Credit unions are examining how they address diversity and inclusivity in their hiring and retention practices, and the widespread protests of racial inequity that erupted over the past year have amplified those efforts.
Already, credit unions' emphasis on their local communities enabled them to represent the racial diversity of those communities in their recruitment efforts, but that's not necessarily enough. So some credit unions are also making sure that there is diversity among those making hiring decisions, and that they are as inclusive as possible in their outreach.
These practices came to the forefront over the past year and a half.
“The murder of George Floyd in 2020 really changed the world,” said Tameka Murphy, InFirst Federal Credit Union’s vice president of human resources. Many companies worldwide got more proactive with their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, she said.
Her Alexandria, Virginia-based credit union, which has 52 employees serving 14,000 members, was “always focused on actively recruiting and retaining a diverse team,” but an email from its chief executive, Marty Wye, addressing Floyd’s death served as a call to supercharge that effort.
The email prompted Murphy to create a formal “diversity policy.” The policy doesn’t require each job opening or promotion to have at least one candidate from a minority group, for example, but rather it focuses on measures to ensure an inclusive workplace. This is achieved, in part, by studying internal data to better understand the employee population, she added.
To further this diversity effort, Murphy attended and completed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certification program earlier this year. The program was provided by the Maryland/DC Credit Union Association and Georgetown University.
“This was one of the most informative and enlightening classes,” Murphy said. “I also attended several other trainings geared toward our LGBTQ+ community.”
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Miguel Boluda, the chief executive of PAHO/WHO Federal Credit Union in Washington, D.C., said approximately 75% of its 8,000 members are Hispanic/Latino and more than 20% of them are Black.
“We actively recruit employees who model the demographics and meet the needs of our membership,” said Boluda. “Because of this need, we require most of our front-line positions to have fluency in both English and Spanish. Though not directly the intention, this requirement has led to our employees having a very similar racial or ethnic makeup to the membership which we serve.”
When it comes to seeking new talent, PAHO/WHO Federal Credit Union has mechanisms in place to ensure diversity in the recruiting and hiring process. For example, it has a practice of making sure that there is a diverse interview panel, so different perspectives are represented, Boluda said.
“We try to find as many qualified candidates as possible for an opening and do not set an artificial number for how many interviews we conduct,” he said.
A recent posting for a member services associate position resulted in eight candidates being interviewed because on paper they were all technically qualified. “This ensured that we weren’t making artificial decisions or assumptions and we got to know the candidates, all of the candidates, before extending a job offer,” Boluda said.
For Infirst Credit Union, the effort to attract diverse candidates involves casting a wider net.
It posts jobs in social media channels and on a variety of portals and job boards — including Indeed, the Maryland/DC Credit Union Association, Facebook and Twitter — and the hiring team also looks within the organization.
“Staff referrals are the best. You can obtain diverse candidates right from your current team members,” Murphy said. “Always talk to your employees first.”
To retain employees, Murphy said, the credit union conducts “stay” interviews, which help to determine career paths. It has also scrutinized its pay rates across the organization.
“We have completed a salary analysis to ensure all employees are paid fairly, competitively and in market,” she said. “As a result of the compensation analysis, we have promoted and increased several employees’ salaries.”
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PAHO/WHO Federal Credit Union believes that “true diversity can’t be boiled down to a quota or a numerical measure,” Boluda said. The most qualified are hired “in every situation,” rather than any favoritism being shown for one type of candidate over another.
“This has led to several hires through the years with a wide range of diversity, including diverse work experiences, educational backgrounds, professional qualifications — in addition to the more normal discussions of diversity, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and the like,” Poluda said.
For every job at Infirst Credit Union, the organization seeks a diverse slate of candidates interviewed, even though there isn’t a formal requirement to do so, according to Murphy. Several of the interviewees are members of minority groups, and “various” generations are also represented.
The credit union’s goal is to increase the overall diversity of employees that it hires and retains, with an emphasis on those who identify as Latino, Asian or LGBTQ+, Murphy said. But more than anything else, it wants to ensure the process is “fair for all.” When recruiting and interviewing, the credit union is specific about making sure the full range of groups are represented, Murphy said.
“We want our candidate pool and employees to be just like our membership,” she said. “We have diverse candidates, employees and members from all walks of life.”
