Executive Summary
This study hypothesizes that credit union success is critically dependent on the credit union’s employees and, in turn, is likely to be strongly colored by the employees’ own perceptions of, and attitudes toward, credit unions. Employees’ beliefs about and attitudes toward credit unions influence their behavior at work and their interactions with credit union members. These same beliefs and attitudes also affect the way employees talk with potential members, family, and friends about credit unions and, hence, play a significant role in employees’ abilities to recruit new members through word of mouth.
What is the research about?
To test this hypothesis, we asked anthropologists John Gatewood, PhD, from Lehigh University, and his colleague John Lowe, PhD, from the Cultural Analysis Group, to ask the following research questions:
- How do employees think about credit unions?
- Do they all think about them the same way? What are areas of consensus and of disagreement?
- Do knowledge and attitudes toward credit unions vary in a meaningful way among credit unions?
- How deep does their commitment to the ideology of credit unions go—is it understood, is it internalized, how does it affect behavior?
- What are the implications of employee performance, and how is the image of credit unions projected to members?
What are the credit union implications?
Differentiation is the process of distinguishing one offer from other offers, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. Many firms, especially in the financial services industry, present hollow claims on differentiation. But credit unions are truly different. This study indicates that differentiating factors map very well to what many people view as the ideal financial institution. In short, credit unions have a unique story to tell, and like most really good stories, it takes time to get the pitch right. If you agree with the hypothesis of this research study, getting the pitch right is critical to credit union growth, success, and awareness.