Brent Dixon

From Brent Dixon:

The cooperative movement has a problem with aging. Average age of cooperative members and employees is over a decade older than the average age of people in the US and in Canada.

We feel this pain in the credit union industry. The average age of a credit union member is 47, and 75% of credit union board members are over 50.

Because of economic, technological, and cultural changes, financial services – and many other business sectors – have hit what the smart folks at McKinsey & Company call a “Structural Break,” which is:  “…the moment in time- series data when trends and the patterns of associations among variables change.” (via)

What does that mean? It means things have changed and we cannot continue to do things the way they’ve always be done.

If you went to business school you remember the chart that appears with this post on the life-cycle of an industry.

All signs point to credit unions, and many of our cooperative brethren, being right smack on X. This means we can go one of two ways, and have to fight for the future of a model we know is better for our communities. And if we don’t inject new blood, new energy, and new ways of solving problems into our cooperatives, they will die.

We need to recruit and invest in young talent.

At the Filene Research Institute, a think-and-do-tank for credit unions, we learned that the top reasons young people work for credit unions include:

•   The opportunities to influence strategy immediately

•   The opportunity to work with and learn from top leadership from day one

•   The opportunity to help their community

In talking with young people across credit unions, we also learned that because young credit union employees are somewhat rare, many of them feel like an island while at work. They were starved for ways to connect with other like-minded people their age.

Ed Filene, father of the U.S. credit union movement, once said, “Youth is too serious to become obedient.”

That in mind, a group of young credit union people, myself included, decided to take the problem into our own hands. Through a series of small grassroots meet-ups that spun wonderfully out of control, we’ve nurtured and grown The Crash Network, a growing community of close to 200 young credit union professionals. The community is designed to enable:

•   Ongoing connections and support from like-minded people through an online network at http://crash.coop.

•   Opportunities for professional growth and development through action (One example is: The Collider, an innovation tournament designed to improve the problem of affordable housing).

•   Mentorships with seasoned industry veterans.

A year and a half in and we’ve initiated countless development projects, sparked spin-off youth development organizations across the U.S, piloted a mentorship program, and given a voice to a growing number of young credit union employees who are ready to step up, get their hands dirty, and create the future themselves.  You can watch a short video on some of the voices of The Crash Network here.

We have a lot to learn, and can’t wait for what’s next.

Brent Dixon, Young Adult Advisor for the Filene Research Institute, will be presenting on building a younger cooperative at the upcoming CUNA Community Credit Union & Growth Conference.  This post was originally published for the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA).

Some of the funniest commercials have aired during back-to-school season, like this one from Office Max (my favorite part is the lollipop switched for a magnifying glass).

But while many students roll their eyes at these commercials, others are scratching their heads wondering how the final set of CARD Act rules–which went into effect on August 22nd–will affect their credit accounts.

It’s my opinion that this is a perfect opportunity for credit unions to reach young adults and help them with financial education.  Why?

1. The CARD Act is arguably the most important financial change to impact this demographic.
2. Young adults WANT to learn how to better manage their money. According to a recent study by Sallie Mae, 84% of undergraduates said they needed more financial education.
3. Credit unions that use financial education to guide young adults through these confusing times will gain their loyalty in return.

It’s that second point that’s most interesting… the average undergraduate senior leaves college with $4,100 in credit card debt AND wishes they had known more about managing credit and their finances. That’s where credit unions can make an impact with this demographic; by providing the desired financial education using relevant communication channels.

This is the main reason I’m psyched about my role here at CUNA. I get to help credit unions provide valuable financial information to my demographic using relevant methods such as the Web and in-person seminars.

We all know using a credit card isn’t difficult. It’s HOW to use a credit card that gets tricky. And that’s what I wanted to convey to folks my age with the video I produced for our new Seminar In A Box aimed at those starting out in life.  (Credit 101: Do You Pass the Test will be released this fall.)

Jeremy was awesome, and very candid. I wanted him to tell his story and offer advice based on his experience with credit. Hearing that message and discussing the situation with peers goes a long way and I think it amplifies the rest of the information presented throughout the seminar.

Check out this shortened version of the video…

Jeremy shares more compelling stories in the longer version that’s sure to resonate with the intended audience… like the story about his roommate’s use of credit, his episode with collections, how his credit problems affected his college career, and some advice based on his experiences.

Now it’s your turn… am I off base? Do you think young adults are a lost cause for credit unions? Are there better ways to reach them and gain their loyalty? I have lots to say about this subject–too much for one post–so let’s keep this conversation going!

Viva Las Vegas! I’m excited to be blogging live from the 1 Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas with Courtney and Meghann over the next couple days. We’ll be posting some highlights and takeaways from key sessions right here on CUNAverse (Note, they’ll be a little looser than our usual posts). Also, for more live conference coverage, you can check out News Now’s updates, CU Grow, and of course a twitter search of the conference hashtag #the1cuconf for real-time information from conference-goers.

This morning I had the pleasure of introducing Brent Dixon, Young Adult Advisor at Filene Research Institute (USA), and Ross Lambrick, Regional Manager at Credit Union Australia (Australia), for a very relevant and important session – “Youthful Products for a Younger Membership.”

Ross kicked off the packed session with information on the demographic and the current Australian environment. For example, Gen Z, Y and X together make up 61% of the Australian population but only 20% are credit union members.

What I found most interesting were his examples of what both banks and credit unions are doing right in Australia. Highlights:

• Bendigo Bank partnered with a college to mentor students which exposes them to issues and practices in the finance industry as career development.
• Commonwealth Bank has a vision to have every child be financially literate – they offer and extensive school banking and financial literacy program.
• Community First Credit Union has an online greeter, Lisa,  you can interact with on their website.

What do Gen X & Y want from their financial institution?

• Convenience
• Control
• Problem resolution
• Friendly, courteous and knowledgeable staff
• Interested in the values of the brand they buy

Ross ended with his creed – “Change the life of a member for the better.”

Brent opened it up with the landscape – “credit unions need Gen Y.” Highlights: 

• 47 is the average age of membership
• From 1985-2005, Gen Y members declined

So what do you do? Cosmetics aren’t the answer and it’s not just about being “edgy.” You need an oustanding product to begin with – master the basics first.

Some successful product ideas he mentioned:

• Give your product a customizable face
• Debit card rewards
• Prize-based savings
• First credit cards (relationships last on average 15 years) are key. Hint: market to parents.

Think Twitter and social media is just about what people had for lunch? Wrong. Twitter can also be used for real change and political action in places like Iran.

It’s also changing our idea of “now” and we’re always “on.” He mentioned a statistic that 48% of people check online activity when waking up in the middle of the night. What can your credit union do? You need to listen and interact with members in real-time because it is becoming the expectation.

For your content to go viral (or to even be watched), you need to be original, creative, emotional, and awe-inspiring. Luckily, credit union stories are all of those things.

I love convergences. About a month ago I found myself at the Wisconsin Credit Union League Annual Meeting where some friends at Filene were giving a general session on opportunities for credit unions. In Young Adult Adviser Brent Dixon’s section, he talked about the Golden Circle concept and its relevance for credit unions. It was a simple yet profound idea.

Source: blogs.law.harvard.edu

Driving back to Madison from the League meeting, I was listening to random TED talks and one of them happened to be on – you guessed it – the Golden Circle concept. The talk is from Simon Sinek and titled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” I recommend checking it out sometime and sharing with your co-workers.

> Click Here to Watch/Hear the Full TED Talk

The gist is this: people connect with leaders and brands who they think share their beliefs – the cause (or the “why?”) in the center of the circle above. Too often, credit unions and organizations in general start with the outside of the circle in their messaging.

“We provide financial products & services (what?) via branches in the Madison area or online (how?) because we are a non-profit cooperative financial institution (why?)”

Sound familiar? Now turn it around:

“We believe that you should own your money and your financial institution, not shareholders. We believe in people helping people and our financial products/services reflect that. We do this because we are a non-profit cooperative financial institution.”

When I talked with Brent about this recently, he had this to add:

If you market based on the “what” you are a commodity. As soon as the terms of that commodity changes  (and we know they will change) – lower deposit rates, dropping free services to stay afloat, cutting back on branch hours – the market will leave too.

But if you market based on “why” – they will stay, because they believe in your purpose, and, because this goes beyond altruism, they will stay because they know that no matter what, you will fight to keep their best interest at the heart of your decisions.

Communicating and acting on purpose drives gut decisions that change behaviors.

Powerful stuff, yet we start the “what” all too often – professionally and personally.

>When young adults enter the credit union conversation, the focus is typically on how to attract and retain them as members.

>There are only a few things I like better than eating lunch. One of them is sharing information and ideas with credit union folks about better serving/attracting young adults WHILE eating lunch.

And that’s exactly what happened this afternoon.

There were three “Lunch and Learn” sessions today, each with their own individual topic. Each addressed serving specific demographics–Hispanics, emerging markets, and young adults. And I was fortunate enough to facilitate the young adult session.

The 20 or so attendees were excellent. They shared ideas, frustrations, best practices, and a few laughs as we dove into almost all aspects surrounding credit unions and serving those just starting out in life. Our discussion lasted almost the entire hour and thirty-minutes and (luckily) ended before the after-lunch energy lull kicked in.

During the session I jotted down some notes and thought I’d share them with you… see below!