Is life so busy that you need someone to buy groceries for you?How about planning your family vacation or picking up the homeworkyour kid forgot and ferrying it to school?

If you worked at $2 billion Baxter Credit Union in Vernon Hills,Ill., the credit union's staff concierge service would do all thosethings for you and more, perhaps even while you're sitting in thecredit union's “mani-cube” getting your nails done.

The services are part of a growing BCU initiative to helpemployees better manage their work-life balance, Matt Kemblowski,the credit union's talent acquisition manager said. It's also partof BCU's strategic initiative to attract and keep top-ratedemployees in the highly competitive Chicago market.

“We started the concierge service in December, and it has becomea big thing,” Kemblowski said. “It explains how we take care of ourown folks.”

It also offers BCU attractive and unique benefits that arecentral to helping the credit union hire top talent and increasestaff productivity. And, it's an effective card to play whenseaching for talented candidates to fill the growing credit union'spositions.

As the U.S. economy improves and more jobs are created,attracting top talent continues to be a challenge for businesses ofall kinds, including credit unions. In many cases, employers becomethe seekers and potential employees the customers that companiesare trying to attract to their ”brand,” according to Cindy Waxer, acontributing editor at publisher Ziff Davis who specializes in HRissues.

“The war for talent has intensified,” Waxer said during aFebruary Ziff Davis webinar titled “The New Courtship: How HR Toolsare Wooing Candidates.”

“Finding and hiring top talent is a chief concern of 42% ofemployers,” she said.

Increasingly, HR professionals are tapping into social networkslike LinkedIn and using workforce analytics to narrow downcandidate searches to those with the best combination ofqualities.

LinkedIn has 332 million members in 200 countries, Waxer noted,and 94% of major companies use it as part of their search efforts.Of that, 79% say they have hired employees found on LinkedIn, sheadded.

“Social media sourcing needs to be a daily part of every HRexecutive's life,” Waxer said. “It's equally as important to buildthe company brand through social media and use it to attract goodcandidates.”

Social media, and especially LinkedIn, is a favorite tool atBCU, Kemblowski said. He also uses Career Builder, Indeed and Dice,a niche website that specializes in technology jobs. In addition,BCU staff travel to schools and student jobs fairs both toestablish the credit union's identity as an employer and seek outcandidates for part-time and work-at-home positions.

Once a candidate has been selected and an interview arranged,Kemblowski coordinates schedules so that everyone who needs tointerview the candidate is available on the same day at the sametime. The single-visit strategy helps the credit union demonstratethat it values the time of its candidates, Kemblowski said.

“I think we have to keep the gap time small and maintain thesingle interview approach so people can be more selective,” hesaid. “When we're interviewing candidates they're interviewing usso we have to stand out from the competition, too. We do a greatjob at that.”

Kemblowski said she knows that BCU or just about any creditunion won't win when it comes to salary levels, so he looks forother benefits to tout. The list includes the three-month-oldconcierge service, which is unlike any other job benefit Kemblowskihas ever seen.

“We have one concierge here full time and her services are useda lot,” Kemblowski said. “You should have seen how busy she was atChristmas time!”

Along with the concierge service and themani-cube, BCU also brings in a masseuse to provide massages once aweek, hosts summer cookouts and even ice cream truck visits whereanyone on staff can select a frozen treat compliments of BCU.

Staff turnover rates are a little below industry standardsbecause of all that, Kemblowski said. The 2014 turnover rate of13%, of which 7.3% was voluntary and 5.7% involuntary, was higherthan the 9.8% turnover rate in 2013, but still well below financialindustry averages, which Kemblowski said in Chicago rank somewherein “the high teens.”

BCU also keeps climbing in the ranks of the ChicagoTribune's annual poll of best Windy City employers, Kemblowskisaid. BCU's 2012 rank of 30th place rose to 25th place in 2013 and20th place in 2014. The rise said a lot about how well BCU'semployee retention efforts were working, he added.

“We're a little unique, maybe a little quirky, and people feelat home here,” Kemblowski said. “We try to hire for a cultural fitas well as skill set because that's important.”

In addition to using social networks to create candidates ascustomers, mastery of workforce analytics also is critical tohiring success, according to Waxer. Candidate assessment tools arecritical, both for external candidates and internal ones who wantto advance to new positions within the organization.

Several years ago $1.9 billion California Coast Credit Union inSan Diego developed its “Employer of Choice” program not only toattract top candidates in what CCCU President/CEO Todd Lanedescribed as a very competitive credit union market, but also tomake sure talented employees had ample opportunities for promotionfrom within.

“We put our leadership development program in place a littlemore than two years ago and each year we attract participants fromall levels in the organization,” Lane said. “The program helps thembuild leadership skills unique to their personalities andpositions.”

The classes, which so far have ranged from six to nineparticipants, are dictated by the interest of the employee andsupport of his or her supervisor. Each participant is assigned amentor, who will work with the participant to cultivate thoseskills necessary to move the participant in the desired careerdirection.

Class members participated in all strategic planning sessions nomatter what their current rank, and a 360-degree evaluation processassessed strengths and weaknesses from numerous points of view. Thementors then worked with the participants to cultivate thenecessary skills as outlined by the evaluation.

“It's a program that requires a lot of initiative fromparticipants themselves,” said Lane, who mentored a participant ineach of the two groups that have already gone through the training.“We have had two graduating classes and many of them have beenhired into other positions that require different levels ofleadership.”

Of course, such efforts can be too successful, and every once inawhile a participant slips away.

During the first class Lane mentored former IT staffer ChrisWhitney, who wanted to move into more of a management role. Halfway through the session Whitney was offered the type of managementjob he was looking for, but at another credit union. Lane andWhitney are still friends and still keep in touch.

Lane had a little better luck with his mentee in the secondclass. Branch employee Christy Mortlock had aspirations to become abranch manager and, Lane said, worked very hard as a participant inCCCU's leadership development program to achieve her goal.

Last year when the credit union announced it would open a branchin Encinitas, Mortlock applied for manager and got the job. Hersuccess spoke well of both the candidate and the program, Lanesaid.

“We're batting 1,000% so far,” Lane added. “All of theparticipants have been fantastic, and even those that don't getpromoted have advanced their leadership skills and they're anenhancement for the credit union.”

In February, CCCU won its sixth Peter Barron Stark CompaniesAward for Workplace Excellence, a local honor that recognizestop-tier organizations committed to a culture of workplaceexcellence, and is limited to those companies that achieve anoverall favorable response of 80% or more on their employee opinionsurveys. Lane said he appreciates the accolades, but knows the realhonor comes in creating a work environment that attracts andretains high quality employees, including those participating inits leadership program.

“Anecdotally, we know the program helps curb attrition, but italso tells staff members that they have an employer who caresenough to invest in them,” Lane said. “This shows a commitment thatyou can't find everywhere, and employees are more apt to staybecause of it.”