Wikipedia defines a credit union as ‘a member-owned financial co-operative, controlled by its members and operated on the principle of people helping people’, and there are no places where this is truer than at HEY CU. It’s little wonder, therefore, that we look to involve our member-owners as much as possible in the running of their organisation. And it’s for this reason that we decided to invite all members to take part in our latest satisfaction survey.
Having direct input from our members is absolutely essential to find out what we do well, and where we can improve. We’re always looking for new ways to enhance our service to them, and the best way of doing that is to have open and honest two-way communication. I’m firmly of the belief that this is what sets credit unions apart from the high-street banks and corporate lenders, and is something that needs to be celebrated. At the recent ABCUL AGM in Manchester, this was one of the prominent themes from the many interactive and educational sessions and workshops.
At the end of the day, as credit unions - we’re owned by our community – so we need to have a dialogue with our community. Below are a few results from our recent survey.
If we look back at the definition at the beginning of this blog – in particular the idea that credit unions are founded on the belief of ‘people helping people’, then this stat is firmly in line with that belief. We strive to improve the financial wellbeing of our members, and one of the ways we do this is by offering access to affordable loans. Those of us who work in the credit union movement know that too many people are excluded from fair financial credit options. Hopefully, as one of the organisations proudly holding a 5 star Fairbanking Mark for Loans, we can make continue to make a difference and offer our members the best possible value.
This one in particular makes me very proud. One of our goals as a credit union is to offer a genuine alternative to the high-cost lenders out there. The fact that our members regard us as responsible suggests we are doing our job, first and foremost. Hopefully, it means that members are happy to recommend us to friends, family and work colleagues and together, we can improve the financial wellbeing of even more people throughout the region we serve – Hull, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire and various employers further afield.
Another key theme from the ABCUL AGM 2019 was the need for credit unions to be as technologically relevant as possible, to be just as accessible to people as the less scrupulous lenders out there are. It’s a sad fact that many of the so-called payday lenders make it seem easy to apply for a loan – with some able to release funds on the very same day. Unfortunately, this ease of access can often distract people from the harsh reality of the exorbitant interest rates they charge.
It’s good to know that the vast majority of our members feel that HEY CU loans are processed quickly and conveniently for them. Even so, it’s an area where we are striving to do even better, so that our competitive advantage over other types of lender becomes even more apparent over time.
While the vast majority of responses to our survey were positive – there are clearly some areas where we know further development is needed. Members often mentioned the need to streamline our online access and the process of applying for loans – and rest assured, those are areas that we have plans to work on over the coming months.
Speaking of coming months, we have quite a significant milestone to celebrate this June. HEY CU will be turning 20, and we asked our members for ideas to mark the occasion. We’ll be meeting with a number of partner organisations and members of the local community to ensure June 10th will be a date to remember for years to come. Watch out for our news of how members can get involved in these celebrations in due course – we wouldn’t be where we are today without you.
Until next time!
John
