The Credit Union Executives Society has unveiled plans to provide credit union boards a one-stop online resource.
Set for launch in early 2010, the Center for Credit Union Board Excellence is designed to boost directors' ability to successfully lead their credit unions despite the economy or other challenges their organizations may face.
According to CUES Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Barbara Kachelski, though touted as an online resource, the hope is that the center will develop into something all encompassing similar to the CUES CEO Institute.
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"We found the need for director education continues to grow. With the current economy and all the challenges the credit union movement is facing, there is a need for strong leaders so the timing for this is perfect," said Kachelski. "We see the center as the filter we offer for board members in person or online and coalesce into all we have for directors. When we established our CEO Institute it had an educational impact on the movement. Our hope is that this will happen also on board leadership."
Kachelski said the center is designed to promote high standards for board knowledge and performance; support networking and dialog among credit union directors; include links to both internal and external director development tools; provide new content and research from a mix of board development experts and credit union board directors; and educate boards and individual directors about new and ongoing hot button issues.
While the online element serves as a one-stop section for all board resources available, she added that the key will be building and developing existing services. For example, CUES director members currently have access to Member Share, where volunteers can share sample surveys, policies and other downloadable documents; Director Net, an e-mail list that provides a venue for discussions of current issues volunteers face; and the Director Education Center, which serves as an online board training tool. In addition, CUES developed two director-based institutes-the DLI: Governance and DLI: Strategic Planning.
"To me that great blend of theory and experience is one of the keys here," said Kachelski. "So directors get input from great theoretical minds on strategic planning and governance, but then we also have the directors on the center who can then go in depth with the practical application of how a theory was applied within their strategic plan. Our hope is we can grow that to an even higher level and incorporate more participatory elements."
She added that with the center the possibilities are endless so it becomes a matter of determining which ideas will be included in each subsequent phased rollout.
"This is such an exciting opportunity that really our challenge is reining it in, focusing on the first wave, second wave and expanding as we learn more about what directors want and need," said Kachelski. "Looking ahead, it takes the whole credit union board to have a shared vision of what is needed, and the center will be there to provide everything from coaching to certification so that every board member truly believes they are a part of this effort with a sense of pride that they are not just serving in a voluntary capacity but are a vital part of an organization committed to being strong and surviving through tough times now and thriving for members."
More detailed information on the center will be released during the CUES Directors Conference Dec. 6-9 in Palm Desert, Calif.
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