HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Human resources and training leaders fromcredit unions from across the country traveled to Hollywood, Calif.this week for the CUNA HR and Training & Development (HR/TD) CouncilConference, which participants said helped foster valuableconnections and taught them ways to improve recruitment, employeeengagement and communication strategies at their credit unions.

The conference runs from April 22 to 25 at the Loews HollywoodHotel. Sessions covered employee engagement, HR technologies, retirement plans,culture, employee wellness and strategic planning, among other topics.

Sydney Manning, assistant vice president of human resources forthe $950 million Clearview Federal Credit Union in Moon Township,Pa., said the top credit union HR issues she hoped to address atthe conference were retention and attracting and retaining talent,especially among Gen Y.

“Just as attracting a young membership is hard for creditunions, it's challenging to attract young employees,” Manning said.“Some of the conversations we had this week about culture andemployee engagement, and how to keep different generations in mind,were very helpful.”

The “Emotional Intelligence: Your #1 Success Factor” session ledby Colorado Springs, Colo.-based consultant firm Tap Your GeniusPresident Crystal Jonas was especially helpful for Manning, whosaid Jonas provided a perspective on the power of words inworkplaces.

“One thing she taught us was to stop saying, 'Someone made me dothis,' and to instead say, 'I chose to do this,'” she said. “Shealso taught us the importance of perception, and how to give otherpeople a full picture of who you are.”

Grace Thompson, vice president of human resources for the $1.5billion, Raleigh, N.C.-based Local Government Federal Credit Union,also praised the Emotional Intelligence session.

“It showed us how to change our mindset about the words we use,and allowed us to recognize that words have power,” Thompson saidof the session. “We learned that you can either take the mentalityof a victim or the mentality of someone in power.”

For Amber Winans, human resources specialist for the $49 millionWexford Community Credit Union in Cadillac, Mich., CUNA MutualGroup's “It's Time to Rethink the Goals of Your Retirement Plan”session stood out, as it emphasized the value of not only offeringa retirement plan to employees, but taking an active role inhelping employees save for retirement.

“It gave me a better understanding of the credit union's role inhelping staff achieve retirement goals, and why that's important,”Winans said. “When employees retire on time, it benefits the creditunion, and when they don't, there are adverse effects.”

Winans said recruiting the right talent is one of the biggest HRchallenges at her credit union.

“This conference gave me a perspective on recruiting, and theright ways to recruit,” she said. “There are more efficient ways todo it, and it's important to use technology.”

Networking with other credit union HR professionals and pickingup tips was an extremely valuable element of the conference,participants said.

“Being able to glean information and knowledge from other peopleis priceless,” Winans noted. “If questions arise at our creditunion in the future, we now have resources to tap into through thepeople I've met here.”

Thompson added, “It's great to hear what other credit unions ofdifferent sizes are doing. There are some small credit unions doingmore than big credit unions are, and they offer some cool things toaspire to. That's the nice thing about working in credit unions –there's a lot of collaboration that goes on.”