The Rundown

• Stephens said HR's role has to be that of an effective andstrategic partner in all areas and at all levels of theorganization.
• The credit union has managed avoid layoffs and has reducedturnover to 18%.
• Stephens has implemented a variety of innovative programsthat have increased Mountain America's employee engagement to acurrent score of over 83%.

It's amazing how dreams change. Early in his career, LynnStephens thought working in the great outdoors in the ForestService was a dream job until he got into management.

“At that point I read everything I could find on management andorganizational behavior, and I realized if I like it so much Ishould probably get an MBA to learn how to do it better. And I'vebeen in human resources since then,” said Stephens, who is seniorvice president of human resources at Mountain America Credit Union.“Every business has a human element even if it's highly automatedor technical, and it's the human capital that is key to anysuccessful organization. When it comes to helping management inmaking sure that human capital is invested in, cared for andtreated appropriately, that's HR's expertise.”

At its core, Stephens said HR's role has to be that of aneffective and strategic partner in all areas and at all levels ofthe organization.

“I think if you look at the 50,000-foot level, most owners andleaders have some level of expertise in their field where they knowhow to run it, but what they may not know as much about is how todeal with the human aspect of that business. That's where HR stepsin, and we try to help people be the very best they can be,” saidStephens. “The better we care for our employees then they in turnwill care for our members, and that is a key part ofretention.”

When many organizations were experiencing layoffs, the Salt LakeCity credit union has managed not only to avoid taking that stepbut also to reduce turnover to 18%.

“Admittedly, considering the state of the economy andunemployment, I don't know how much of the credit we can take forthat,” joked Stephens. “That being said, I do believe the keyplayers and best people always have options, so I will say thatwe've done an excellent job of retaining our top talent.”

When he first came to Mountain America, Stephens recognized thatthere was no formal program in place to help develop future talent.Based on employee feedback concerning career and growthopportunities within the credit union, he implemented a strategicand comprehensive talent management process, including successionplanning and leadership development.

During the early stages of the program, Stephens put theresponsibility in the hands of employees by reiterating, “Nobodycares as much about your career as you do.” This philosophy helpedeliminate much of the administrative burden that typically plaguesthese types of programs and empowered employees to be individuallyand personally responsible for their own career development. Healso helped create a new career path for those staffers interestedin remaining in the sales arena. To this end, he helped pilot andimplement a new position, financial services representative III.Through this new position, Mountain America has been able to retainmore of its top sales performers, give them a valid and rewardingcareer path and provide opportunities for internal mentoring.

“Our culture and work environment are all related and tied toour philosophy of business vision and values, which have to alignwith our employees' values,” said Stephens. “So communication iskey. We ask how they feel about things, provide development so eventhose who only plan to stay with us while they are in school feelthere's opportunity to grow,” said Stephens. “It's a matter ofsomehow retaining a high level of touch and maintaining engagementamong employees and I believe really listening and effectivelycommunicating the why behind the moves made and programsimplemented are key to everyone understanding how each individual'scontribution has value.”

During his tenure at the credit union, Stephens has implementeda variety of innovative programs that have increased MountainAmerica's employee engagement to a current score of over 83%. Tofurther reinforce the concept that all effort, whether big orsmall, matters and should be acknowledged, Stephens developed andimplemented “Applause!”–an informal on-the-spot rewards andrecognition system. Because the system is Web-based and easy touse, employees can send e-cards of thanks or share a message of ajob well done with any deserving individual instantly. Managersalso have the option to award their direct reports points thatrange in value up to $100, which can be redeemed immediately orsaved to buy something special. To help ensure managers arerecognizing their employees effectively and frequently, the systemis able to track how much is spent on rewards and recognition andwhich managers are participating. In 2010 over 90% of all managersused the system to recognize their employees and they sent over3,000 Applause! e-cards. In addition, staffers sent over 1,600e-cards to co-workers.

“What's great is that it's more than just the financial awardaspect, the participation has been great because who doesn't feelgood receiving a thanks or hearing 'great job,'” said Stephens.

According to DecisionWise Inc. Director of Talent AssessmentLinda Linfield, Stephens has always been a forward thinker with adeep commitment to the growth and development of the people andorganizations he leads.

“Lynn exemplifies the lifetime learner. He is on constantlookout for a better, more straightforward way to help hisexecutives, managers and employees contribute the best they have tooffer,” said Linfield. “He is always the first leader to pilot anew developmental, mentoring, or coaching program that promisesimproved results and performance breakthroughs.”

With an eye on improving Mountain America's bottom line,Stephens took a closer look at his own department and through the“Cut the Phat” program, challenged his team to find spending thatwasn't adding value to the business. This program saved $850,000for the credit union over a two-year period and was accomplishedwithout reducing service levels. In total, HR was 24% below budgetin 2009, the first year of this program, and over 5% below budgetin 2010.

“It's been fun and interesting to do,” said Stephens. “Some ofthe savings ranged from $100 here and there to several tens ofthousands from different contracts. Having everyone get involvedreally helped. For example we were paying a vendor $5,000 annuallyto run a test to ensure servers would run smoothly for openenrollment. Well our HRIS guy saw that and told me he couldactually do it internally. I never would've known that if he wasn'tpart of the process–that's why it's so important to have input fromeveryone.”

The quest for cost savings opportunities did not stop there. Heis also a big proponent of contract review and renegotiation. Forexample, in reviewing a contract with a compensation vendor,Stephens lowered its yearly premium, eliminating services thatweren't being used, and extended the length of the contract,benefiting all. The negotiation saved the credit union 75% on thecost of the service.

A search for a new 401(k) resulted in a national provider thatoffered better information and resources to employees, while savingthe credit union money. By moving to the new vendor, MountainAmerica has realized an annual savings of $50,000 and 93% ofstaffers participate in the 401(k) program.

In 2010, Mountain America offered a new HSA plan for employees.While the industry standard of participation in these plans whenother more traditional plans are offered is 5%, after an intenseeducation effort and a generous company donation, the CUexperienced 28% employee participation.