How to Hire Credit Union Employees in 2021

July 26, 2021

hiring credit union employees

 

2021 is the year of the employee. In the current job market, hiring and retaining entry-level – and even management and other professional-level – employees is a struggle. This has become a trend for a few reasons. So how do you hire credit union employees in 2021? We have collected some resources and tips for you.

First, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a lot of US government aid being passed out to workers who had been laid-off or found themselves unemployed as a result of shutdowns and government shelter-in-place mandates. And secondly, the pandemic also shed light on many Americans’ priorities, causing them to leave certain jobs to focus more on searching for more fulfilling or career-driven opportunities. 

Guerrilla Strategies for Finding Talent

Right now, 42% of business owners surveyed by the National Federation of Independent Business said they have job openings they could not fill. CUManagement recently published an article that outlines five guerilla tactics for finding employees in a tough market.

  1. Become a sales team. CUManagement says, “Your human resources department needs to start functioning as a sales team.” Create a prospect list – you can even include former employees who you’d like to have come back into the fold. Recruiting should always be a priority, even when you are fully staffed. Things are changing much more rapidly for employers these days, and you want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to hiring.
  2. Engage your team. Some of your best recruiting opportunities are just one degree of separation away. Your employees are the best resources for finding reliable talent in the area. You can encourage, or even incentivize them, to help find new hires. And don’t forget to listen to them: they have the first-hand experience of your hiring process, and they likely have some great insights into the areas you can improve to attract more or better prospects.
  3. Spotlight your culture. Job applicants are looking for a place where they enjoy working. The more you showcase that in your advertising channels – social media, websites, job descriptions, etc. – the more prospects will want to engage with your credit union.
  4. Get outside the box. Your list of requirements for any given position should not be a hard and fast standard by which you judge every applicant. If an applicant has little in the way of credit union experience but may have other supplementary experiences that could speak to their ability to learn how to successfully do the job you need, it’s good to consider them for at least an interview.
  5. Clarify your purpose. Your credit union’s purpose can be the tipping point for applicants. Just like your culture, your business’s purpose should be evaluated to reflect your commitments to specific non-profits and the community you serve. This philanthropic focus can show your prospect pool that your business is serious about its mission.

Address Current Concerns

CareerPlug’s article on changing the way you hire in 2021 deals with some harsh truths.

The first thing you have to compete with is the historically low wages that certain industries have been paying people in the past, which won’t work for many job seekers – because they hold most of the power in this labor market.

If you are firm in the wages you want to pay for your open positions, you could consider adjusting other compensation packages or benefits. For example, schools and childcare disruptions have caused many women to pivot from looking for work to being stay-at-home moms for the time being. Having options available or expanding childcare services to your staff could gain your credit union a lot of traction and engagement with women who have young children.

Another hot topic is remote work – many employees found out in the last year that the jobs they’ve been told must be done in the office are actually able to be done remotely. This flexibility has quickly become a standard discussion point in new hire negotiations.

And don’t forget – the global pandemic is still very serious and scary for many people. Concerns of cleanliness and updated sick time policies are worth mentioning in your open position descriptions.

Help Employees Manage from Anywhere with Virtual Desktops

Virtual desktops and apps enable your credit union to deliver virtual workspaces to end-users – including full Windows client desktops, shared desktops, and hosted apps – as a monthly subscription service.

Contact IMS for more information.

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