful for. During this very specia l season, at
which we commemorate the birth of a person whose
influence is more profound than ever, let us pau se
and say thanks, and remember that we must continue to share our good fortune.
As we look ahead to 1979 and beyond, we see
many uncertaintie s, howe ver, so Jong as good will
and under standing will prevai l, we will be able to
eliminate all of the uncertainties in a very po sitive
way.
I express to everyone the sincere hope th.at the
Christmas season will be a joyous one, and the
forthcoming new year will bring peace and good
fortune.
Peter Podovinikoff
Chief Executive Officer
Ch ristma s is here aga in, a time of jo y, o f giving
and sharin g, of opening hand s and heart s to one
another.
It is fitting, perhaps, in these trouble d times
that we shou ld re-affirm our faith in the good
thing s, a nd acknowledge that love, joy and genero sity still exist in the human heart.
To cred it union pioneer. Roy Bergeng ren , all
that's good was embodied in the word 'Chris tma s' .
A quarter of a cent ur y ago he wrote: "We practice
Chr istmas by our Faith in the Brotherhood of
Man".
So strikin g about Bergengren's statement is the
implied belief that we, by our Fa ith in the
Brotherhood of Man, can pu t into practice the
Spirit of 'C hri stmas' all year lon g.
Think of how much happier our lives would be
if we all shared in the Spirit of Co-operation, Goodwill and Kindnes s throughout the year, instead of
just one short day.
It is my pleasure on behalf of the directors of
B.C. Central Credit Union to wish you all a Happy
Ho liday Season and co ntinue d success in your cred it
union endeavours.
Peter J. Heyming
Chairman of the Board
5
Central's planning
stresses accountability
Without dwelling too much on
"how it used to be", and
concentrating instead on the future,
planning at B.C. Central will take on
new and broader dimensions for 1979.
Management by objectives (MBOs)
will be the modus operandi, but there
will be two major changes. The first is
that a comprehensive business plan
will be developed on a department -bydepartment basis. Second, is that
objectives for 1979 will be developed
with key empha sis on acco untability to
the credit union system.
Every department within B.C.
Central has been specifically directed
to plan 1979 objectives to the
following criteria:
1. to place grea ter emphasis on the
improvement, development and cost effectiveness of the primary functions
of the department.
2. to undertake adequate feasibility
studies for all new projects, with
particular emphasis on the needs of
member credit unions.
3. to develop and implement new
programs in accorda nce with priorities
established by B.C. Central's board
and by member credit unions.
Planning and the assessment of
plans and objectives seem to fall into
two categories: the basic services
provided by B.C. Central, and the
" new initiatives'\ or new projects
proposed.
General Manager Terry Baudai s
says, "G rea ter emphasis and merit will
be placed on improving the quality
and cost of our basic services, rather
than on developing new programs.
This doesn 't mean tha t new programs
are not important, just th at they will
be more effectively researched and
developed before they are implemented. Both ongoing programs
and 'new initiatives' will be closely
monitored and evaluated."
This will be particularly true in
1979, when every department of B.C.
Central will undergo a rigorous
"business assessment.'' Every depart-
6
ment will be evaluated to determine
how effectively they are carrying out
their basic functions in terms of
member acceptance, cost, trends in
member use of the service, and outside
alternatives to the service. As each
. "business assessment" is completed it
will be exposed to Centr al's board
together with proposed business plan
developme nt recommendations. The
recommendations will be brought forth
as a result of "in depth" business
assessment involvement of member
credit unions.
New projects will come under the
same scrutiny . All major ' new
initiatives' will be presented to B.C.
Central's board who as well as ran k
them in orde r of priority will also
review a propo sed approach to the
"fe asibility study" necessary to
determine the likelihood of acceptance
and success of new programs. A high
level of member credit uni on
involvement is an integral part of each
feasibility study. Ranking will be a
continual process, as new initiatives
will be presen ted to the board
throughout the year. In add ition to
constan t evaluation of the prio ri ties by
the board, all new initiativ es will be
announced to the credit union system,
and progres s reports on them will be
made regula rly.
B.C. Central exists to serve the
needs of member credit union s.
Hopefully, accountability to the credit
union movement may increase thro ugh
grea ter involvement as proposed.
by Maxine Glover
Editor
A ttending the fall Co-op College Regiona/ization meeting for the 8 . C. Region were
(I tor) Susan Raschdorf, director, B.C. Central Credit Union; Fred Dow sell, Co-op
Trust; Dave Calibaba, The Co-operators; Jack Fehr, The Co - operators; Dean
Croft, Federated Co-op; Axel Ahrens, Cumi s Insuran ce. Larry Wald, member of
the board of directors of the Co-op College of Canada and also director of education, B.C. Central, chaired the meetinl{.
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Have you tried plannicating?
Most credit union boards want to do
a better job of fulfilling their
responsibility to memberships and
want to have at their fingertips, better
ways of measuring .results.
Most credit union managers want
clear guidelines, outlining what is
expected, and assurance that the
results accomplished will be recognized
and rewarded.
Background
Given complimentary sets of needs,
why are managers released or
terminated, not fully understanding
where they went wrong? Why do
board members ask "Why didn't we
know or have advance notice that
'this' would happen?" when discussing
unsatisfactory operating results or
trends?
Often these questions result in
suggestions about changing the system.
"Legislate board/management
responsibilities", "increase director
education'', ''get an ironclad
contract", "set a maximum term for
directors", "rely more on the external
auditor", "set up a new monitoring
system", and other suggestions all
reflect reactions to problems.
If we analyze some of the apparent
problems for their underlying cause, or
examine the "real problems, we find
that:
- it is harder to change the system
than we think
- a lot of our apparent problems
arise out of a lack of communications
and not out of a difference of intent
The attributes of a business plan logical thought, assessing past
experience, action plans, goals,
measurable results, and definite time
frames - are desired parts of a
solution.
Need
What is needed is a process or
"step-by-step" system which:
- takes the movement with its people
and problems as it is
- assists or acts as a
communications medium
- produces workable documents
which can be used to guide and
motivate progress so that the
participants can see the results of their
involvement.
- will lead to changes to the existing
system based on the results that this
constructive process produces.
Planning and Communications
The process we will call
"plannications" has these features:
- "...Positive understandable
process ..." - While most education
and training materials provide us with
a better understanding of what we
should be doing, seldom do these
sessions and materials show how to do
it to obtain results. As directors and
managers, you're interested in results,
not just knowledge.
- In mentioning the process, it is
important that the approach is positive
and not negative. A "critique" of our
past experience is a constructive step,
but it is important to avoid
belabouring the discussion of
shortcomings and problems.A positive
approach produces constructive
results; criticizing others and rehashing
the past does not.
- " ... Involving those affected ..."
- Nobody knows your credit union as
well as you do. If anyone is to change
a credit union or assist it to better
handle growth and change, then it
must be those who operate it ...
those who are most affected by its
progress ...those who share in or are
involved in accomplishing results.
- "...Working together ..." The success of credit unions has been
and will continue to be based on the
concept of working together.
Overcoming threats, solving problems
and making plans are best done
working together.When problems
occur and "fault finding" takes place,
energy is wasted and little is done to
solve the problem, leaving the real
threat - the problem - untouched.The
members of the credit union are our
reason for being. Boards and
managers must work together to
ensure that the members' needs are
met.The disruption which results from
board/manager ''misunderstandings''
are costly, unsettling to staff, and
obvious to the membership in terms of
level of service they received.
Differences must be dealt with quickly
and dispassionately.Changes outside
the credit union can become internal
problems, and make the original
outside threat even more difficult to
deal with.
- "... Within the existing
framework of power ..." - If our
credit union system is to evolve into a
better system, then we must move
from where we are to where we want
to be.The best way to do this is to
learn from our experience and reflect
this in our approach as we repeat the
process.
Working to improve and enhance
our existing system of decision-making
and work control has a greater chance
of success than jumping to a new
system or approach.
- "...To develop an understanding
of where the credit union is, where it
is going, and how it is going to get
there ..." - Moving toward a goal or
destination is very dependent upon
knowing where we are. No one knows
this better than a person lost in the
woods. While it is obvious when you
are lost, it is also applicable to a credit
union. We must determine the needs
of the members, we must analyze our
strengths and weaknesses, and we must
set policy and establish measurable
goals. Many people lost in the woods
have panicked and lost their lives.
Others have remained calm, taken
stock of what they had going for
them, and developed plans to cope or
to logically move in a particular
direction based on an honest analysis
7
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of the facts. The analogy could go on.
The point is that moving towards your
objectives with a minimum expenditure
of resources, is very dependent upon
knowing where yo u are today.
- " ... In a way that enab les those
involved to have a meaningful part in
shaping and sharing recognized credit
union resu lts." - Peop le involved in
making group decisions wan t to
understand th e basis upon which the
decision is being made and they want
to feel that their thoughts were at least
considered before the decision was
made. They want to be kept informed
of progress and of actions taken to
accomplish the results , and finally they
want to be aware of and share in the
accomplishments in some meaningful
way.
- semi-annual frank, open
discussions between board and
management of their collective
performance, followed by an annual
written appraisal of the manager.
Summary
"P lannications" is a proce ss
designed to help director s do their job s
better, to help managers do the ir jobs
better, and to help credit unions meet
the challenge of change. Plannications
has some of the elemen t s of a planning
system, a communications process, a
language , and a style of management.
It is a unique pro cess directed at
making the existing system work better
by learning from experience and
reflecting what is learned into our
plans.
Plannications: an understandable
process to determine where the credit
union is, where it is going and how it
is going to get t here. The process
enables those involved to work within
the existing framework of po we r to
shape credit union goals, and share in
the recognition of those
accomplishments.
by Bob Hornal
Planning Consultant
B.C. Central
Doing It
"Plannications"
ha s so me elements
of being a language or a way of
expres sing thou ghts, idea s or feelings,
but most importantly it has to be a
style of operat ions - a pro cess of
managing, dire cting, controlling and
communicat ing .
"Plannicating"
usually starts by
determining member need s,
pinpointing problems in meeting tho se
needs, discussing the causes and
possible so lution s of those problems,
identif ying goal areas, set ting
measurabl e goals and action steps to
accomplish these goals.
Following up includes:
- listi ng the action steps, who is
respons ible , and a time frame
- preparing wr itt en report s of
background information upon which
decisions are to be made and from
which recommendations are derived
- positively "c ritiquin g" re sult s,
which are used to improve future
performance
- regular rep orti ng of progress made
and varia nces betwee n planned and
actual, supp lem ent ed with a detailed
annual review of res ult s
8
ENTERPRISE DEC EMBE Rl78
~rawing
Board
Let's ju st for a moment refl ect on
some of the inno vat ion s and
ac hievements that became reality in
1978 in the face of numerous bank
rat e increases, a wea kened Ca nadian
dollar and ge neral unc er taint y abo ut
the future in several sectors of business
and government:
- The first a rt exhibition, fir st
national marketing conference, first
year in Fa lse C reek.
- Co ntinu ed responsive ness to social
respo nsibiliti es throu gh inn ova ti ve
hou sing, m on ey management train ing
aids for children, support for the
act ivities a nd deve lop ment of yo ung
____
_
people through youth camps,
edu cat ional assistance programs and
athletic sponsorsh ip.
The Marketing and New Services
Department is proud to have had a
sm a ll role in the successes of 1978 and
looks forward to worki ng with you in
1979.
With the new yea r comes th e birt h
of new ideas. It is our greates t hope
that yo u , the reader s, will share your
ideas and discoveries with us. L ike
good mana gemen t tha t builds a stro ng
financia l base, your in put and
contribu tions will provide a healthy
a n d fresh idea base.
by Stan Alexander
Project Manager
Marketing and Ne w Services
Department
Poll Results of
Member communications
"What do you feel is your credit
union's biggest member
communications problem?" Enterprise
asked the credit unions recently.
"Communicating a basic knowledge
of credit union principles and
philosophies," answered Gene Secco,
manager-treasurer of Rossland Credit
Union.
That problem was recognized and
shared by several others, among them
George Viereck, manager of Prince
Rupert Fishermen's Credit Union and
Kaien Consumers' Credit Union.
Other credit unions polled had
problems unique to their common
bond, as in the case of B.C. Teachers
Credit Union. Bruce Clark, manager
of business development for the credit
union stated that their
• members are
spread out all over the province, and
since only a small percentage have
chequing accounts, more than
quarterly communication with
members is expensive.
Chempulp Credit Union is also an
industrial bond credit union, based in
Prince George. Their particular
• problem, according to Manager Don
Wheatley is that since the credit
union's bond has expanded to four
mills from two, many of the
millworkers have not yet heard of the
credit union.
VanCity, in a league by itself, finds
lh at communicating with more than
100,000 members is "quite a
challenge," said Ron Spooner,
member relations manager. ''Our
biggest problem," declared Spooner, is
"obtaining input from members to
help us to provide the information
they want. And that is not necessarily
what we think members want."
Bill James, administration manager
of Campbell River District
Credit Union, recognized a more basic
problem, that of awareness. "Our
members are not aware of all the
services we offer, and consequently,
do not use them all. Obviously, some
are using the banks as well. So we are
trying to get the members we have to
use more of our services," he replied.
Sample newsletters and newspapers.from the credit unions polled: VanCity's Work
ing Dollars; Campbell River's CU Quarterly; 8. C. Teacher's Contact.
"It is possible to improve
enormously on member
communications," admitted Lloyd
Biech, general manager of Prince
George and District Credit Union,
"given the time and funds to do the
job. In our case, time is the critical
factor."
Time is necessarily a consideration
for the credit union member too, as
Jim Howden pointed out. The
manager of North Peace Savings and
Credit Union said, "Special
communication tools are great but
we're all flooded with paper." He is
convinced (as were others in our
survey), that the best way to
communicate is through service.
Communications objectives
Knowing the problems does not
make the communications objectives
any clearer. Some credit unions, in
fact, do not have a communications
philosophy or objectives. Biech said,
"We suffer from the 'swamp and
alligators' syndrome, where we have
been too busy trying to keep up with
the immediate problem of giving good
service to existing members."
This problem is echoed by Jim
Howden, whose credit union is in the
province's "boom town" of Fort St. '
John. "We don't have an objective
or philosophy at this time. We're
trying to keep up with the tremendous
growth of the community, but like
other businesses in Fort St. John, we
just can't keep up with demand."
Growth of 89 percent last year and a
'leisurely' 60 percent this year "just
doesn't leave much time for fringes
like news.letters," said Howden.
For B.C. Teachers Credit Union, the
objective is ''to emphasize the
difference between ourselves and
banks and trust companies."
Campbell River District Credit
Union is also trying to show the
difference between banks and credit
unions, and for the first time are
trying to incorporate the philosophy of
credit unions into their
communications efforts. The theme
9
"belongs to yo u and me" illu stra tes
the emphasi s plac ed on cred it union
philosophy.
"People helping people" and
"friendly persona l ser vice " were also
given as communications objectives.
The budget
When asked if the com municat ion
budg et was separate from the
advertising budget, or a part of it,
repli es ra nged from "separate" , to
"part", to "we do no t ha ve a wr itte n
bud get. F unds are spent as requi red ."
How they communicate
Advertising, state ment stuff ers and
newslette rs are a ll popul ar and
common methods of co mmuni cating
for the gro up of credit un ions polled.
H owever , som e unusual ideas also
came to light.
Gra ssy Plain s and District Credit
Union puts cred it union posters in
local bus iness offices and store s, a nd
Chempulp Credit Union can place
noti ces on the compan y bulletin
boards.
The director s of Chempulp work at
the mills that for m the cred it union' s
bond , a nd they are able to speak to
their co -worker s a bout the credit
union. This "wor d-of-mouth" selling,
or com muni ca tin g, has bee n the most
effective, according to manager Don
Wheatley. T he labor uni ons also help
to spread the word by distributing to
new emplo yees envelo pes tha t are
printed with the cred it uni on 's nam e
and have an applica tion for
member ship (in credit un ion) form,
and ot her credit union information.
Several credit uni ons "do the coffee
and doughnut thing" for spec ial event s
such a s branch openings, a nnive rsarie s
and C redit Union Day . This yea r
Cam pb ell River Distric t Cred it Union
went severa l step s further and
spo nso red a radi o talk show in the
credit union on Cred it Union Day. T he
show in volved interviews wit h
memb ers, direct or s an d manage ment,
an d was a huge success. No rth P eace
Sav ings and Credi t Union enjoys a
good worki ng relationship wit h the
loca l media a nd ha s ho sted a rad io
ta lk show on the occas ion o f a branch
openi ng. T he credit union has received
good pre ss cove rage at suitable times ,
mos t rece ntl y durin g the co nstru ction
of their new head office building in
Fort St. John.
George Viereck reported that the
two credit union s in Prin ce Rupert
hold socia l evenings for the staff and
board member s of the local coope rati ve organi zat ions.
Three of the credit uni ons polled
hold spec ial member meetings. Ca isse
Populaire de Ma illardv ille holds
spec ial semi na rs fo r member s on such
subject s as conveyancing, house
building, and wills and estate s . Topi cs
co vered by semina rs spo nsored by
B.C. Teachers inclu de incom e tax , real
estate, investment s and insurance .
VanC ity ha s special meet ings on
simi lar topics and membe rs are
specia lly invited. This seems to be a
particularl y effective way to
"personal ize" the huge cred it union.
(And besides, wha t if the y held a
meet ing and everybody came!)
" We have let it be known that we
are avai lable for lecturing and
cou nselling and hav e had some succes s
with the local school s an d the
Ho memaker s Societ y in gaini ng
exposure outside our ex istin g
membership ," commented Lloyd Biech
of Prince George. Gene Secco of
Ro ssla nd also make s prese nta tions of
financial counse lling to high school
students and ot her commun ity
organization s .
VanCi ty issues an open invita tion
for anyone to co ntact th e member
relations department for informat ion
or assistan ce of any kind.
"Staff and director s of Ca isse
Pop ula ire de Maillardville a re ve ry
acti ve in the communit y ," said Jean
Au ssant. In ad diti on , the cai sse
populaire sponsors sports teams which
carry its name . Ros slan d o ffer s a
different tw ist to the spon sorin g of
sports and othe r commu nity eve nts - it
sponsors s ki and swim lessons, and a
hugely s uccessful barbecue that is the
highlight of the cit y's Golden City
Days .
__
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- ·-
Steveston
Memb er newsletters from Van-Te/ Credi/ Union, Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's
Credit Union, and Parksv ille Credi/ Union.
10
A new program for " caisse pop"
Ca isse P opulai re de Maillard ville is
emba r king on a new pro gram to
enhance their co mmu nicat ion with
members. Thei r program is a threepronged effort, starting with special
letters to new mem bers welco min g
them to the cred it union and signed by
the perso n who helped them open their
first cred it uni on ac count s. O th er
letters to members are written w hen a
loan is paid off, or whe n members
reach 55 , advis ing them of the Go lden
Account and other special benefits.
A co mmuni ca tions office r has been
hired on a part -time basis to help with
other comm un ication s effort s .
T hese two par ts of the program tie
in with the thi rd , which is sellin g the
conlinued on page 13
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How to efficiently
conduct a meeting
Is this meeting really necessary?
Before calling your next meeting this is
a question you should ask yourself.
Often a five minute meeting with six
different people achieves more than a
half hour meeting with all of them. To
help you decide if a meeting is
necessary, consider what you hope to
achieve, and also the consequences of
not holding it. Unless there is a very
clear requirement which you can
reasonably hope to fill it is likely that
the meeting will be a waste of time for
everyone. A meeting should be held to
achieve specific results and/or resolve
specific problems.
Having decided that it is necessary
to call a meeting, the maximum
benefit can be achieved only through
careful planning. One of the most
overlooked planning tools is the
agenda. It is not a virtue to make the
agenda as short as possible. It should
contain the following details: time;
location, chairman, participants, topics
to be discussed, and the time that the
meeting will close.
The necessity of stating the time and
location are self evident, but the other
components may not be so obvious.
The name and whereabouts of the
chairman should be included as he/she
is the co-ordinator for the meeting,
and needs to know in advance if there
should be any agenda changes, or if
perhaps other people should be invited
for a really productive discussion. The
names and whereabouts of the
participants should also be given, not
only so that they know that they are
expected to attend, but also so that
other people can contact them
beforehand to exchange information,
and resolve any difficulties which
might hinder the meeting. Only those
who can be expected to contribute
something to the meeting should be
invited, and not necessarily those who
expect to attend. If the number of
participants is becoming
unmanageable, consider a smaller
meeting beforehand with the leader
reporting to the main meeting.
The number of topics to be
disc ussed should be limited to those
which can be covered effectively in the
allotted time. If there are too many
topics, consider a series of meetings.
Each topic should be defined closely,
giving the reason for its inclusion, who
will speak on it, and for how long.
This allows people to prepare
themselves properly before the
meeting, to gather information and
statistics, and to discuss the topic with
those who may be involved in it but
will not be attending the meeting. It is
useful to give an indication of what
the meeting hopes to achieve from
each item, e.g. is it "for
information," "for discussion," or
"for decision"? To save time at the
meeting, it is often useful to attach to
the agenda separate information sheets
or longer papers, which can be read
thoroughly before the meeting. A time
limit should be given for each subject
indicating how thoroughly it is to be
treated. lf the meeting is a long one,
sticking to a time schedule will allow
people to attend only the part dealing
with the topics in which they are
involved.
Stating the time at which the
meeting is to close (and sticking to it)
is a very useful piece of information
for hurried business people. This
allows other commitments to be
scheduled and encourages all
participants to keep to the point of the
meeting. If meetings are inclined to
drag on, it is a good incentive to have
them scheduled to finish at lunchtime
or at the end of the working day. It is
not wise to have "Any other
business," as the last item on the
agenda as this is an invitation to
waste time. Omitting it, however, does
not preclude having extra agenda
items, or unstructured discussion.
A complete agenda, as outlined
above, banishes indecision. It allows
each participant to know which
subjects are being discussed, who will
speak on them, for how long, and
what it is hoped to achieve. Each
person can prepare himself
thoroughly, forming opinions, posing
questions, and consulting with others
well in advance.
The chairman is the most important
person at any meeting. It is his job to
lead the group in discussion without
imposing his will on it. He should
encourage a full discussion of each
topic, including all relevant points and
excluding irrelevant ones, and assist
the meeting to reach a conclusion or
decision. He should be able to control
the garrulous, and encourage the shy.
One method of doing this is to pick a
point from the lengthy monologue of
the garrulous person and offer it to a
shy person who has some knowledge
of the subject.
The chairman is responsible for
keeping the structure of the discussion
positive. He should be able to prevent
the group from reaching a premature
judgement on any issue. If influential
people (influential because of seniority
or expertise) make a pronouncement
too soon in the discussion other people
may be afraid to speak for fear of
ridicule. The chairman should head off
the discussion before these
pronouncements are made. If he is too
late for this, he can reopen the
discussion by asking the speaker to,
(for example) explain why a particular
idea will not work, pick one of the
weak spots in his argument and offer
it to someone else.
The discussion of any topic should
be discontinued when facts are
insufficient, the opinion of those not
present is required, or there is not
enough time to consider the subject
fully. The chairman should decide if
any item should be postponed or if the
meeting should be allowed to run
overtime. The second alternative
should be avoided if at all possible
since it may cause decisions to be
made in a hurry without proper
consideration. The closing time for the
meeting should be adhered to if it is to
be credible in the future, and if it is to
be a useful tool to busy people. It is
usually better to postpone important
matters and discuss them thoroughly
at a later date.
After each item the chairman should
sum up the discussion. This clarifies
con1inued on page 15
11
f)
Castlegar Savings knows
how to communicate
Having heard that Castlegar Savings
Credit Union communicates well with
its members, I was asked to try to find
out just what is being done that is
effective in this regard.
Brenda St. Denys, receptionist and
secretary to manager Harold Webber,
seemed to have the answer. "We try to
get the credit union's name out in the
community as much as possible, so
that people feel secure with it and so
when we do have something to say,
they take notice.''
With the membership of 6,000
served by the Castlegar and Slocan
Valley branches of the credit union,
when the population of Castlegar itself
is less than 7 ,000, the credit union's
involvement in the community
invariably involves members. By active
participation in many events, the credit
union demonstrates an interest in the
well-being of the community and at
the same time creates a pos itive image
and maintains its name as a
favourable household word.
Some of the ways the credit union
accomplishes this are as follows:
• Awards six bursaries each year to
Slocan Valley high school graduates
• Sponsors a Castlegar Savings
baseball team
• Provides trophies for the local
stamp and swim clubs
• Gives each baby born in the
Castlegar hospi tal a five dollar
certificate with which to open a share
account at the credit union
• Sold fire extinguishers through the
credit union at cost
• Awarded ten dollars to the winner
of the reading competition in the
elementa ry school
• Made B.C. road maps available in
their lobby, free of charge
• Sent three students to Youth Camp
last summer, selecting them on the
basis of their essays on the structure of
the government of Canada
• Provides trophy for best float in
July 1 parade
• Sponsored recent art exhibition and
12
ENTERPR ISE DECEMBER/78
in
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A prominently displayed readerboard in Castlegar 's offices relays to members
messages of special importance.
opening social event in the Nation
Exhibit Centre in Castlegar
• For five years organized car, bike,
boat, and recreational vehicle shows
until these events were taken over
commercially by local merchants as a
trade fair
• Arranged for free photos to be
taken of members (in the credit union
lobby)
• Posted used -car listings (provided by
Central Counselling) for the
information of anyone coming into the
credit union lobby
• Has a staff member or director take
part in career orientation events at the
schools
Manager, Harold Webber, who is
well-known in the community,
participates in many of these activities,
such as going to high school
bookkeeping classes and explaining
how the credit union runs. He has also
given talks to groups . of students on
marriage and family finances, two
subjects he considers closely aligned .
With people interested in what the
credit union is doing, the following
approaches are used in getting
information to members and potential
members:
• A credit union booth is set up at the
trade fair' with information given out
(regarding credit union services) along
with free credit union pens and pencils
(provided by B.C. Central's supplies
depar tment). Last year a slide show on
credit unions was also presented in the
information booth.
• A stand is set up in the lobby of
nearby Selkirk College during the first
week of the school year to make it
convenient for students to open new
accounts.
• When direct mail advertising is used,
it goes to all people in the Slocan
Valley - not just mem bers .
• Two hundred copies of C. U.
Quarterly are available for pick-up in
the credit union offices with a n
addit ional 800 sent to members on a
rand om sample basi s.
• Central Notes is xeroxed and sent to
all directors; Enterprise of course, goes
to all directors too.
• Credit union magazine, Everybody's
Money, is available as a free pick-up
......---...-.. ......-=------·----·---,--...----·--.:·-----------------
in the lobby area.
• A message from the credit union is
sent out on each chequing account
statement.
Some Castlegar Savings' newsletters
are formally produced but Harold
Webber prefers to use a more personal
format sent out in letters only to a
specific portion of the membership,
giving information relevant to that
group. For example, he might in this
way tell Golden Account members
about free services or inform mortgage
holders about rates. Preferring to start
with something catchy such as,
"Here's some good news", he tries to
make these letters informal, as if they
are spoken person to person across a
Member communications . . .
credit union image and philosophy to
members. An education officer assists
in this, and Aussant likens it to
"having someone fertilize the crop
you've just sewn."
What's most effective
"Personal involvement with people,
and in community projects," replied
Secco.
"Our board members talking to
their co-workers," said Don Wheatley
of Chempulp.
"Knowledgeable members talking to
other members," was George Viereck's
response. A closely related answer
came from Jim Howden, who said,
"Prompt, efficient service is the most
effective method of communicating
with members. If you're satisfied,
you'll spread the word."
Charles Ashurst, manager of Grassy
Plains and District Credit Union felt
that posters are very effective for his
credit union. In larger centres, such as
Campbell River and Prince George,
radio and TV advertising seems to be
most effective. "We have found it
simplest (and most economical) �o use
contract services of both television ·and
radio within the confines of our
advertising budget," said Biech of
table. Apparently they strike a warm
cord, as he has had good response
about them.
In an even more personal approach,
he occasionally will phone a member
or speak to that person when in the
office if there are services which that
member could gain by, such as
transferring excess funds from
chequing into a Plan 24 account. As
most members coming into the credit
union office are known and greeted on
a first name basis, this is easier than it
would be in a less personal situation.
Tellers too, try to let members know
of services that they could be using or
new services as they are introduced.
Some more conventional ways of
getting out information are also used.
Prince George. "We feel that it is as
effective, and more cost-justified than
newspaper advertising."
Bill James of Campbell River said
that it is too early yet to evaluate the
effectiveness of CU Quarterly (the
third issue will be out in December),
but this will definitely be looked at in
the coming months.
Newsletters
Four of the credit unions polled had
a member newsletter. Two are
produced occasionally, and two
quarterly. VanCity's Working Dollars
and Campbell River's CU Quarterly
are in tabloid format. Working
Dollars, produced as needed, contains
credit union news, while CU Quarterly
contains a mixture of credit union and
general consumer-oriented news.
Contact, B.C. Teachers quarterly
newsletter is 7" x 10 ", two pages
printed two sides. It includes consumer
information as well as credit union
news.
(We tried about ten times over two
days to phone the Prince Rupert
Fishermen's Credit Union to ask
George Viereck about their member
newsletter. We know that very poor
weather conditions contributed to our
inability to communicate, but it's a
little ironic nevertheless.)
There is a notice board which is kept
up-to-date in a prime location in the
member area. Advertising is done on a
regular basis on the radio and in the
newspaper, including a weekly ad in
the TV guide. Occasionally, a double
page spread in the newspaper will be
used, as was done recently to advertise
lots for sale in the new credit union
housing subdivision. With so many
potentially interesting areas of
involvement, it is no wonder members
are receptive to information when it is
being communicated by the credit
union.
by Wendy Stephenson
Special Programs
Co-ordinator
How Often?
Several credit unions communicate
on a regular basis, such as through
quarterly newsletters, or through
"blurbs" on the monthly statements.
Of course, the annual meeting can also
be termed a "regular" communication
event, even though it occurs but once a
year!
Apart from advertising though,
most credit unions stated that they
communicate "only as the need
arises".
The ten credit unions that we
picked, more or less "at random", for
our survey probably revealed the
spectrum in member communications:
from no budget to a separate budget,
from informal communications to
formal programs, and from no
objectives to carefully thought out
objectives.
Where does your credit union fit in
this range? Do you have a particular
member communications idea that you
would be willing to share with others?
Enterprise would like to hear from
you.
by Maxine Glover
Publications Editor
13
U.S. credit unions
advertise nationally
When Alice asked the Chesire Cat
which way she ought to go, the cat
repli ed, "That depends a good deaf on
where you want to get to." "/ don't
much care where, " said A lice. " Then
it doesn't matter which way you go, "
said the cat. "So long as I get
somewhere," Alic e added as an
explanation. "Oh, you're sure to do
that," said the cat, " if yo u only walk
long enough."
Alice's conversation with the cat is
similar to conversations heard in many
financial institut ions tod ay. There
exists a stro ng des ire to go
"somewhere," but there is often a
lack of agreement as to what and
where that "somewhere" is. The en d
resu lt is always the sa me. As the cat
reminds us, eventua lly you will get
somew here if you keep go ing long
enou gh.
Th e Na tional Adv ertisi ng P rogram
for credit unions in th e United States
has been atte mpti ng to examine where
that "s omewhere" will be for credi t
unions for the next three to five yea rs.
The credit union Na tion al
Adve rtising Program began in 1972
with the following objec tives :
I . create awareness of the word s
"c redit un ion"
2. encourage new membership
3. encou rage grea ter member use of
existing services
4 . suppor t to sta te leagues in th eir
efforts to sta te advertis ing
We also had anot her objecti ve - to
encourage cred it unions coast-to-coast
to support themselves in creat ing a
favor able image by voluntarily
contribut ing to make a Nat ional
Adverti sing Program possible.
From 1972 to 1975, the formula was
$50 per million dollar s of assets. In
1975, due to esca lati ng media costs,
the formula was ra ised to $75 per
million dollar s of assets . In 1972 cred it
unions con tributed a little over
$800,000, and in 1978 the
con tributi ons will reach $1, 400 ,000.
How did th e NAP do in creating
awareness and growt h? By 1976
14
ENT ERPRISE DECEMBER/78
research figures told us that over ha lf
the United States population (51.50'/o)
were familiar with t he credit union
theme, " J oin Your Cred it Un ion - It's
Wher e You Belong." That's more than
110 million people. That's a lot of
people who know about us. In the
United States, credit uni ons in the
ear ly I 970 's were oftentimes confused
in the consu mer's min d with credit
bureaus and labo r un ions. As a result
of our high visibili ty, ne w legislat ive
opportunities and the National
Adverti'sing Program, th at confusion is
narrowing.
Vicki Thomas
But more than 30 million peopl e go
beyond ju st "be ing aware" of cred it
union s . At the end of 1975 the re were
more th an 32 million members that
belonged to United States credit
union s . That figure represent s a 9.0
percent increase in membership from
the pre vious year, the bigge st in over
20 years .
But membership is not the on ly area
th at_showed sign ificant ga ins for the
1971 - 1975 period compared to t he
1960's . Savings, loa ns out sta nding and
asse ts all showed dramatic in creases
during the 1971-1975 per iod .
In sav ing s, the 1975 year-e nd count
was $33.5 billion. A 21.9 percent
increas e from 1971, the biggest yearl y
increase ever. The five year increase
from 197 i - 1975 sho wed a whop pin g
83. 1 percen t, compared to 64.1 percent
for 1961-1965 and 53.2 percent for
1966-1970 .
It becomes obvious that credit
unions have experienced far greater
growth by any measurem ent during the
first five years of the National
Adve rt ising Program than experienced
in the two periods of the I 960's.
The reason I am using the date 1975
is because we changed our advertising
stra tegy after 1975. It became appa rent
that as credit unions grew, members
didn't conside r their credit u nion as a
primary financ ial institu tion and, in
fact, considered th eir bank as thei r
primary financial partner. We,
therefo re, went back to the drawi ng
boar d to come up with a new iden tity
and image for credit unions. Credit
unions themselves sudd en ly admitted
that their compet ition was from the
banks, and many credi t unions began
expand ing their services to include
share drafts, credit cards and direc t
deposit.
The National Advert ising Program
crea ted a new "somewhere" for cred it
unions with a new slogan, "Discover
Your Cred it Union - We're Doing
More Fo r You," to reflect a banklike
image. Our primary objective then
became to encourage members to use
their credit union as the ir primary
financial institu tion.
Now th at credit uni ons, savi ngs and
loans an d banks are essentia lly ab le to
offer simi lar servic es, credit u nions
need to be par ticular ly careful about
not becoming faceless. Fi nanc ial
institutions in general are very
faceless . Between cred it unions in the
United States we have a uniqu e
advantage in our collect ive uni queness .
It's that collective uniquenes s that we
must never lose.
It's certain ly not a surpr ise to
anyone th at today's world is an ·everchang ing place. Indi vidua ls, as well as
institu tion s, find themsel ves caught in
consta nt waves of flex. The ab ility to
adapt seems to possess an a lmost
golden glitt er . And yet, with the
onru sh of future awareness, there still
contin ued on page 28
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Western provinces
combine advertising dollars
B.C. is the newest partner in the
renamed 4-PAC - four province
provincial advertising campaign, a co
operative venture between the four
western provinces.
Pat Foster, communications director
for Alberta Credit Union Central and
chairman of the co-operative effort,
says, "The main objective with
4-PAC in the four provinces is
awareness. We don't promote products
too much, but instead focus on the
fact that credit unions are friendly,
full financial service institutions, and
democratically controlled. Our premise
is that individual credit unions know
their rates and products best, and
know best how and when to promote
them. 4-PAC can't promote individual
products; it can't even promote rates.
So the credit unions promote their own
products and 4-PAC will promote the
concept of credit unions.
"Although we are attempting to co
ordinate our campaigns, there is no
stipulation that the four partners have
to participate fully," he says. The
program must remain flexible to
accommodate the different needs and
philosophies of the partners, although
he points out that "As we lay out
what we want to do, we find there is
less divergence, more similarity."
In determining what the four
provinces would do in 1979, the main
problem was finding compatible
objectives, and being prepared to
compromise without diluting the
objectives or the effect of the total
program for each partner. As a result,
"B.C. has directed some of its
material towards the philosophical
aspect of the credit 1U1ion system and
the prairie provinces have focused a
little more on service," Foster
acknowledges.
Once the message was agreed upon,
each partner contributed $20,000 to
the program. That money is for
development and production - each
province will buy its own media.
Foster says that Alberta and
Saskatchewan have both committed
100 percent of their advertising budget
towards 4-PAC, and will use it
exclusively. Manitoba has committed
about 80 percent, and B.C. about 25
percent of their total advertising
budget towards 4-PAC.
4-PAC happened in a spirit of co
operation, but its roots lie in
pragmatism. "We know that
advertising budgets will level off,"
Foster says, "so the more we can do
with the money we have, the better it
will be." With 4-PAC, each province
will get better quality advertising for
the same amount of money, or the
same quality for less money.
Foster illustrates this by saying that
for years, each of the three prairie
provinces made three commercials
every year. That's nine commercials,
the quality of which was undoubtedly
limited by the size of each provincial
budget. With 4-PAC, the provinces
can get the same number of
commercials for the same money, but
the quality would be vastly improved
because of the larger budget. Or, the
cost of the same quality commercial
can be split four ways.
There are other benefits, most
notably economies of scale, and these
will relate especially to support
materials for credit unions.
The "4-PAC pack" is a product
promotion package that credit unions
can buy to promote any of a number
of services or products. Foster says
that ten packages, each promoting a
product, such as savings, loans, Plan
24, will be available. The packages will
contain statement stuffers, counter
cards and posters.
By next October, a brochure will be
available which explains the
philosophical side of credit unions.
Foster says that while the history of
credit unions will be touched on, the
emphasis will be on credit unions
today. It is planned to distribute
almost 2 million brochures to credit
unions. A newspaper ad will be
developed to tie in with the brochure.
The brochure, if used as a statement
stuffer, will reach people at home
when they have the time to read it.
B.C. is an equal partner in 4-PAC,
but 8.C. Central's Advertising
Department is also the creative house
for the program. This year, the work
was mainly adapting existing
commercials, and was more
production oriented than creative.
Foster recognizes the possibility of a
conflict with B.C. Central in two
roles, as partner and creative house.
So far, there has been no conflict of
interest, but the door has been left
open to allow other advertising
agencies to bid for 4-PAC work in the
future if the four provinces wish to try
a completely new creative concept.
Speaking for his own province of
Alberta, Foster reiterates that the main
objective of 4-PAC is to portray an
image for credit unions. "If our credit
unions agree with the image we project
in this advertising," he says, "and
they're happy, then they can promote
their products and services. Credit
unions will still have to do that. 4PAC can only provide an image."
by Maxine Glover
Editor
How ro .....
the situation, identifies any action
required and the people who are to
take responsibility for it. This
summary can be used as the official
minutes. The chairman should always
close the meeting on a note of
achievement (even if this is not the last
item discussed). The participants will
then leave with a positive feeling,
knowing that they have contributed to
a productive meeting.
The minutes should always be
checked by the chairman straight after
the meeting and sent out to
participants promptly. Each person
will then be able to see his
commitment and take the appropriate
action. A good way to find out if the
meeting was felt to be a success by
those who attended is to ask them all
to write a brief critique of the meeting.
Using their ideas, later meetings can
be improved.
Planning, from the agenda to the
minutes, is the key to a successful
meeting.
by Valerie Redston
Librarian
ENTERPRISE OECEMBER/78
15
Enterprise · Behind the scenes
Regularly, Enterprise land s on your
desk or comes thro ugh your letterbox.
When you pick the magazine up , you
hold in you r ha nd a finished produc t
which is the sum total of the expertise
of ma ny peop le - edito ria l staff, art
staff, article contribut.ors, printing a nd
supp ly sta ff , pho tographers a nd film
developers.
W here does the pro du ction start?
First come the planning sessions coordinated by Publ ications Editor
Maxin e Glover (at r ight. ) Issues
usually have a theme, and articles
related to the theme are written by
credit union peo ple and editorial staff.
A cover reflects the contents. All these
elements are discussed.
Two months before each issue is
schedu led to hit your desk, Ent erp rise
is " pu t in the works." From that
point on, deadlines become red-ring ed
dates on the calendar a nd the
challenge is to meet them.
Cov er planning sessions are attended
by both editorial staff and by a rt
staff ers Brun o Madsen and Blair
Poco ck. When enoug h ideas have been
kicked around, Bruno works them into
a cover design which is developed
either by hand or by photography.
If you look at the picture on the
right , yo u will pro ba bly be reminded
of last mo nth 's cover. As a matter of
fact this is an actual short o f tha t
cover being set up. B.C . Cen tral
staffers (I to r) Gail Haya, Oz Olsen,
Clem Leung, Barb ara Ciarn iello and
Peter Cook good-naturedly posed
around the table while photographer
Joe Lederer checked the lighting and
shot the picture.
16
- - ~ - -----------------
- ----- ------------
.;,r;.I t
I
I/
fl I,
n all the copy (articles, etc.) ha s been rece ived it is edited by
:oria l staff and is sent to B.C . Central' s Print ing and Supply
t is typeset on the machine above and comes out, looking like
tape", from another machine. Joan Gosse (below) is shown
g the tape so that th e disc can be put into the printer which
he tape and sends out long, narrow sheets, or galleys, of
copy.
The galleys go back to Associate Editor Pix ie
McGeachie who design s th e magazine layou t by affixing
the galleys onto pages of ar tb oard. She also crops and
scales the pictures to fit into the layouc (shown below).
17
When th e rough la yout is fini shed it goes to Esther
Faja~do (shown above) at P rint ing & Supply, who,
working with the " dumm y" layout, met iculou sly places
the head s, the cutlines under the pictures and the strip s
of copy to complete the final pa ste-up .
Meanwh ile Alf Schult z (top right) color codes a nd
rea dies the cover design for print ing, makes nega tives
of the pictures to be used inside Enterprise and
prepares to mak e nega tiv es of all the page s wh ich will
be printed by the offset print ing machine.
The next time you pick up and read Enterprise,
crad le it gent ly. Its gestat ion peri od prob ably had so me
roug h moment s. Its birth was not simp le or easy. And
the next issue ha s a lready been conceived .
by Pixie Mc Geachie
Associate Editor
18
ENT ERPRISE DECEMBER/ 78
Cick your communications
You've heard of the "KISS" system
eep it simple stupid) which is often
1entioned when it comes to the
reparation of reports and speeches.
et me now propose the "KICK"
1stem for your credit union's
pmmunications, public relations and
vertising. "KICK" stands for "keep
consistent kid".
Whatever you are doing in the way
communications, whether it is to be
med at members or potential
embers, it is desirable to present a
adily indentifiable image. Take a
oment to think about a recent
vertising/communications program
1at has impressed you. It may have
een innovative and creative but, was
consistent? How do you build
msistency or visual cohesion?
erhaps the key word would be
vigilance". The dictionary defines
gilance as "being watchful or alert".
hose people in your credit union
'Sponsible for communications,
1ould always be alert to the
issibility of inconsistent marketing.
If you have a logo other than the
1miliar hands and a globe, it may be
g ood idea to contact a good printer
I your community and have him
ake camera-ready copies of it for
1ture use. You'll have to decide what,
I fact, constitutes your logo. Some
·edit unions have a separate logo,
hile others include their name in
injunction with this symbol. If you
1e using the hands and globe,
entral's Advertising Department can
lsily get you some camera-ready
lpies.
You should decide where you want
lur credit union's name to appear in
Iation to this logo. This, too, should
t consistent so don't switch the
!Cation of your name around the
1go. Also, obtain a variety of logo
zes; you'll find these will come in
In dy.
A border or frame can also give
au r printed matter character. At
Surrey Credit Union, we generally use
a double border, thick outside, thin
inside, with curved corners. This
border is simple to reproduce and can
easily be adjusted to fit a variety of
situations. A border helps to visually
draw your images together.
Type-face is another thing to
consider. If your newsletters,
newspaper advertisements, brochures,
signs and annual report all have a
different letter or typestyle, you might
want to think about selecting a single
type-face for all. We selected
"souvenir" type-face and we find it is
ideal for most uses.
Color is also something to think
about. If you have used a color on
your business cards and signs, you
may want to apply it to other
documents. Your printer can give you
the Pantone or ROP number which
identifies the color for future
reference.
You can probably think of a
number of other areas which will
require some further effort to achieve
consistency. With a little "vigilance",
you'll put a "kick" in your
communications!
by Simon Gibson
Marketing Co-ordinator
Surrey Credit Union
An example of consistency: graphic treatment used in the design of three brochures
for Surrey Credit Union tax-deferment plans.
19
Forum
In Defense of Closed Bonds
In 1941, residents of Lund were
refused membership in the Powell
River Credit Union, and so the
common bond problem emerged. Lund
people were ineligible to join Powell
River so Rod Glen and Powell River
Credit Union board members tried to
help them establish their own credit
union. It did not work out so, in 1947,
Powell River extended its common
bond.
In those days a common bond
meant something. It distinguished
credit unions from other financial
institutions. It was a mandate to be
proud of; to be protected. It was not
unusual for credit unions to reject
membership applicants. This may seem
unreasonable, but would there be
credit unions today if they had
repudiated the intent of the common
bond? Would there have been the
pleasure of belonging, of being a
partner in a movement started by
ordinary people to help ordinary
people? Today we are, as Van from
Richmond has said, "fat and sassy".
We disdain our heritage and seek to
circum vent legislation that defines our
membership and market areas.
At the convention, like other
delegates, I hoped we would resolve
this issue. Unfortunately it was tabled
and may not be dealt with for some
time. Our editor, Maxine Glover, has
asked me to rebut those who, in recent
issues, have favoured "open" common
borl61.s.I am addressing, primarily,
those who advocate a wide-open
movement - no common bonds,
unrestricted branching .
T hese opinions are my own. I
respect the right of people like Van
and Rodger Lutz to express their
views, but I would remind them that
when they speak, their voices are those
of very large credit unions . Rapid
growth has apparently brought about
20
their rationalization of common
bonds, as being sources of irritation
and limitation. They do not wish to be
hampered. Growth seems to be their
primary objective.
Rodger, in the October issue,
sounded a warning. He believes that
within the next few years we will be
facing not only the "fierce
competition" of the banks and trust
companies, but also intensive
infiltration by foreign banks. He
speaks of the cost -sque eze, that
currently plagues our banking system,
and suggests that our Canadian banks
are "tightening-up" and "checking to
insure that they are servicing all the
profitable market areas" and getting
the cream of the market. He
propounds a theory of ''broader
provincial or national horizons for
cred it unions". He believes that our
future lies in being one step ahead of
the banks. His concept seems to
suggest that this should be done by
having only a few large, widespread
and unrestricted, credit unions.
In the same issue of Ent erprise, Phi l
Moore, manager of Greater Vancouver
Catholic, writes in a somewhat
different vein. He categorizes credit
unions according to size. He believes
that the large credit unions cannot
return to basics, that they are built on
a better foundation than that of our
"old style philosophy". As his credit
union is small he sees merit in opening
compact offices adjac ent to those of
larger credit unions, from which he
hopes to attract members.
Last month Van stated that
competition is beneficial, that it gives
people a choice, and he cited the big
banks that locate on opposing corners.
He wants credit unions competing in
the same manner but, like Rodger, he
is speaking from strength. He
maintained that whe re financial
institutions have failed it was because
of bad management. A rather hard
and generalized statement when one
recalls how many unit banks in the
U.S.A. failed in the l 930's. If one
considers all that happened to the
economy in those years, sure ly they
did not all close their doors because of
bad management?
Westcoast, under Rodger's
leadership, has grown from $200
thousand to $200 million in a decade.
An enviable record. He believes this I
was due to his innovations, but maybe_e
it was also due to his being willing to la
go out on limbs, for that is where the Jl
frui t is.
a
Phi l, whose 2,300 member credit
1
union has a po tential of 200,000
(Chancery estim ate) wishes to be able
to accep t anyone as a member. RodgerX
wants every dollar that he can.lay his f
fingers on. Van apparently does not
care - let Richmond be a happy
hunting ground for every credit union
that chooses to locate there - he does
not see why credit unions should be
limited.
It is nice to be unres tricted, but
freedom has its price. We can expand
and try to be one step ahead of the
banks, but what will it cost us? They I
have the dollars to keep up with
modern techno logy. How many of us '
have? None of our "open" common
bond champions appear to hav e
evaluat ed the overall effect of such a
policy. Rathe r , they have chosen to
write accor ding to what they believe to '
be most beneficial for them. They ar e
consistent in tha t the y have
emphasized the positions they took at
the commond bond meetings. T hey
have, however , failed to give any
reasoned analysis as to the advantages
such a policy would hav e for credit
unions as a whole, particularly the
smaller ones.
Many credit un ions have become
fat ; they have known only good times;
they are complacent. They should
think abou t Pete r Cook's excellent
article in the October issue. We are
past due for a real down- turn in our
economy. If one comes (and surel y it
will), who will pick up th e pieces if
any of our larger cr edit unions should
cont inu ed on page 2 I
redit Unions - R.I.P.
Are credit unions in danger of
.ecoming an extinct species? The
" 1anagement of some credit unions
mid be used to prove that they are at
ast in danger of becoming so.
For example, would the founders of
ur credit unions be able to conceive
· the financial institutions they are
rday? Those founders, pioneers in the
·edit union movement, wanted a
people" sensitive and not a
market" sensitive alternative. They
arted financial co-operatives and not
111ited companies out to make profits.
hey were not out to develop markets
the same manner as Seagrams or
nperial Tobacco or even the banks.
heir market existed already in people
ho wanted cost effective financial
rvices without contributing to the
gh profit figures the banks showed
each fiscal year end.
Recently, credit unions have been
:ry prosperous. Asset growth and
1rnings have increased in many credit
lions very dramatically from one
0 ?ar to the next. However, one has to
op and ask what can be attributed to
is fantastic productivity and what
1s been the cost.
The growth has been, as has been
:own explicitly by Mr. Lutz's article
last month's "Forum", due to
:ing "Innovative and Assertive" in
arket development and staying one
ip ahead in being competitive. The
1st has been, as has been shown
lplicitly in the same article, that
edit unions are becoming more and
ore just like banks. When a credit
1ion becomes such a size that its
embership and potential membership
·e referred to as "markets", it loses
I sensitivity - that sensitivity that is
quired if the words "credit union"
2 ie to mean something different from
1e word "bank".
Banks aren't competition to credit
lions in the true sense of the word;
rather credit unions are competition to
the banks. People don't make money
at banking. It's a service and they pay
for it all in the long run (where do all
the bank's profits come from?). It's a
case of being duped by one's own
advertising. There is no virtue in credit
unions being better (being more
competitive, etc.) at doing what the
banks are doing. It is no argument for
one credit union to branch into
another credit union's territory just
because the other credit union is not
aggressive enough at tearing away at
the bank's market. The other credit
union is just probably practicing safe
growth.
Forum ... ,.
fail? It is not enough to think that
CURB will, for they just may not have
the dollars. Adversity can and may
befall us, so let us plan wisely.
Competition must be met by
innovation, but we must do more. We
must get back to the people,
demonstrate our difference and again
be thought of us as their own financial
organization. They must be made to
trust the basic concepts of our
movement for, if they believe, they
will support. We, as credit unionists,
must go forth expounding self-help
and cooperation. It may well be to our
peril if we fail.
I know of no one who has made a
case for "open" common bonds. The
Act provides for a "bond of
convenience" for community credit
unions. Other credit unions can
expand to meet the needs of their
members and their potential. Existing
common bond legislation is fine
except, perhaps, that the
Superintendent's authority, with
respect to branching, should be
defined.
If a credit union is acting like a
bank, then it is a bank! If membership
can only be had by shoving the ideals
the movement was founded on in the
bottom drawer, better they should stay
at the banks. At least the banks are
honest enough by doing exactly what
they say they are doing.
Are credit unions becoming extinct?
Some have already died!!
W. Jack Lindsay
Manager
Real Estate and
Insurance Credit Union
We have procrastinated and wasted
tens of thousands of dollars on this
issue. Let us not continue to sow the
seeds of our own destruction. Let us
get on with the job of serving our
members. Few, if any of us, can
honestly say that we come close to
serving all the needs of our present,
never mind our potential, membership.
Competition may be healthy, it may
not hurt if there is a credit union ,on
the other corner, but remember that
fifteen years ago there were twice as
many credit unions as there are today.
Inter-credit union competition may
serve not only to eliminate many more
credit unions, but also the remaining
traces of our philosophy.
In the beginning we were people
oriented, locally oriented. Today we
are dollar oriented. We are no longer
the organizations that our founders
laboured long hours to create, with
little recompense other than that of
having helped their fellowmen.
If we eliminate our commori bonds
we will have lost our uniqueness. We
will not be credit unions, we will only
be financial institutions.
by Pat Grant
Director
Westminster Credit Union
21
Manpower planning is vital
The common problem facing the
credit union system today is the
absence of a reservoir of well-trained
staff capable of meeting its growing
needs created not only by expansion
but also by the continual
implementation of sophisticated
management techniques. Thro ughout
Canada, credit unions are deeply
concerned about the lack of manpower
within the system who are capable of
assuming added responsibilities . A
board of directors is perplexed when,
for example, a general manager resign s.
and it has difficulty recruiting a well
qualified replacement. Credit union
managers are asking why it is so
difficult to recruit experienced staff
when a few years ago, our
competitors' employees we re standing
in line to enter emp loyment in the
credit union system.
T he explanation is relatively simple;
competitors have become increa singl y
aware of the value of ret a ining
qualified employees and have
upgraded not only salaries and benefits
but working conditions so that their
sta ff are more willing to accep t
trans fers in order to continue
employment. As a matter o f fac t , the
rol e appears to be reversing. O ur
comp et it ors are attra ct ing cre dit union
empl oyees and more and mor e of our
former sta ff members h ave joined the
empl oy ment of the bank s and trust
companies.
T he explana tio n is not simpl e but,
the re is an answer - it is ca lled
"Manpower Planning". Manpower
Plannin g is a mana geme nt tool which
assesses the capabilities and
promotability of pres ent staff,
prep ares th e orga niza tion to me et its
futur e manpower need s a nd moti va tes
employees by assisting t hem to develop
th em se lves .
The basic implementation tools
required for Manpower P lannin g a re:
a . es tabli sh th e pre sen t and futur e
manpower needs of the orga ni za tion
b. an analysis (or in vent o ry ) of the
present staff' s sk ills (a loan o ffi cer,
for examp le, may possess a great deal
of techni ca l knowledge b ut lack s the
necessa ry ma na gement skills to become
22
a loan manager)
c. job description s for each position
in the organization
d. an employee perfo rm ance
appraisal system whereby each
employee is a ssessed at least annually
With th is data, the Man power
Planning Officer may:
a. appraise the potential of the
employee
b. identif y the training needs of
specific indi viduals
c. design a "career path" or
personalized training program for
specific employees to meet the pre sen t
and future manpower needs of the
organization
It is anticipated the developme n t
aspects, such as the com puter program
which will formula te the reporting
system, will be co m pleted by the end
of the year following which we will be
in a position to implement the
man power planning prog ram for credit
unions throughout the province.
Manpower P lanning is not ano t her
"pie in the sky" pro j ect wh ich is being
in tro du ced to tr y to keep up to t he
"Jones' " nor is it a program for ju s t
the larg e cre dit uni on s . It is a program
The Fraud Warning System
Does Work
The fraud wa rnin g has been
operative for al mo st two yea rs, wit h
reaso nable success.
Several cr iminal s have been
apprehended a nd co n vic ted due to the
alertne ss of credit union sta ff. For
exam ple , Beate K inn et of D uncan &
Distr ict C red it· U ni o n was responsible
for ave rtin g a $1, 700 loss a t t he M ill
which must receive the support of all
credit unions . If we are to maintain
the high level of service which ha s
contributed to the growth of the credi
unions, if we are t o stem the exo dus c
our well qualified employees because
we do not have the means to assi st
them to de velop a career within our
system , if we are to reduce the labo ur
costs by developing and promoting ou
staff rather than co ntinually " bu ying'
people from the market place , if we
are to remain a "people oriented" arn
a viable financial institution , then we
must implement a program which will
increase the depth and breadth of our
manpower resources.
Th e need to adopt a formalized
busine ss plan in ord er to susta in a
healthy financially-successful
orga nization ha s been recogniz ed by
credit unions throughout the system. 1
is equally important that every credit
union strategically plans through a
Manpower Planning Program to train
develop and retain employees for the
well being of the Canadian credit
u nion system.
by Conn ie Shaw
Manager
Human Resources Division
Bay Branc h, a nd Hele n e Deptuck of
Metro Serv ices recognized a m ember
to be a known criminal, lik ely saving
the cred it union from a fraud sc heme
There are num erous oth er incid ents
where cred it union employees have
prevented losses and assisted police in
their inves tiga ti ons .
W ith the tremendous incre a se in
frauds, o ur fir st line of de fense is the
procedure adopted and ca rri ed out in
the cred it union office. T he fraud
warn in g grid sys tem is on ly one of tht
va luab le too ls we use, a nd it is to our
benefit to ensure tha t it is work ing
smoo thl y. We therefore welcome inpu
fr o m cred it union s and appreciate any
co n st ru cti ve crit icism w hich may help
to improve the sys tem.
By co ntinuin g to work to geth er, we
can maintain a highl y efficient fraud
warning gr id sys tem .
by Risk Manage m ent Depar tment
11
�CTCU becomes "art gallery"
SERIGRJ\1'11'\ I
SILKSCRElN
g'
;HM
..
ill�
Jr
e /ranch manager Marv Neufeld looks over the printmaking exhibition in the
lniversity of British Columbia office of B. C. Teachers Credit Union. fn order
J exhibit the art, panels installed to create additional hanging space, were placed
1 such a way as to not disrupt the flow of normal business.
The University Branch of B.C.
:achers Credit Union took on, during
_Tice hours, from October 17 to
, 'ovember 14, an additional role and
r :came a ''temporary art gallery"
g splaying the exhibition Aspects of
ie.rintmaking which features 29
ts ·iginal, signed prints from B.C.
mtral's collection. B.C. Teachers is
1
n e first credit union to have this
entral-organized exhibit installed in
eir credit union office. Initially it
Le as organized for the provincial
n mual convention and has since been
splayed in the public galleries in
heelowna and Castlegar. It
Jr 1bsequently will be going to public
illeries in Kamloops and Prince
JU1earge.
ny "Members have really appreciated
P l�ing the art exhibit in the credit
non office and have said having the
ie t here has made the credit union a
j
more human piace to do business in",
reports branch manager Marv Neufeld.
"Members also have been one hundred
percent in favour of the exhibition
program continuing in the credit union
movement."
Here are some of the written
comments received about the
exhibition:
"As your brochure states, the art
chosen is current and representative of
work done in this province and across
Canada. This interest in Canadian art
and the presenting of it to the
populace is commendable and much to
the credit of B.C. credit unions."
*
*
"Very impressed with the exhibition.
Staunch supporter of bringing "art"
out of the galleries and into the world.
Congratulations and thank you."
* *
*
*
*
"I really like it. After this tour of
art is over the credit unions should go
on a rotating art exchange with these
pieces of art, i.e., one or two pieces
(being placed) in each credit union."
* * * *
*
Due to the reception which this
exhibition has received, a drawing
exhibition featuring approximately 20
works and requiring slightly less
hanging space in being organized
specifically to be suitable in credit
union offices. Credit unions interested
in the possibility of having the drawing
exhibit in their credit union, may
contact Wendy Stephenson at B.C.
Central. Similarly, those wanting to
consider sponsoring in their
community the "Presences in our
Heritage" exhibit revealing, through
contemporary art, the multicultural
backgrounds of Canadians (as noted in
the previous issue of Enterprise), are
invited to ask about this too.
by Wendy Stephenson
Special Programs
Co-ordinator
* * *
"A very enjoyable and interesting
experience away from the usual rigours
of banking life. Not only does it make
time go faster if there is a line-up, but
you learn a lot. A great idea - please
do it again."
* * * * *
23
Orval Maxwell, president of Duncan
and District Credit Union, has written
out some thoughts about the role of
directors, which we present here in
slightly abbreviated form to give one
director's view of his job:
"These thoughts have been
accumulated from my own experiences
on the board and from comments
made by various directors of. large
organizations in both Canada and the
United States . From their remarks it is
easily concluded that the position of a
director is not easy nor an enviable
one. The responsibility expected
should be fully understood from the
beginning."
Some of the directors'
responsibilities which Orval mentions
include creation and approval of
policy; monitoring of operations;
serving as ''scapegoat - being
prepared to accept blame, justified or
not"; representation and systematic
assessment of community needs; and
self-education.
Orval continues , "The board
members must work to inspire public
confidence in their organization and
see to it that the nature of its work
and its needs are understood by the
citizens of the community ...
"The usual agenda of a board
meeting calls for action on matters
concerning management which the
typical director feels that he does not
have the competence to judge , that he
has not had enough time to consider,
or about which he has not been given
sufficient information . He feels
trapped; he has no choice but to say
0.K. This predicament makes him
wonder how useful it is to spend his
time this way.
"In order to outline a director's job,
it is necessary to understand the
manager's job. He is the everyday
operating boss, with the responsibility
of running the organization, holding
the respect of the staff, selecting and
directing the staff, pleasing the
member and doing his best to keep the
24
whole operation in the black. The
director's role is that of policy maker
"KNOW why you are doing
something. A board which asks
questions of itself is usually a
responsive and a responsible board.
Your prime concern is the welfare of
your organization. The only way to
handle a controversial point is to
prepare a well developed report ,
stating the problems clearly with
evidence pointing out the pros and
cons. If the report improves the
situation, it will eventually be
accepted. The board must have the
guts to say 'NO'.
"Quality control is a system of
prevention rather than taking action
after a problem occurs.
"Public relations should be used to
make the directors aware of the
members' needs."
Most of our communication time is
spent in direct contact with the credit
unions under $2 million. We
communicate by physically visiting
every credit union under $2 million at
least once every year, in addition to
holding workshops, seminars, regional
education courses and meetings.
Writing articles for Enterprise, Central
Notes, and, in particular, the special
sheets called "Information Sheets" for
the small credit unions, also helps us
to communicate with our fellow credit
union officers and managers.
Perhaps this department can assist
you in communicating with your
members. For example, this year we
have assisted several small credit
Talk about challenge - Caisse
Populaire de Malllardville has tackled
outreach to youth, a community
)c
service, and promotion of the French Jr
language all at once. This past spring ar
four 7th grade students from a Frenchin
immersion public school course
_1
discussed co-operatives, particularly ,r
savings and loans co-operatives, durin/l
six one-hour sessions with the caisse d:
populaire's education officer . The
ir
o
language used was French, and the
purpose was to give the students an vi
opportunity to practice their French or/I'
a practical extra-curricular subject.
s
The youngsters deserve full credit
;E
for taking on a challenge, too. It's
e
difficult enough to learn to ask for a _r
washroom in another language, but IC
discussing economics is something else ·)
again!
'l
(
by Edna Oberman
J
Co-ordinator of Director Education I
unions with drawing up newsletters
and surveys in order that they may
communicate with their members
effectively . In this way they can learn
more about member needs and the
need for the credit union to offer new
services or expand their present
services. If you are considering
implementing a new service or system
or would like some information and
assistance, please don't hesitate to ask
us. In most cases we assist you free of
charge, or agree on a fee based on
your asset size and ability to pay. We
are always willing to come out to your
credit union - why don 't you give us
a call on our toll free line?
by Marnie Vanstone
Development Officer
......................................................
,.il!H,H!i!!!i!iHl!iii!iiiii!i1!i!iii!!1!11iHiiH!!1!H ...._.
GTHB
WAG)(JIIGf
WA~
nnn111n1:;:u1111n1:Hlllll!IIHUUHIIIIH:l:IIII
Hiii;iiiiiiiifiiiiiii!ifiiiiiifli!iilffifi!;;iiillliii!
)o your members know about how
1 ir credit union began? Are they
5 are of how the credit union has
:hinged and developed over the years?
they know what the first day's
ings were? Do you?
,n{here are a number of reasons why
dit unions should communicate
ir history to their members. Credit
ons' rapid development into full
vice financial institutions has led to
oiflovement away from the traditional
ses; people join credit unions
:a use of the services and competitive
es offered. For this reason, new
mbers are often not aware of the
1queness of the organization that
se y have joined and consequently,
y are unwilling to participate in
dit union activities. By telling new
l "old" members about its history,
onredit union can make members
_are of its distinctive structure and
haps help them develop a greater
:se of belonging to the organization.
:>nee you decide to tell your history,
J must first choose what format to
:. It could be a display mounted in
Jr office, a special feature in your
Nsletter, an article in your custom
'lion of cu Quarterly or something
your next annual report. Or, it
uld be a pamphlet published to
ncide with an anniversary.
n 'lext, someone must be found to
lllpile the information and produce
w 'written history. That person could
a director, or someone on staff or
interested member.
n fhere are a number of useful places
go for the information required to
sk mpile the history. Any
of arter/founding members who are
II in your area will provide
·e 1aluable background on how and
,ur 1y the credit union began, anecdotes
JS out the first loan or deposit and
ier such stories of the early days.
1e board and committee minutes will
1e you a factual account of policy
cisions made over the years. This
material will be of interest in
determining important milestones in
your history. Scrapbooks often contain
items of historical interest but if none
have been kept, your local newspaper
may reveal the same type of
information. Annual reports and
financial statements will provide
insight into growth patterns and the
board report is often useful in
outlining the general thrust of the
credit union program.
It is always useful to illustrate your
history. Maybe you have some
photographs of early directors, staff
members or of your first
office/building. If you cannot find any
suitable photographs, you could
request your members to check
through their albums.
We may also have useful material in
the Credit Union Archives. For
example, we have correspondence files
between credit unions and the League
(dating from the early forties),
microfilm copies of correspondence
between credit unions and the
Inspector; newspaper clippings from
the fifties and a photograph collection
that might contain just the right
photograph for your needs.
As far as the actual writing is
concerned, the stories with the most
appeal for members are those which
combine the "hard facts" with
information about the people who got
the credit union on its feet and helped
to make it what it is today.
Researching and writing a history
can be a rewarding experience; you not
only get to meet people who started
the credit union and made it work,
you also learn about the organization
to which you belong.
If we at the archives can be of any
assistance, please contact me at B.C.
Central.
by Miriam McTiernan
Archivist
Hig!,fighls from Parksville Credit Union's hiswry l,a1•e been pl,otogmphed for
display.
25
___,.._:v,
,._- ·---------- -,.
~
ECOoom1
The Labour Force Survey is one of
Statistics Canada's more important
programs. The results of the survey
provide not only a fundamental
measure of the health of the domestic
economy but also serve to indicate the
efficacy of recent economic and fiscal
Policies. And of course, the mo st
recent jump in unemployment is
always a lead-off item on the morning
news.
Statistics from the survey are
published monthly, and since they are
available regionally within British
Columbia, they can be of important
use to credit unions . Credit union
trends are not independent of
economic activity. Since the Labour
Force Survey results are perhaps the
best available overall measure of
regional business conditions, the trend s
in employment and unemployment
may be helpful in understanding
changes in credit union accounts .
Background
Each month, about 5,500
households in British Columbia
(56,000 nationally) are contacted and
asked a variety of questions about
their labour for ce status. Each
household is on the survey for three
consecutive months: the first month,
the contact is personal, the second and
third months are usually telephone
follow-ups. In any given year, the
chances of being included in the survey
are about 3 in JOO. Stated another
way, during a 35-year working career
an individual should be included in the
survey once.
The interviewer asks the householder
such questions as: Did you work last
week? Did you have more than one
job? How many hours did you work?
How many hours do you usually
work? What indu stry? Did you look
for another job? How long have you
been seeking work? Etc.
On the basis of the answers to these
questions, Statistics Canada publishes
26
ENTERPRISE DECEMBER /78
data about the labour force status of
the population. Some definition s are:
Labour Force:
- that portion of the civilian noninstitutional population 15 years and
over who are working or seeking
work;
Employed :
- persons who worked or who had a
job but did not work due to illness,
vacat ion, strike, bad weather , etc.;
Unemployed:
- persons without work but who had
actively looked for work and were
available for work. Those on layoff or
with a new job to go to are included in
the labour force even if they did not
actively seek work;
Not in the
labour force :
- that portion of the civilian noninstitutional population 15 years and
over neither working nor unemployed ;
Unemployment rate:
- the number of unemployed persons
as a percentage of the labour force.
Participation rate:
- the labour force as a percentage of
the populatio _n 15 years and over.
Labour Force Survey Results
The above-defined statistics are
published monthly for the following
region s: East Kootenays, West and
Central Kootenays, Okanagan,
Thompson, Lower Mainland,
Vancouver Island, Central Interior, 1
Peace River - Liard and Northwest, 1
Vancouver metro, and Victoria metro,
The accompanying table pre sents the
survey results for September 1978 and'
September 1977. Similar data are
available for each of the regions. The
most important result is the strong
employment growth which the
province has enjoyed. About 42,000
new job s have been created, an
increase of 3.9 percent over the
previous year. Undoubtedly, this
addition to employment and income
has been a factor in the increased
demand for financial services and
loans. Indeed, those regions whose
credit union grow th has been higher
than average are the areas where
employment gains have also been hig~
Prospective employment and income
growth is important background
information for a budgeting exercise.
by Peter Cook
Economist
British Columbia Labour Force Survey
Labour force source population (000 persons)
Par.ticipation rate (0/o)
Labour force (000 persons)
Percentage change
Employed (000 persons)
Per centage change
New jobs (000 perso ns)
Unemployed (000 person s)
Unemployed ratei (0/o)
Source: Statistics Canada
September
1977
September
1978
1,891
62.5
1,182
1,937
63.3
1,226
3.7
I, 127
3.9
42
99
8.1
1,085
97
8.2
We are, at this point, dealing with
ie consumer in physchographic terms.
le have defined the external, internal
td client process series, as factors
>,eatly influencing the marketer's
:cision vis-a-vis product and message
irategy. In practise, there are many
1bjective as well as objective analyses
: at must take place in order to
:termine whether or not product
ix/message will be effective in
aching the various potentials.
Let us for the moment take the case
· a user group whom you have
:fined as being influenced by various
:ople who have a status presumably
gher than their own. This may be
1iversity students to college
ofessors, factor workers to foremen,
:rical workers to senior executives,
td so on. We can then begin to
:h terpret several facts: (a) if the
formation that the credit union
esents to the potential member is
ntrary to the thinking of the
1tential member's reference group, it
111 have little effect. If you, however;
) present information that agrees
ith the attitudes and beliefs held by
e reference group and is presented in
manner acceptable to that reference
oup, the effect will be far greater;
I however, if your potential member
!s been receiving clues which are
nply inconsistent or incomplete as to
iat is acceptable to his reference
oup, the result will be simply a
eater degree of confusion in the
1tential member's mind which will by
'Cessity, assuming that the potential
ember has reached at least the
gnitive imbalance stage, cause that
'Tson to seek information elsewhere
sually a competitor); lastly though,
) if the information from the
>tential member's reference group is
complete and you are able to provide
lsitive information to reduce the
- nformation gap", you will tend to
rther increase the certainty in the
ltential member's cognitive
amework. In this case, the potential
member's preference for your services
will be increased.
It may be appropriate then, to state
that the degree to which a marketer
understands the potential members'
existing members' reference groups
will be directly proportionate to the
degree of success that can be
anticipated in establishing a
marketing/people mix. It goes without
saying, that the most successful
messages to a target market are
consistent with the beliefs held by that
target market. Of course, this is not to
say that the same message cannot be
used to various target markets,
providing that they all will respond in
a predetermined manner. That decision
will be based entirely on the
interpretation of the reference groups
to which the audience refers when they
find, however, that different appeals
may be required for different
segments.
The internal factors, those factors
dealing with motivation, will weigh
heavily upon the marketer's decision
as to what to say to these potential
markets. Traditionally, the most
important factor in choosing a
financial institution is location, or
convenience. However, each individual
will have a separate hierarchy of
needs, depending on this person's
outlook. Some people will see loyalty
as an important motivating factor,
while others look at the security that
can be afforded to them. An ongoing
psychographic analysis assures the
marketer that updated, relevant
information is being provided with
regard to the members' function of
assessing and developing attitudes.
Your members may be very concerned
about· the manner in which Joan
applications are handled, the policies
with regard to chequing and
overdrafts, or the ability of credit
union staff to handle complaints. If
you perceive that formalized processes
are incompatible with the members'
wishes, perhaps the practice can be
amended. Conversely, if you're dealing
with a member group that is
accustomed to filling out forms and to
following a somewhat regimented
pattern of activity, perhaps the soft,
friendly approach is inconsistent with
their needs. While philosophically it
may be apt to suggest that every
person should be treated equally with
regard to all the services performed by
ilie credit union, it may in fact make
more marketing sense to differentiate
between members on the basis of their
perceived needs.
The degree to which a member or
potential member is familiar with your
organization, will determine the
amount of information and types of
information that you will be required
to proffer. Undoubtedly, every
member or potential member is aware
of certain factors, both negative and
positive, which form the opinions that
ilie individual would hold. Unless the
marketer knows how people think
about your credit union, how can the
credit union change and improve?
Finally, it is important for a
marketer, or in fact anybody dealing
with the general public to have an
understanding of where the individual
is with regard to the client process. If
ilie basic assumption is made that the
credit union desires to move the
potential member or existing member
to the decision process, the various
pieces of information for the various
levels of cognition (awareness,
knowledge or preference), have got to
be put forward.
Briefly, these information
procedures can be summed up (but by
no means exclusive to), by the
following:
1. Cognitive balance - information
relative to the comparative analysis
that the person may be seeking
2. Cognitive imbalance information and demonstration as to
the value of the credit union services
3. Awareness - a relationship
between the members' needs and the
information provided has got to be
established
4. Knowledge - the detailed
information that will "tip the scales"
in favour of the credit union
5. Preference - 'comparative service
information
6. Decision - the contractual
information
In an article entitled "Psychographic
Analysis - An Aid for Bank
Management", the authors, Richard
H. Evans and M. Dale Beckman state
that "to treat each client the same,
continued on page 28
27
U.S. credit union s . ..
exists the eternal human desire for a
slower time fro m the pa st. F rom ou r
own " roo ts" as it were. Eac h of us in
the credit union mo vement ha s our
own glimp se of the future. We know
about the galax y of new finan cial
op portunit ies. We know about the
enroac hm en t from our co mp etitor s .
And we a re learning about change s
that will soon impact on our society.
Sti ll, we cannot forget w here we
ca me fr o m. Tho se simple hum an
desires wh ich led the fo under s of the
credit uni on mo vement to seek o ut
those mea ns which would be o f
greatest help to the com mo n man.
Th ose a re our ro ots.
To tie the dis covery of new cred it
union services to our roots, the
Natio nal Advertising Program bought
the rights to the Burt Bachara ch song,
" All Kind s of Peop le Shou ld Ge t
Tog ethe r, " . .. get to gether to help
one a not her . Thi s gives us a new look.
Thi s new look is the sense of all thin gs
from the pa st and the who le of all we
can fo recas t for the "s om ewhere" in
the future.
As th e wor ld is growin g, we as a
nation are growing o lder a nd yo unger
at th e same time. While there will soon
be a lar ge group of American s in the
senior citizen age group (65-plus),
ther e will al so be a co mparativel y large
group of people in the 24-44 yea r old
age group. As a nation, the pres ence
of these incr eased older a ge gro up s
will lead to strain s on the U .S. Social
Secur ity, welfare and medica l
facilities. But as a mov ement , it is th e
youn ger age groups w hich po se th e
greatest cha nges fo r us.
Traditionally, the so urce of dollar s
for saving in thi s country ha s been th e
45-64 year old age gro up . But now,
this is th e age gro up with th e least
growth pote ntial for the futur e. O n the
other hand, the 25-44 year old age
group is growing from 42 per cent of
the population to almost half the
population by 1985. And thi s gro up
has tradit iona lly been viewed as the
age group that create s th e demand for
loan s .
So, for the credit union movement
at large, at the na tional level, thi s
diverging trend indic ates a growing
pressure on liquidity unl ess we admit
28
to the realities of tomo rrow and ta ke
steps toda y to ensure ou r relati onsh ip
with o ur membe rs.
As a result o f research, the que st ion
of ta xat ion and the need to maintain
the special uniquene ss of cred it uni ons,
the Nat ional Advert ising Progra m has
a new voice. Using the blend of word
and mu sic from com poser Burt
Bacharach a nd lyricist Hal David, the
song "A ll Kinds of Peop le "
(Copyr ight 1970, Blue Seas Music, Inc.
& J.C. Mus ic Co .) express es the
sentim ent and the roots of what we
believe to a "T". The musi c was
lice nsed fo r cred it union use by the
Nationa l Advert ising Program . The
select ion of "A ll Kinds of People"
was base d upon wha t we know abou t
our selves, what we know about our
members and wha t we know ab out the
futur e.
The approac hin g con cern s of
liquidity mean that our messa ge should
be one which is compatible with saving
as well as borrowin g. We know we
hav e th e borro wer s. We mu st make
sur e we retain the sa vers.
From recent research, we kno w tha t
members who co nsider us the ir
primar y financia l institution do
perceive th eir credit uni o n as being
more fr iendl y, providing services wi)i
a persona l touch. Th ese att itudes ca
be much mor e easi ly reinfo rm ed th~
bad at ti tudes can be cha nged. That'
human natur e. An d by pr esen ting
messages which emphasize the
frien dly, per so na l touc h by which w~
are a lready _perceived, we ca n begin,,
taking the steps necessary to secure :i
our rela tio nsh ip with our member s' J
lives in the future.
1
T he wor ld of tomo rrow is going t1
be a lot differ ent that tha t of today1
Ou r com petitio n is using every one·,
the mos t so phisticated m ark eting tot
they can find in the ba ttle for
,
business. And when pus h comes lo f
sho ve, yo u ca n bet th ey won't mindr
tak ing our plac e with our member s.t
But they won't succeed if our memb
know that we're the people who are
here to help. " All kinds of peop le ,
should get togethe r and help one
anothe r. "
Marketing . ... .
memb er ca n maximiz e th e value of
inter act ion with tha t membe r. As a
result of behav iora l an alyses , the
services the cred it un ion offers can
become even more tai lor ed to the
members' a nd potential m ember s'
needs. Endem ic to the credi t union
system is the concept that services c
prov ided for the need s of members
not for the sat isfaction of the credi
union staff. The under stand ing of 1
membersh ip in gene ral and in speci
will most assu redl y assist in the
reachi ng o f the ph ilosophical
obje ct ives as determined by the ere
union's boa rd and sen ior man agem
The key to s uccessfu l manageme
the rea liza tion that wit hou t membe
the credi t union does not exist.
Without a complete under standing
the membe rs' need s, att itude s, and
behavior pattern s , the credi t unio n
can not prosper.
irre spec tive of client proce ss location ,
is a short-sighted waste o f time and
mon ey".
The genera l advan ta ges to a
psychographic a nal ys is, both on group
level and indi vidual level for credit
union member ship ca n be liken ed to
an y int erpersona l reaction process.
Clearly , a credit union marketer will
be able to predict the behavior o f
credit union members and nonmembers in th e community . This
predictive capab ility should assist in
increas ing deposits and loan s. The
more under standin g on e has with
rega rd to the member, the greater
degree of inter act ion with that member
and thu sly, th e greate r the degr ee of
success in dealing with that membe r.
As member s pro ceed throu gh the
maturation process in their
relat ion ship with a credit union, the
successful inter actor will be able to
anticipate future market needs . T he
memb er ma y be a very valua ble source
of information.
T ogether , the credit union and the
by Vicki Thomas
Vice President
Marketing and Adverti sing
Credit Union National
Association, Inc. (CUNA)
by Michael Bolnick
Mana ger
Development Division
··--------··- -----�)ttawa report
�nother look at the Bank Act
Although the Speech from the
whrone made no specific mention of
11e government's intention to
: :introduce its new banking legislation,
'Jmmittee study is expected to begin
I the near future. The credit union
rstem has submitted its brief to both
y1e House of Commons and Senate
: 'ommittees studying the new
ogislation, and will likely appear
efore them in November or
, tecember. It is still too early to
dredict with any certainty whether the
s.:w legislation will be passed before
1 be next election.
·e The positions which will be
<pressed before Parliament by the
·edit union system's competitors are
,ready becoming apparent. The
1artered banks' main criticism of the
gislation will centre around its failure
I define "banking" and to bring all
stitutions performing this (unction
1der federal supervision and
Jthority. The banks will argue that
--is "fragmentation" of financial
f 1arkets and institutions is detrimental
a , Canadian unity and also provides
1e public with inadequate protection
1 om loss. The banks are likely to
1pport proposals for the creation of
1e Canadian Payments Association,
1 n the grounds that it will involve
almmon rules for the operation of the
s,earing and settlement system.
litowever, they will protest strongly the
tlct that they are the only financial
;i�stitutions required to hold non
lerest-bearing reserves with the Bank
· Canada. They are also expected to
ecbject to the complete prohibition of
nenk officers serving as members of
enlards of other corporations.
erThe trust companies are likely to
ln centrate their ciritcism on the
� tgnificant competitive advantage
:I hi ch the chartered banks will derive
� om the new Bank Act. The new
gislation would allow banks to gain
itry into such new areas as factoring
id leasing, and, of particular concern
I the trust companies, to have
1limited access to the mortgage
market. Since the banks can draw on
vast pools of both demand and long
term deposits, the trust companies fear
an erosion of their mortgage market.
This may oblige many trust companies
to look seriously at the prospect of
converting to chartered banks, which
the new legislation is designed to
facilitate. Alternately, the trust
companies are likely to press for a
revision of their own federal and
provincial statutes to expand their
powers in such areas as consumer and
commercial lending.
The foreign banks will argue that
their direct access to the Canadian
banking system will provide Canadian
banks with increased competition and
the Canadian economy with additional
export financing and capital provision.
Although they will press for removal
of the proposed limits on their size
and activities, they are unlikely to
succeed since the question of foreign
banks is still a sensitive political issue
in some parts of the country.
Speech from the Throne
The Federal Government's Speech
from the Throne, presented on
October 11, contained few new
proposals. It did, however, indicate
the general m.anner in which the
government intends to deal with the
major issues of the economy and
national unity.
The government's main economic
initiatives will be presented in a new
budget, now expected for mid
November. The budget speech will
likely contain increased emphasis on
reductions in the growth of federal
government spending and on ways to
stimulate industrial expansion and job
creation. Amendments are expected to
the Public Service Staff Reltions Act,
the Unemployment Insurance Act, the
Family Allowances Act, the Old Age
Security Act, and the Income Tax Act.
The government has also indicated
its intention to proceed with
amendments to the National Housing
Act which would permit the Central
Mortgage and Housing Corporation to
withdraw from its capital-providing
role. This role is to be turned over
increasingly to the private sector.
Other legislation is expected to
propose the creation of the Office of
Federal Ombudsman, and the
conversion of the post office to a
crown corporation.
As far as the national unity issue is
concerned, the government announced
its intention to introduce a revised
version of its Constitutional
Amendment Bill. It also indicated it
would accede to the wishes of the
provinces that the federal-provincial
distribution of powers be examined at
the same time as reform of federal
institutions such as the Senate and
Supreme Court.
by Bruce Thordarson
Director, Government Affairs
Canadian Co-operative
Credit Society
Roy LaBerge has been appointed to the
position of communications director of
the Cooperative Union of Canada. He
was active in the development of
cooperatives in Ontario in the early
1950's, and was a founding member of
Canada's first direct-charge consumer
cooperative.
29
-
Approximately 40,000 tickets will be
distributed to grade eight and nine
student s in the lower mainland this fa ll
as part of a yout h basketball/sports
education program co-o rdinat ed by
Simon Frase r University . T he pro je ct
has been developed by the university in
an effort to create a greater awareness
of the university's programs and
facilities by providing aid in
developing basketball skills and some
fun and excitement to the community.
A series of basketball clinics, "hoop
shoot" competitions as well as free
game attendance at Clan home games
and guided tours of the university are
planned for participating students and
interested par ents .
Dogwood, Vanfed, North Burnaby ,
Vancouver Police, South Burnaby,
Dairy Industry, I.W.A., North Shore
Community, B.C. Teachers, Edelweiss,
Caisse Populaire de Maillardville,
Coq uitl am and Westminster credit
unions have all joined together in
raising the funds necessary to launch
th e program .
A total of $1, 720. has been
contributed by these credit unions in
the greater Vancouver area to help the
university defray developmental
expenses.
Peter Podovinikoff, Chief Executive
Officer for B.C. Central Credit Union
cited the co-operative effort as a
further example of the ongoing
comm itment credit .unions have made
to the com munity .
C1
Pe1er Podovinikoff presenls a cheque for $/, 720 10 Lorne Davies, Direclor ofsc
Athle1ics al Simon Fi'aser University (see item at /efl).
Castlegar Savings Credit Union is very enfhusias1ic about the opening of ifs ne1
subdivision, The 28-lot Connors Road Subdivision's official opening in Augus
brought happy smiles to 1hefaces of board members (I to 1) Duane Davies, Rober!,
Cawt e, Ed Rohn, Russell Leamy, Sam Gruden, Jerry Plonidin, Karl Swanson an
Dan Wack.
30
ENTERPR ISE DECEMBER /78
le employee of Cee Zee Employees
iedit Union, Julia Lind is shown at
f right at her "new" posting
achine. The machine, donated by
C. Teachers Credit Unin, has
abled Cee Zee to expand services
d increase benefits to members. The
edit union has its office in the
town Zellerbach paper products
unt in Richmond. Its assets are now
er $200,00.
ctured at bottom Wayne
rpenter, general manager, Surrey
edit Union (right) responds to a
estion asked by John Reynolds
ft), host of !he CJOR morning
en-line radio program. Also taking
rt in the three-way financial
ormation show were Jim Wright
•ith glasses), manager, Marketing
velopment, Royal Bank; and Ken
ewfelt, assistant vice-president,
cijic Region, Canada Trust. The
o hour show was apparently well
reived by listeners who called up to
fscuss a variety of financial matters..
la nager Bill Findlay of Shell Em
W'oyees B.C. Credit Union proudly
,!•splay s a new poster that will be
·a1aced throughout the B. C. operations
dr Shell Canada. The credit union is
7e of the smallest in British Co/um�
ia with 85 members and assets of
i5,000. Its 1977 dividend of 8.5 per
'nt shows that small can be beautiful.
31
Return Hequested
ENTERPRISE
1603 West 3rd Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1K 1
Publ ished by
B.C. CEN T RAL CREDIT UNION
Third Troisieme
class classe
2072
VANCOUVER.
'o'
B.C.
:_~;,
ur
ew ear's
esout1on
•
We at The Co-operators believe we're
doing more than providing insurance
protection for our millions of policyholders.
We're helping to extend the co-operative
way of life.
And you do the same when you use your
credit un ion, shop at your co-op store and
patronize other co-operative business.
Our New Year's resolution is to work
even harder to help achieve the cooperative ideal of the well-being of all
people.
We hope it's yours, too .
the co-opetatots

December 1978 - Enterprise Magazine

Transcription

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