Guess we should go through this stuff a couple of shovels at a time...
Eighteen months ago, Chairman Chris "Mr. NFPP"* Ayers, the SECU Board, and the current management inherited an organization with an unbroken (and unmatched!) 85-year record of growth in assets and membership from CEO Mike Lord. And, what is most interesting, growth had never been a driving force at SECU!
The theory then was, if SECU delivered exceptional service, unique, low-cost products; while keeping operational costs low and rates competitive, that members would beat a path to the credit union's door - bringing their families and colleagues with them. Growth was not seen as a goal, but as a result - a result of fair, efficient, member-focused service. That "strategic plan" appeared to work.
Here's where SECU stands according to its "recently released" 3/2023 financials:
✔ SECU is entering its second straight calendar year of declining assets, off 5% over the last twelve months .
✔ Here's what the current CEO said in a memo "To: All SECU Employees" (that's about 7,000 folks, if you need to confirm the source!) soon after his arrival at SECU:
"If all goes well, honestly, 3 years from now I hope we are serving over 3 million members...have assets over $70 billion...I don't intend to have our credit union shrink in the future...growth is the only thing on my radar."
✔ But even better, Chairman "Mr. NFPP" Ayers and the SECU Board have a Board-approved "Asset growth" target in their financial plan. Want to guess what the SECU Board's approved "Asset Growth Target" is for the financial year 6/30/2022 to 6/30/2023? ....+ 8%!
A +8% asset growth target, added to a -5% decline in actual growth (through 3/2023) would mean that the SECU Board and current managment are off their estimate by -13% - not exactly a "rounding error" in anybody's "strategic plan"! Could this be indicative of the overall quality of leadership planning at SECU? Many members - and a growing number at that - certainly think so.
'Course I haven't seen the latest SECU Board asset growth target (they didn't publish that!). Could be with this SECU Board, that when you miss a target - and start feeling like you may be held accountable - you simply change the target!
Kinda like what the Board did with those new, highly suppressive "Board Election Procedures"!
"A body of men and women holding themselves unaccountable to anybody, should be trusted by nobody.' - Thomas Paine
* "NFPP"= "No formal proposal proposal"
Remember when CEO’s used to be replaced when they lost the company money…
ReplyDeleteNumbers don't lie. The leadership at that place is failing because they can't get the buy-in from their staff. The credit union is more divided than our country and I'll bet if you surveyed the staff anonymously you'd find maybe a 30% approval rate of their performance, if that. As Angela Ahrendts of Apple once said, "Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first." This is the reason behind the numbers, you've lost your staff, Mr. Hayes.
ReplyDeleteOnly employees who could support the Board and CEO in gutting the membership are the former bankers---SECU always put members first. now it's Board first, the CEO and recent hires from banks.
DeleteDoesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out since new leadership has taken over that the credit union has tanked. There have been so many long-standing employees shoved out the door and current staff forced to accept changes that are clearly showing a decline in almost every area. Rookie executives are bound to make these rookie mistakes. And yes, only bankers could tank a credit union like this. Such a shame.
DeleteThe issue is he has done nothing but tell half truths and lie. Even if you were on board with all the changes you can’t trust anything he says/emails
DeleteCan anyone give us a number of how many SECU employees across the state have had to leave the organization since September 2021? As a member who works in the Human Resources field and have always admired SECU's ability to maintain long term employees, this is a BIG concern for me. And should be a big concern for the elected Board of Directors.
DeleteI don't know total numbers, but I know we lost a lot of people in my space. GOOD people too. The kind any employer would want. I guess they found an employer who recognized that.
DeleteJust about everyone else I know is thinking about leaving.
Word on the street is that Haze is obsessed with finding THE mole that is sharing so called “secret” information with the outside world. Is he really so arrogant that he thinks there is only ONE?! There are literally thousands of employees sharing (by word of mouth, pictures, personal emails, etc.) the inner workings of this regime with it’s secret plans to downgrade the culture of a proud and hugely successful organization and to treat members like profit centers.
ReplyDeleteYou have lost the employees in your selfish venture. You can never recover from the damage you have created. The majority of the employees will NEVER drink your poisonous Kool-Aid.
Never underestimate a group of people fighting fiercely for a righteous cause. Wait….you already did that.
You and this radical Board have turned your back on the members with your “new” culture and policies, and mistreatment legacy employees. You’ll NEVER have close to a majority of them behind you. Just resign and move on.
The Members Deserve Better
#TheResistance
#KeepersOfTheFlame
#TheOpposition
#TheUnderground
#TheProtectors
#GiveUsOurTiesBack
❤️❤️❤️
DeleteNow, this is a message I can fully support! Stop asking Advisory Board Members how they can support YOUR mission! Ask not what SECU member/OWNERS can do for you…but what you can do for SECU member/OWNERS!!
DeleteYes! A thousand times YES! I pray every single day that Haze resigns. I stand strong in the fact that we WILL take OUR credit union back! #Giveusourtiesback
DeleteIs this the reason why he's going to have another office in Creedmore road? To catch the snitchy rat? Well he needs to have an office in all the buildings then.... If only the time and energy spent in plotting, deceiving and receiving meaningless awards have been diverted to do the right thing, he would have seen growth and gained the respect of everyone around him. The attention and adoration he so craves would have come effortlessly. If this continues, all that will be left is paranoia.
DeleteNeed to translate that one bro', don't understand?What's Creedmoor? Paranoia? Don't get it?
DeleteA Board, A CEO, An Executive Team who boasted transparency is now worried about people talking. Seems they are finally understanding why Word of Mouth has always been SECU's secret weapon of success in marketing and growing the credit union at a cost of 0 dollars. People talk, you can't control that, your only choice is to always do the right thing. If only this new leadership at SECU had bought into that concept instead of wasting our money on fake change, fake culture, fake positions and fake marketing...we wouldn't be needing to have this discussion. Always doing the right thing never hurt all those leaders who came before you...do an analysis on that concept.
DeleteThey are locations where operation centers are located. Creedmore road is located in Raleigh.
Delete