... the SECU Board Responds!
The member-approved 2022 Annual Meeting resolution called upon the SECU Board of Directors to review and respond to the membership, after statewide discussions with the staff and advisory boards.
The resolution had called for the Board to address with the membership what seemed to be the most pressing six concerns - open membership, a merger with Local Government FCU, risk-based lending, tax prep services, business/commercial lending, and the continued commitment to North Carolina.
In November, 2022 the SECU Board dutifully organized a series of meetings to
respond to those questions posed in the member-approved resolution.
The meetings and answers to the six questions were summarized in a video - often referred to as "The Fireside Chats". Here is a link to the video [link] and the answers provided by the SECU Board.
The question asked of the SECU Board on each of the six issues was simple: "Why is this change being made and how will the change benefit existing members."
Believe it would be beneficial for you to look at the SECU Board approved video and consider the answers provided.
Judge for yourself: 1) Was the question actually addressed? 2) What was the answer you heard?
In looking at "next steps - if any", we are headed for a critical "showdown decision" on the question of trust and transparency with the SECU Board of Directors.
That decision should not be made lightly... do a little homework as an SECU member-owner by reviewing the video! Please feel free to comment on this post after your review...
... talk more on Monday.
Honest question because I do not know: when you were CEO, what was the standard process for communicating changes that the board approved and you planned to implement? Did you and the board do tours around the state similar to the fire side chats or was there a different method for gaining feedback outside of advisory boards which are still in place (and greatly appreciated)?
ReplyDeleteAhhh. You see. Jim Blaine never communicated changes he planned to implement. He did what he wanted and he didn’t show his hand before. Do as I say not as I did for my tenure -
DeleteGuess I was expected to respond to 4:18 pm!? Hadn't thought it necessary, since the commenters seemed a tad disingenuous, too willing to overlook "the obvious"! But here ya go.
DeleteThe single, key, basic point which triggered the resolution at the 2022 Annual Meeting was the open, vocal, and widespread concern among members and staff that the SECU Board had launched "a new culture, a new direction" at SECU without discussion.
The Fireside Chats and subsequent "listening tours" were the reaction and response by the SECU Board to the direct request from staff and membership via the resolution for explanation and clarification.
As the warden told the prisoners in the movie "Cool Hand Luke": "What we had here is a failure to communicate." . The resolution was not where the problem started!
Don't "shoot the messenger" for conveying the message
Be glad to provide some thoughts and examples on communication in the past, but the past is not the source of the Board's current and continuing problems.
you didn't answer the question
DeleteOkay, be glad to try. The Fireside Chats were the Board's response to the member-approved resolution at the October, 2022 Annual Meeting. The lapses in communication at SECU had already occurred earlier. Those failures were not caused by the resolution. Lets be sure to keep our "cause and effect" sequence in the correct order!
DeletePersonally, thought the idea of the meetings was a good concept. Cynics point out that when the Fireside Chats failed to convince the members and the 3 incumbents were ousted; the roadshows were created to help make sure the 2024 incumbents didn't suffer the same fate - whatever, it worked!
Reasons why this conflict hadn't occurred in the past? - again hard to say. But, safe to say that this level of uproar had not occurred in the past.
Most new program ideas originated from the staff and members, including advisory boards. Management at all levels listened hard to the membership; critics of the current leadership says that's no longer true.
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For example, minutes of all advisory board meetings were written, read by management, and a written summary of suggestions/concerns was
regularly provided to the full SECU Board. This is no longer done. All SECU managers were required to submit monthly reports of their operations - including insights into problems and potential opportunities - to management which were all read with direct responses back to local inquiries. "Tell us About It" forms voicing member complaints and suggestions were widely used and were submitted directly to the CEO, who never failed to provide a response. Equally, every member could call directly to the CEO and other senior executives and be assured of the chance to personally voice complaints/suggestions - and to arrange to meet "in-person" if required. This is no longer done. All senior executives were required to attend and make presentations to at least 10 advisory meetings each year. Loan review committees provided "ears on ground" input on the SECU lending processes. These no longer exist. SECU members were encouraged to speak at the Annual meeting. This is no longer allowed.The unique internal audit system within SECU provided a great opportunity for the CU to "discover" and expand "best practices" system-wide. This has been eliminated.
Ideas or suggestions which seemed to have merit were researched by a project team, which always included technical/regulatory folks, branch reps, IT staff, internal audit, accounting and supv/management types. SECU had the internal expertise and talent to develop, implement and operate its own systems. This no longer appears to be the path forward.
The result of the internal review of a proposed project was a "feasibility study", which determined if the "new idea/program" could be effectively developed and implemented. The test of "feasibility" was simple: Could SECU offer the service "Cheaper, Better, Quicker" to members, compared with what was already available in the marketplace? If not, don't waste the members' money and time on an "inferior" (neither quicker, cheaper or better!) project, that produces little value to the overall membership.
"Raise your hand if you'd like a free lunch" doesn't qualify as a feasibility study, nor as a sound business practice for any organization!
With all levels of the organization involved with the review/feasibility study, regular progress updates were readily available across the CU either formally or through the informal "grapevine".
The SECU Board approves/disapproves all new programs. If approved, the project team expanded to focus on developing timelines and implementation procedures. The entire organization became involved to "git'r dun".
But then again, the SECU Board - just like the CEO - the SECU Board can't just "do whatever it wants". Especially if it isn't working....
What's the SECU communication problem? One commenter advises: "They need to LISTEN UP more and TALK DOWN less."
Fair Enough?
so use a practical example. we were the last CU of any size of consequence to have a mobile app. Way late to the game. why? was there no demand among the member base? When implemented, it didn't have mobile deposit capture, which everyone else had years prior. Eventually it got close to par in the market, but didn't meet the cheaper, better, quicker litmus test, did it?
DeleteNot sure what you are trying to say. Can you provide a reliable source which supports your statements? Believe you may be stuck in a past, more of the imagination than fact.
DeleteThought I heard our CEO bragging about the high level of member mobile usage at the annual meeting? Was that a misstatement or some sort of exaggeration?
The mobile app was installed prior to 2021 wasn't it? Our CEO seemed to be very pleased by her mobile numbers, was she wrong?
Not much of significance has happened on the IT front at SECU in the last 3 years...no one really considers a "refresh of the website" as a "high tech break through". Really just cosmetic, like repainting a wall.
Any true technology advance always seems to be ... "coming in 3 or 4 years".
What's the hold up?
This commenter is famous for never being factually clear, so don't expect any answer to "what's the hold up". Just pencil in 3 or 4 years for a tech timeline. Interesting that Latino CU was able to get it completed in 12 months and is now on its own. Looks like LGFCU will get it done in 18 months if the June 2025 independence conversion date holds up.
DeleteWeren't both Latino and LGFCU running on the identical software as SECU.? Both are billion $$$+, complex CUs.
Maybe SECU should merge into Latino...just a thought.
Thats another sad point of all of this Mr. Blaine. Many of us were pushed out after the data center project, and even admonished for working on it. Once completed. we were poised to start the core replacement whenever we were given thee green light. Sadly, the take-over coincided with the end of the Data Center project . Three years in, 1000 employees added (or replaced), a boat load of new banker management and they still have yet to chose a vendor.
DeletePretty sure we would have been further along
and would have done it with existing employees, augmented by a few subject matter experts.
Most of the changes proposed by the Hayes Board would benefit the administration (ability to expand into regional cu, mergers, business and commercial lending.) Merger and corporate membership important here. One of the first things Hayes did was move from Treasury Bond only investments of surplus funds to Commercial real estate investments!! (He was then put on the board of the investment firm.) Real estate sales of SECU property brokered by "friends of the board". The moves away from same best rate for every member to better rates for some members, punitive rates for those who could least afford it--even thought the member had a history of repaying loans to SECU. Horrible low MM rates. That are still low and defended by the current CEO as competitive! ( Where does she do her MM rate searches?) The questions in the resolution were never answered. Dodge and weave. The board made certain through bylaw changes(approved by the former Administrator of CU on her way out the door!) that NO resolutions would ever be brought forward again by the members. This Hayes Board has shut the members out completely. yes, they can vote, but no they can not be educated on what is happening at SECU. One point of view and Millions$$$$ of members money "out of the pockets" of folks who can least afford it to continue the self-serving policies of the Hayes Board and this CEO. It is disheartening and depressing. This stellar institution is on course to become "industry standard" so they can sell out and grab a few billion dollars of reserves. Powerful incentive for the Hayes Board and CEO to continue. Hayes already has his 6 million $$$ from out of our pockets. He was worth that to the Hayes Board to bring his WestCorp wrecking ball into SECU to destroy employees' promotion paths and 85 year history of helping members get on their feet financially. The Hayes Board and CEO talk the talk but the meaning behind that talk is a big 0. He also hired 1000 employees. Where are they? The no new technology since 1983 will get its very own rant!!
ReplyDelete