Credit Unions Confront Challenge of Aging Membership on Final Day of 2024 World Credit Union Conference
Final general session features keynote address on "concrete empathy" from Erica Dhawan
July 24, 2024
BOSTON—If there is one overriding, existential concern credit unions share no matter their size, complexity or geographic location—it is how to build a younger base of membership to ensure their future relevance.
Attendees of a Wednesday 2024 World Credit Union Conference breakout session on “Engaging Younger Members for Growth” learned how to appeal to younger demographics, while not forgetting about their current members.
The statistics presented by Juli Lewis, Vice President of Community Engagement at USF FCU (USA) and Jim Lake, Vice President and Managing Partner of Michael Walters Advertising, were daunting.
“Only 4% of Gen Z are credit union members. We think we’re doing better with millennials, but only 5% of millennials are credit union members,” said Lake. “We all know that we do great things, but we’re not good at telling the story.”
The silver lining, according to Lewis, is that if credit unions do a better job of talking about why they are different from banks or fintechs, they have the right message to attract younger consumers.
“Young people want to belong in the community, they want to be part of something good. They want sustainability, to be part of environmental causes. They love DEI initiatives,” said Lake. “So, consumers now, they’re not only value driven, they not only want a good deal, but they’re values driven.”
Lake said focusing on emotional stories about members that hit on social themes like that are key, as is successfully promoting them.
“Opportunities abound when we talk about financial wellness, community wellness, etc., outperform product ads by 2.5 times, 2.5 times the return on interest,” said Lake. “And there is a massive difference between a testimonial—‘oh I went to the branch and got my paperwork done in three minutes,’—those are important, but then there’s storytelling.”
Dhawan stresses importance of “concrete empathy”
Why is empathy at such a low point in today’s workplace?
According to award-winning keynote speaker and author Erica Dhawan, a lot of the reasons can be attributed to fewer face-to-face interactions, an ever-accelerating pace of change and an increasing number of matrixed teams working remotely.
“Research shows that we tend to argue more, passive aggressive behaviors or assumptions that someone's being rude can shoot up. And last but not least, in a digital environment, we can walk away faster from relationships. Ghosting, is not just a romantic issue, it's a business issue,” Dhawan told attendees of her keynote address during the final general session of the 2024 World Credit Union Conference.
She also relayed practical ways for credit union professionals to activate “concrete empathy” to create cultures of psychological safety, employee engagement, well-being and innovation. Dhawan told attendees there are simple things to consider and adjust to improve the empathy practiced at your organization.
“We have to be proactive in different ways. Concrete empathy is not assuming, it's asking for feedback, checking in more regularly, making sure that we're maniacally clear in our communication in all formats and also asking people for their preferences, so that we're customizing it to different types," said Dhawan.
Still to come
The 2024 World Credit Union Conference, presented in collaboration with America’s Credit Unions, concludes Wednesday evening with a closing block party for attendees.
Get ready for 2025
World Council of Credit Unions will host the 2025 World Credit Union Conference from July 14-16, in Stockholm, Sweden. To learn more, visit wcuc.org/stockholm.
World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development platform for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.
World Council has implemented 300+ technical assistance programs in 90 countries. Worldwide, 82,758 credit unions in 97 countries serve 404 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.
Organization: World Council of Credit Unions
E-mail: gneumann@woccu.org
Phone: +1 608-395-2048
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