True employee engagement goes beyond just the human resourcesdepartment to include buy-in at every level of theorganization.

That approach has helped foster innovation at State EmployeesCredit Union of Maryland, better communication at UW Credit Unionand growth at NuMark Credit Union.

Where some may have seen just another upgrade, SECU saw anopportunity to reinvent its approach to training. In 2010, theLinthicum, Md.-based credit union incorporated an e-learningplatform into the latest upgrade of its strategic alignment andperformance tool known as Connections Online.

Instead of traditional brick and mortar training outlets, SECUimplemented a multifaceted approach that used multiple e-learningmodules, fewer classroom sessions, and on-the-job learning thatallowed employees to practice in a training database.

The Connections 4.0 learning program was headed by both thebusiness strategy team and the training and development team, withexecutive level buy-in and support. According to Rod Flowers, vicepresident of human resource development at SECU, that support andbuy-in was critical to ensure that the Connections tool was usedconsistently across the organization.

“I think first and foremost there was lot of pre-work going intothis opportunity with Connections, and we did a good job of havingcross-functional team managers, IT project managers andcommunication in deciding how we were going to build this intosomething more meaningful,” said Chera Poulin, senior manager oforganizational development at SECU. “We paid careful attention indesigning the training so that learners would walk away with anewly acquired set of knowledge, skills and attitudes.”

She added that it essentially was a cultural change in how toview this tool in a new way, which has laid the foundation forfuture learning initiatives and allowed SECU to integrate thee-learning style into other programs. In addition, by relying lesson bringing all employees into headquarters for training, itimpacted the credit union's bottom line with a total cost savingsof approximately $15,000.

“It can't just be HR driving engagement,” said Lee Wiersma,executive vice president/chief human resources officer at UW CreditUnion. “To be effective it has to be the entire organization, andit starts with executive management and a board that expects andsupports developing that culture that truly lives its corevalues.”

To Wiersma, there's more to employee engagement than a visionstatement or surveys, and an emphasis on the management teamaccounts for about 90%.

“That relationship between supervisors and their direct reportsis key,” said Wiersma. “The analogy we use is if you work for agood organization but you have a bad supervisor, you may not likeyour job and leave. But if you have a great supervisor, you respectand you're loyal to that person and less likely to leave regardlessof whether the organization as a whole is good or bad. We believemanagement plays a large role in creating a highly engagedworkforce.”

To sustain a high engagement culture at UW Credit Union, he saidan infrastructure has been developed that communicates the valueand importance of employee engagement to the organization andleaders, and that management are held personally responsible forthe engagement of their employees. For example, each year 20% to40% of leadership employees' overall performance ratings are basedon their performance as leaders.

The percent of the overall performance is based on the number ofemployees they are responsible for within the organization, and theannual engagement survey results are also considered as a factor oftheir overall performance.

As far as leadership development, it directly ties back to thepurpose and goals of the organization. Each leader is required toevaluate their engagement survey results and share and gather inputfrom their staff, resulting in the creation of an engagement actionplan for the year.

The engagement action plan addresses areas of opportunity toincrease their employees' engagement levels for the coming year.Once an action plan is established, leaders are expected to sharethe plan with their direct leader and employees and revisit itthroughout the year to evaluate their progress.

“What we're able to then do is achieve and live our corevalues,” said Wiersma. “A lot of organizations have a visionstatement that's just on paper or something on the wall. To us, ourcore values are important and serve as a framework and something wework toward every day. If we work within that framework then we'llnot only be able to satisfy members but also be more adaptable tochange and really look for ways to continue to create alignmentwith our core values and our strategic plans.”

He added that highly engaged employees make for an empoweredworkforce. For Joliet, Ill.-based NuMark CU, employee empowermentcame from a very unlikely source–an accounting program and boardgame called Profit & Cash.

“Sometimes you have to look outside what you think is normal,”said Linda Krakora, trainer at NuMark CU. “An accounting programturned out to be just what was needed. We have staff of very longtenure–about 50% have been at the credit union for over 10years–and now we see a total attitude change toward having a salesculture. It was so out-of-the-box that it has just had a hugeimpact.”

The board game focuses on the business side so staffers playdifferent roles designed to help them learn the responsibility ofdecisions and experience what it's like for the managementteam.

“You learn how to read the numbers, see the impact of thosenumbers and many decisions are determined by the roll of the dice,which really since no one knows where the economy is going issometimes what happens in real life,” said Krakora.

“What happens is that it builds a new awareness not only of whatthe management team does but the why behind the decisions,” shesaid. “A huge chunk of expenses for the credit union are theemployees, and they realized their value and how everything you doimpacts the bottom line whether it's a good loan month orsuggesting additional products and services–it all added up.”

She added that everyone from the top down attended the training,so for example the executive vice president or CEO would play therole of branch manager or a financial representative, furtherbuilding understanding.

“I can say it was a great learning experience for all, and therewas a huge participation at every level to do what they can to meetstrategic goals,” said Krakora. “What's great is that everyone hasreally taken ownership, and when they talk about NuMark, it's sothrilling to hear them refer to it as theirs.”