While many companies have codified a set of values by which to operate, not all are able to articulate those values in a way that gets employees to connect with them in a meaningful manner. But Dan Bruinooge, chief people and corporate services officer with Servus Credit Union, knows that employees at all levels of the organization understand and believe in Servus’s values—because they wrote them together.
When three of Alberta’s largest credit unions decided to merge in 2007—creating a financial institution under the Servus name that today employs 2,300 Albertans at 100 branches across the province—management at the merging organizations knew that engaging their employees in the process was paramount to the new entity’s success. And where better to start than by enabling those employees to set the values they’d be working by every day?
“The executive and the board had to trust that these would be values we could live with,” says Bruinooge. “So we put the trust in our employees, to do the right thing and set values that would position the organization very well.”
The leadership team asked 120 employee representatives from all branches to gauge their colleagues’ opinions on what was important to them. With that feedback, 14 values were shaped. Then, Servus brought all its employees to Edmonton to vote on the seven values that would lead the newly formed organization.
Those values—service to Servus’s members; integrity; work/life balance; community; teamwork and sense of belonging; fairness; and investing in its people—guide everything Servus does. And because both management and the employees agreed on them, the company has created a strong organizational ethic that has led Servus to win several awards over the past four years as a top employer.
“You talk about being a respected employer and winning awards—it’s because we live and breathe those values every day. Everything we do is benchmarked against those.”
Open communication
But laying the groundwork that has made Servus a top employer wasn’t easy. Once the members of Servus Credit Union, Common Wealth Credit Union and Community Savings Credit Union voted to approve the merger in March 2007, the leadership team—tasked with combining the three financial institutions’ HR policies, compensation structures and benefits offerings—set to work with three common principles. First, the merger was to be carried out as a marriage of three separate but equal companies, which meant that the leaders had to set aside any thoughts that the way their previous organization had done things was the correct way. Second, the employees were considered a key priority, which meant merger-related layoffs and pay cuts were out of the question. And third, employees should be made part of the transition process wherever possible.
Bruinooge says that the leadership team held face-to-face meetings with employees at Servus locations across the province to explain that they were committed to putting together a package of benefits that would meet their needs.
“We explained to them that we couldn’t take the best of the best—the best that Servus had, that Common Wealth had and that Community Savings had—because that wouldn’t be financially sustainable. But we asked, ‘What are the things that are really meaningful to you that we need to make sure we maintain?’”
The transition team determined that employees wanted a solid base benefits offering, with some added flexibility so they could address their individual health and financial needs both now and into the future. Bruinooge says the resulting package of benefits addressed those needs.
Those initial discussions, and the ongoing communication with employees through the regional HR offices, ensured that everyone bought in to the changes rather than feeling left out. And, says Bruinooge, the fact that so few employees chose to leave for new employment during the transition—less than 2%, he estimates, far below the company’s expectation of an attrition rate between 5% and 10%—is proof positive that Servus’s efforts to communicate what it was doing were successful.
Patience pays off
For their trust in Servus during the merger process, those employees who remained have been rewarded with some valuable perks.
For one, there is the President’s Awards of Excellence. Each year, 25 outstanding employees are selected (based on both nominations by fellow employees and measurements against corporate objectives such as financial results and commitment to member service), and they and their spouses are sent, all expenses paid, on a week-long trip to the World Credit Union Conference. It’s a reward that allows employees to vacation in exotic places—previous conferences have taken place in Hong Kong and Barcelona—and includes a learning component that benefits the company. “We make sure that trip is an experience of a lifetime for them. And when they come back, they’re committed to Servus.”
All employees also earn an additional 1.5% interest on deposits to their Servus accounts, “which is huge nowadays,” says Bruinooge. They can also access consumer loans and mortgages at the Canada Revenue Agency’s prescribed rate—the lowest interest rate a company can offer employees before it becomes a taxable benefit—which is currently around 1%.
“Those benefits cost us a fair amount of money, but employees appreciate it. They look at that and say, ‘Why would I ever leave Servus Credit Union? I’ll never get this anywhere else.’”
For the most part, employees are staying put at Servus. The turnover rate is about 9%, which, Bruinooge says, is good for Alberta’s financial industry. And it’s probably higher than it should be due to employment opportunities that have opened up thanks to the hot economy.
Servus’s employees are also working hard to help the company meet its financial targets, to ensure that jobs and benefits remain safe. Bruinooge says last year was a prime example of how Servus’s commitment to its employees is working in the company’s favour. Initially, as the economy began to show signs of slowing down, Servus management didn’t think it would meet its targets for the year. But the employees banded together to achieve the results needed.
People outside of Servus are noticing, too. It has been named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, and in 2011, Alberta Venture magazine named Servus the province’s Best Overall Workplace With Over 750 Employees and Best Workplace for Benefits.
Servus doesn’t necessarily seek out awards, but the recognition does let employees and prospective hires know it has come through the merger as a strong organization and a great place to work.
“It really sends a message to us and our employees that we’re on the right track…. We don’t necessarily always need to be No. 1. But if we’re in that top quartile, that’s what our goal is.”
Neil Faba is associate editor of Benefits Canada. neil.faba@rci.rogers.com