Service Credit Union was recently honored with a 2018 Excellence Award from the CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council, which recognizes innovative solutions optimizing credit union performance.

The award was presented by the CUNA Operations & Member Experience Council, a national network comprised of more than 900 credit union operations and member experience professionals across the United States. Awards are given in four categories, including Branch Design, Contact Center/E-Support, Miscellaneous, and Sales & Service Management.

Service Credit Union won in the Sales and Service Management category for its "Communication Equals Success" entry. Service Credit Union instituted changes to its fee schedule in 2018 to remain competitive. Before implementing the changes, it became imperative that management recognized the full impact of these changes on front line employees.

"As our staff ultimately have to explain the changes and in some cases explore other product options to members, we saw the need for a solid communication plan," said Daniel Clarke, Chief Operating Officer at Service Credit Union. "In the past, the credit union would send out a mass email expecting staff to read and interpret these changes. Instead, management focused on complete communication throughout the organization from beginning to end."

The communication emphasized the "why" for the change while putting it into action. During the process, the credit union promoted employee empowerment and provided targeted measurable metrics to gauge success. Management solicited, listened and reacted to employee feedback. This resulted in leveraging technology to assist in implementing changes, and to management providing motivational incentives.

Award winners were recognized at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Operations & Member Experience Council's 21st annual conference, held September 12-15 in San Francisco, CA. For more information on the Excellence Awards or to view the entire list of winners, please visit Council Awards Programs.

About Service Credit Union As a dynamic, member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative, Service Credit Union is dedicated to offering quality financial services and products. In 1957, the credit union was established to provide affordable credit to the Pease Air Force Base community. Now the largest credit union in New Hampshire, with over $3.4 billion in assets and 50 branch locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Dakota and Germany, we continue to serve our communities and provide a better future to our members. For more information, visit https://servicecu.org or call toll free 1-800-936-7730 in the U.S. and 00800-4728-2000 internationally.

About CUNA Councils
CUNA Councils is a member-led organization dedicated to connecting passionate people, great ideas, original content and relevant resources to find solutions and inspire achievement through the power of peer collaboration. CUNA Councils serves seven areas of credit unions including CEOs, lending, marketing and business development, finance, human resources and training development, technology and operations, sales and service. For more information, visit cunacouncils.org.