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In March, officials with the $3.4 billion Oregon Community Credit Union (OCCU) began a pilot program that revolved around a simple question: What if we tested an idea to have employees work fewer days and get paid the same?
OCCU has conducted the 4-day/32-hour workweek on the 61 employees who work in the credit union's Member Contact Center and has found, four months later, that its metrics are showing positive trends overall with a marked improvement in member satisfaction and high team morale.
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Employees involved in the pilot program work eight-hour shifts, four days each week and receive the same pay as a 40-hour workweek.
The pilot program, according to OCCU officials, aimed to test and measure whether a shorter workweek helps with employee heath, engagement, retention and productivity. According to details shared by OCCU Monday, all of the numbers are trending in the right direction.
"The program has already led to a marked improvement in the health and well-being among participating team members while keeping member service levels well above benchmarks," Ron Neumann, OCCU president/CEO, said. "While we're still in the pilot phase of this program, these results have exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to seeing how the remaining months of the pilot perform."
The credit union has been monitoring the metrics concerning the following: Member satisfaction, time to answer calls, speed to assist members, overall productivity, absenteeism, unplanned time off and turnover.
Within the first 16 weeks of the pilot, according to OCCU, employee turnover in the Member Contact Center dropped to nearly zero, while "the amount of unplanned time off per team member decreased by almost half. This high retention rate has led to a more stable department culture and more experienced staff who are better able to serve members."
"All three of what I would consider to be our most important metrics — unplanned time off, abandonment rate and service level — have improved dramatically during the pilot," Michael Hutchinson, Member Contact Center manager, said. "The numbers are encouraging."
OCCU shared feedback from one employee participating in the pilot program. The employee said, "The 32-hour workweek has led to greater job satisfaction and increased my energy levels for those four workdays. I feel a lot more energized and able to be fully present during my four days on shift."
A statement from OCCU emphasized that the results aren't yet final and the pilot program "will continue for at least six more months to ensure it is sustainable and effective for the long term."
Once the pilot program has finished, credit union officials said they will look at all of the data to determine if the changes "and its positive effects are sustainable" and will then consider expanding the program to other areas of the credit union.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
