Credit unions today must be ready and able to adapt quicker and more efficiently than ever before. They have to be able to manage the business and challenges of today, while also innovating and thinking ahead to the future. It is a concept that a report from the Filene Research Institute's Center for Organizational Entrepreneurship, “Structures for Innovation,” describes as organizational ambidexterity.

It is similar to – and no less difficult than – the job of an air traffic controller. Air traffic controllers monitor the position, speed and altitude of aircraft and work with pilots to safely maneuver those aircraft around one another in the air and on the ground. These highly skilled professionals use radar, communications and other trusted systems to make critical decisions in a fast-paced, potentially dangerous environment. It is a job that requires highly specialized knowledge, skills and abilities. The ultimate goal for an air traffic controller is to keep people safe. In the case of a credit union, it is necessary to ensure long-term survival and growth, but it is difficult to pull off successfully.

The profession of air traffic controller is considered by many to be one of the most mentally challenging and stressful careers out there. Thankfully for credit unions, CUSOs are ready and willing to act as air traffic controllers on their behalf. CUSOs can be valuable partners when it comes to ensuring the safety, growth and survival of their member-owner credit unions.

CUSOs leverage the power of collaboration that already exists within the credit union industry. As owners of a CUSO cooperative, credit unions can enjoy several benefits:

Economies of Scale

CUSOs achieve economies of scale by producing goods or services for several credit unions rather than having a single credit union attempt to replicate the same benefit. By utilizing the power of collaboration, CUSOs can specialize in a given product or service that enables them to provide higher-value products and services at a much lower cost.

Competitive Advantage

CUSOs offer credit unions the ability to remain competitive with banks and other financial service providers by improving efficiencies and producing a wider array of products and services that would be unobtainable without CUSO collaboration. They enable credit unions to acquire scale and market power along with other resources such as capital and staff that far exceed their individual sizes.

Shared Risk

CUSOs formalize roles, distribute risk, allocate capital and explore opportunities while allowing individual credit unions to exploit mature lines of business. A CUSO cooperative allows its member-owner credit unions to share risks and benefits when exploring new products and services.

In addition to profits, multi-owned CUSOs focus on the overall well-being of credit unions and their members. Credit unions, not shareholders, are in control of the CUSO's product development roadmap, and the CUSO delivers on the roadmap by leveraging the expertise of credit union executives. Using ideas from the best and brightest in the industry ensures best practices are shared, resulting in the best products, services and technology available.

Credit unions are cooperative by their very nature. With a CUSO and its owners, there is a mutual understanding of what is truly important. Credit union owners should expect their CUSO partner to help lift their performance across nearly all business disciplines and operations, including when it comes to tackling the challenge of achieving organizational ambidexterity.

CUSOs help credit unions react to and manage multiple challenges and distractions at the same time. They are part of the team that plays a major role in the success of owner credit unions, ensuring all parties arrive safely and successfully to their final destination.