Published by the Credit Union Association of New York

Source: William A. Brown, Recruitment and Selection Practices at Credit Union Boards (Madison, WI:
Filene Research Institute, 2005).
want talented up-and-comers need to recruit them and tout
the benefits of credit union volunteering, including:
• Altruism. A credit union board is somewhere you can
make a difference. This will appeal to the same type
of individuals who are joining student groups and
running for office.
• Self-interest. Young professionals, and even students,
are very pragmatic about their decisions. They’re
interested in making a difference, but they’re also
thinking about their careers. They’re meeting people,
developing networks and learning how organizations
work. A credit union board can be a fruitful field for
such development.
And what about annual meetings? In the absence of hard
Filene research, I can only offer suggestions. The principal
challenge at many annual meetings is that, although the
meetings are required by law, no substantive business is
conducted during them. The board and leadership may
present information, but the outcome of an annual meeting
is so rarely in doubt that attendance is not very compelling.
If this is what your annual meeting looks like, you have
two options. First, you can increase the incentives and perks
that draw people: better prizes, nicer food, more spectacle.
Second, you can reintroduce uncertainty into the process by
allowing members to vote not just on board representatives,
but also on new initiatives, charitable giving or even core
strategic issues. Unless the democratic motions of an annual
meeting can lead to real change, it will remain difficult to
attract people to them.
What young adults want from a credit union
And what are young directors likely to tell you when they
do get to the board? A brief survey of Filene research shows
that they’re likely to suggest a renewed focus on convenience.
Young adults prioritize convenience (which encompasses
factors like physical location, speed of transaction, and
e-services) much more than products
(interest rates, fees, product variety) or
service. ii Big banks have been building on
that advantage for years: Convenient
branches, ATMs, and e-services bind
customers to a bank even when they’re
sick of fees and bureaucratic service.
Theirs is not the only model of
convenience, of course, but convenience
still deserves hard thinking in board
meetings and strategic planning.
This thinking bears out in Big,
Small, or Online? Young Adults’
Evolving Financial Preferences (2010).
This study shows that 22 percent of
under-30 respondents to an online
survey (an admittedly targeted channel)
identified an online bank as their primary financial institution.
That’s particularly striking, because, with a few exceptions
(like USAA or PSECU in Pennsylvania), only recently have
consumers been able to transact in a way that allows an
online bank to capture the majority of a consumer’s banking
business. This surge in young adult interest in online banks
comes because: those young adults don’t have as many
financial or branch-based habits to overcome; online banks
provide a compelling set of account features and superior
rates; and more than 40 percent of respondents indicated that
they opened the account on the recommendation of a family
member or friend.
The most promising (and cost-effective) ways to promote
convenience include partnering with regional and national ATM
networks, bringing e-services like mobile and online transactions
up to speed, and allowing for online account opening for
everything from initial membership to mortgages to credit cards.
“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men.” French
general Charles de Gaulle often gets credit for that quote
(whose origins are obscure), but it applies perfectly to credit
union leadership. Today’s directors will not be around forever,
and boards that cannot replace them with dynamic young
leaders will suffer. Attracting young adults as members or as
directors is not easy. But it is essential to the healthy future of
credit unions. ■
As Filene Research Institute’s research director, Ben Rogers speaks
widely on credit union topics and has authored nearly 20 Filene
reports, including much of the Institute’s young adult research. He
can be contacted at benr@filene.org or (608) 661-3740.
For additional details, see “A Seat at the Table: Young Adult Directors
and Board Advisors,” published by Filene Research Institute in
2008. This report can be accessed by visiting http://filene.org and
searching for “A Seat at the Table.”
i David A. Carter, Betty J. Simpkins, and W. Gary Simpson, “Corporate Governance, Board Diversity,
and Firm Value,” The Financial Review 38, (2003): 33–53.
ii Jinkook Lee “Attracting Young Adults: What Do We Know About Their Use of Financial Institutions
and Payment Behaviors?” Filene Research Institute, Madison, WI (2008).
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