It's critical for credit unions to embrace the shift that's occurring away from the traditional, 9-to-5 office routine in order to become workplaces of choice for talented candidates as well as financial institutions of choice for potential members. If you're not convinced this shift is really happening, here's some evidence:

Upwork's recently-released "Future Workforce Report," based on a survey of over 1,000 workforce hiring decision-makers, said 73% of all teams will have remote workers by 2028.
The 2019 "State of Remote Work" report from Buffer declared that "remote work is not a trend – it's here to stay." Ninety-nine percent of survey respondents (nearly 2,500 remote workers) said they would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers. Additionally, 91% of respondents who are business owners said they always intended to support remote work – up from 88% in last year's report.
The Buffer report also revealed the top benefits of working remotely, including a flexible schedule, which 40% of survey respondents listed as the top benefit, and working from any location, which 30% ranked as No. 1. The chance to travel is favored by many remote workers as well, with 44% of respondents stating they travel while working between one week and one month per year.
Employers who are fearful a remote workforce might mean a disengaged workforce can take comfort in these findings from a recent Gallup report: Employees who work remotely 60% to 80% of the time are the most engaged. That same group of employees is 31% more likely to make more progress during the day than those who work remotely just 40% to 60% of the time.

If hiring remote team members is not an option for your credit union, it's still worth taking a look at how you can better serve a significant portion of the remote workforce – independent workers, or those who make a living through freelancing, contract employment, solo entrepreneurship or gigs, who often struggle with income inconsistency and/or a lack of employer benefits. And now there's a specific example of how a CU approached catering to these workers to draw inspiration from, thanks to a new Filene Research Institute report, "Meeting the Needs of Independent Workers at Vancity Credit Union."

Instant Insights /

The Death of the 9-to-5: As Work Changes, So Should Your Credit Union

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