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eee INTEGRATED eee SUl'l'ORT SERVICES ··------

1 Enterprise Editor Robena Staley

Art Director John Ngan

Production Manager

lzobel Naval

Cont ributing editor

Laureen Gri ffin

Contributing Writers David Leldl Richard Unlemore Diane Luckow Laurie Stephens

Contributing Artists

Dina Goldstein Christy Hill Peter Wiison

Managing Editor

Gayle Stevenson

For informa tion concerning

Enterprise contact:

Credit Unio n Central of

British Columbia Creative Setvices

1441 Creekside Drive Vancouver ec

Canada V6J 4s7

Tel 604 730 63s9 Fax 604 730 6434

To a dvertise in Enterprise, contact:

Advertising In Print 938 Howe Street Suite 710 Vancouver Be Canada v6z 1N9

Tel 604 681 1811 Fax 604 681 0456

For subscriptions. contact lzobel Naval: 604 730 6358 or inaval@cucbc.com.

Subscription rates (In CON dollars): $29.95/year (Canada): $34.95/year (usA): $39.9s/year (overseas).

The opinions exprcned In ankles In Ente1ptlst ;ire the aut hors' and not necesnrily those of Entc1ptlu Of

Credit Union Central of British Columbii (MCent~i-).

In addition, the inctuslon of an advenls ement does not imply an cndOJsemtnt of the product or service

by Entetptlsc or Cenlril. £ntnp1ise will not know-ingly carry false or misleading advertising. Ente1pdse

reseJVes t he rfght to refuse any advertisement. Both fn terprist and Central disclaim any and all vmran­tles, whe ther expreued Of lmplled, Including (without limitation) any lmpHed W.lrranties of merchanta blllty or fitness for a pilrticular pu rpose and neither fnte1p1fse

nor Ce.n1,-al will accept any responsibility for the readet's use of the lnformaUon and/or opinions pres@nted In Entetptlse or any loss ;arising therefrom.

The contents of Entetptlse are covered by copy­right and ;all rights are reseNed. No material In this publication may be reproduced In any fOJm without perm~slon.

ISSH 0319-8626

enterprise is published by Credit Union Central of British Columbia.

CREDIT UNION CENTRAL BC

Board of Directors

Chairperson

Daniel Burns

Vice-Chairperson

Lorne Myhra

Richard Allen Lloyd Craig Henry Jansen Ed Macintosh Catherine McCreary Ross Montgomery Dave Mowat Michael Tarr Jack Whittaker

BC CREDIT UNION SVSTEM

Peer Group Executives

Group One (North/ine)

Bulkley Valley - R. Brandvold lntegrls - B. Bentley• Nonh Peace Savings - C. Maundrell Northern Savings - M. Tarr Williams Lake and District - F. Wagner

Group Two (Okonagan)

Interior Savings - 0 . Grant• Osoyoos - B. Collins Osoyoos - J. Whittaker Revelstoke - R. Holland Salmon Arm Savings - M. Wagner Valley First - K. Campbell

Group Three (Kootenay)

Castlegar Savings - L. Myhra Castlegar Savings - B. Gerrand•

Columbia Valley - L. Johnson Creston & District - L. Eckersley East Kootenay Community - D. Holt Grand Forks District Savings - C. Manson Kootenay Savings - W. Bottcher Nelson & District - J. Malakoff

Group Four (Vancouver Island)

Coastal Community - R. Allen Coast•I Community - J. Newall Cumberland & District - T. Harrison Greater Victoria Savings - B. Bittner Island Savings - S. Service• Quadra - S. Halliday

Group Five

Coast Capital Savings Envision North Shore Prosper a Vancouver City Savings Westminster Savings - R. Montgomery•

Group Six

Community Savings - B. Cook CCEC - C. Ludgate Greater Vancouver Community - P. Moore Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's - E. Macintosh Mount Lehman - G. Blishen V.P. - R. Hoffman• Van Tel/Safeway - M. Aubert

•oenotes Chairperson

May 2006 • Volume 66, Number 3

DEPARTMENTS

6 Editorial

7 Small Talk The evil lurking in cyberspace can send you to identity-theft purgatory, Canadian Tire sells mort gages, and genetic engineering -credit union style.

42 Office Affairs How to Lose i Promotion in 10 Days Manners maketh the man - or woman. Follow this mantra if you want to advance in t he workplace. Laureen Griffin

46 Marketing Maven Hello, Hello. Anybody out there? Hello? Radio is underutilized as a means to connect with new and old members. Diane Luckow

FEATURES

I realized that I would never again

be in a position where everything

I had worked for could be taken

away in 15 minutes. • Wayne Nygren. crn.

Credit Union Central of British Columbia

26 The Patronage Rainbow Annual patronage rebates vary greatly among credit unions from coast to coast. Laureen Griffin

30 Shifting gears CEO Wayne Nygren may be giving up the reins of BC Central, but that doesn't mean he's leaving the cooperative system. Richard Littlemore

38 Dangerous Doppelgangers With identity theft on the rise, credit unions must work to help protect their members. David Leid/

REGIONS

PRAIRIE

The Plains Truth 10 Three unique Prairie initiatives show how

viable the cooperative model can be. David Leid/

ONTARIO

16 Heard it on the Radio Credit unions are becoming surefooted as they hang io on Toronto's air waves. Laurie Stephens

GLOBAL

Angels in Soweto Project Launched 20 A national initiative is started to raise

money for a food fund to help a South African co- op feed its A IDS patients. Roberta Staley

OBSERVATORY

PERSON OF INTEREST

8 Cowboys and Indians Albertan Henri de Groot paints the West the way it used to be. Roberta Staley

24 2005 Asset Tally Canadian credit union assets and BC system statistics.

38

CREDIT UNION CENTRAL ofBritishColumbiaridesthe wave of change - Wayne Nygren, its venerable and respected leader - is leaving to pursue the causes that ilnpassion him. The positive changes he choreographed for the BC credit union system over the past quarter century can only serve to inspire his successor.

Enterprise, too, rides the crest of change - by reaching out to connect with credit union employees at all levels across the country. As a first step, we're conducting a survey to lay the groundwork for ensuring that the magazine contains features and stories that will enlighten staff and enhance their involvement with the system.

We are depending upon our loyal readers to encourage all employees to participate in the survey enclosed in this issue. The feedback we receive will assistEnterprise in becoming an even more powerful voice, with wider appeal, serving the needs of an industry-wide audience. Enterprise should be a voice not only for Canada's credit union leaders, but for the hardworking frontline and behind-the-scenes staff who are the backbone of our organizations.

We're also asking our primary readers - directors, cEos, executives and especially human resource managers - to infonn staff about this survey. The brief questionnaire is available online at www.cucbc.com/ publications/enterprise/survey. Or, you can distribute photocopies of the form included with this issue and return it by fax or regular mail. As a special incentive, every employee who returns the survey will be entered into a draw for an iPod.

Enterprise is embarking on changes to benefit you, your credit union and your employees. And that's change you can bank on.

ROBERTA STALEY

rstaley@cucbc.com

Small Talk

About 100 people became the victims of identity theft when original loan applications were taken from a University of Michigan Credit Union storage locker.

Sound Bites

PIN no abstacl~ to thlevn The crooks continue to keep one sleazy cyber

step ahead of the financial IT techies, stealing

money from accounts by using counterfeit cards

at ATM machines, MSNBC reports. The puzzle, of

course, is how the thieves are managing to foi l

the PIN four- digit code system, which, until now,

has proven safer than signature-based credit card

transactions.

It is believed that account numbers and PINs

are being gathered from merchants and retailers.

Fingers point to one business in t he United States

where it is believed 200,000 account numbers

were pilfered.

Thieves still work old fashioned camt It's enough to leave you nostalgic - almost.

were taken from a University of Michigan Credit

Union storage locker. A suspect credit union

employee was fired.

11 tner• nc. 1d t o the •il1

No, apparently. Cyber crooks have another

account-breaking con up their sleeve that

involves the use of 'key logging' programs that

silently copy the keystrokes of computer users

when they make an online visit to their financial

institution. This information is then sent to

the crooks, reports The New York Times. These

programs can be hidden inside other sof tware,

which then infect the computer, similar to the

infamous 'Trojan Horse.'

Genetic • ngineerin9 goes beyond DNA

America West Bank, based in Layton, Ohio, is

planning a patent-pending bank/credit union

hybrid, according to CUNA's News Now. The new

financial instit ution will pay customers quarterly

dividends. However, the institution's raison d'etre

will still be profit, says a bank spokesman. Unlike

American credit unions, the bank will not have

geographical or closed- membership restrictions.

Credit Union National Association's News Now You know that guy - Ted, the know-it-all neigh-

reports that about 100 people became the victims bour who doled out advice about Canadian Tire

of identity theft when original loan applications big-box products. He got dumped recently from

Canadian Tire's advertising campaign after being

voted Canada's most annoying TV personality.

So Ted won't be promoting Canadian Tire's latest

offerings, an expanded array of financial products

that includes mortgages and investment savings

accounts. While that may be good news for

TV viewers, it's probably not- so- good news for

credit unions.

Th profit are blowin in the ind When globali zation dries up the markets for grain

crops and mad cow disease shuts down interna­

tional borders, then what's an economy to do?

Cultivate the wind.

Enbridge Inc. and Sequoia Energy Inc. have

partnered t o develop wind farm s in Manitoba.

The companies have more than 250 land agree­

ments with Manitoba landowners in several rural

municipalities, covering more than 14,000 acres

of land. Enbridge and Sequoia have installed 19

meteorological towers measuring wind and have

advanced several transmission interconnection

studies with Manitoba Hydro. The Government of

Manitoba's goal is to develop up to 1,000 mega­

watts of wind-generated electricity, which would

provide enough power for 467,000 homes.

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 7

OBSERVATORY: PERSON OF INTEREST

Cow~oYr AND f NDtANr f-/ew& de Grovis 'Nes-ter/1, m-t pcrrtrr;ri,-ts flre sMtpei vy; fJ ccrlkcturs tftrUv.:Jh.fllA;t North, Amtricvr flM Evtrcrpe. by Roberta Staley

THE WO RST THING about backsurgery,arguably, is not the pain that turns you gimpy and grumpy for weeks on end, but the ennui that grabs the arms of the clock in a tug-of-war to stop time.

To mitigate the boredom and shoo along the dragging hours, a recuperating Henri de Groot picked up some brushes and canvas and started painting. While wife Laurie de Groot managed the herd of quarter horse and Hanoverian stallions and mares at the couple's Sunhill Farms, 100 km west of Edmonton, de Groot unexpectedly tapped a gushing vein of talent.

That was in 1989, when de Groot received the first of what would be four surgeries to alleviate injuries received many years earlier while working in construction. At the time, de Groot was a member of Yellowhead Credit Union, which merged with Capital City Savings Credit Union in 2004.

Since then, de Groot, 57, has always distracted himself from post-surgical pain by painting his highly realistic cowboy art, a genre that originated with Charles Russell and Federic Remington in the 1800s in America's Wild West. The distraction morphed into a lucrative career, garnered de Groot national art awards and cultivated an extensive, well-heeled clientele throughout Europe and North America. He paints seven days a week to create enough work for the Calgary Stampede's annual homage to Western art, the one and only show at which he exhibits. De Groot still holds the record for the highest price ever paid - $17,500 - for a single work at the July show, a portrait of a native woman with a buffalo robe draped around her shoulders.

The best thing about being an artist, other than being your own boss, says de Groot, is being able to work on things that

8 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

inspire you. Netherlands-born de Groot is always on the look out for a rare countenance that is transcendent of modernity, which expresses cowboy or Indian life from long ago. Although his portraits are highly stylized, de Groot manages to avoid cliche, always a danger with this genre. He carefully plans what his models wear and what setting they are in. Still, the personality of the subject is the most important part of his portraits. "I always find there is more to a person that what you see. A portrait is trying to capture the person, without just copying the face," says de Groot, whose favourite artists include Norman Rockwell and Rembrandt.

De Groot has often used Capital City Savings teller Trish Roberge as a model. One painting of the dark-eyed, lustrous­haired young woman won the 2004 Canadian Portrait Award from the Canadian Institute of Portrait Artists. He has also garbed a then-pregnant Roberge in a white doeskin dress, channeling, it would seem, Indian legend Pocahantas.

De Groot produces 30 works a year that start at $3,000. His studio is a 70-year-old, 850-sq.ft. Baptist church that he moved to his property and added to his house. He doesn't have a cell phone or a computer and his only advertising, he says, is his annual Christmas card.

De Groot not only creates art, he has created an idyllic life on his heavily treed property, among four dozen horses and rustic home and barns. His constant search for new models takes him to isolated areas of Alberta and British Columbia, where real cowboys still exist. He is also planning to start sculpting this year. "It's better to be normal and happy than to sell your soul and be a slave to someone else," de Groot muses.

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IM ilTLE

Building Success Together

REGION: PRAIRIE

THE HARDSHIPS endured by indig- modern, Prairie folk !mow how to pull together enous people and European pioneers, the for the common good. Or, as Vera Goussaert, uncompromising economics of today's agri- Manitoba Cooperative Association's executive bus inesses, the challenges of living on the open director, notes, "The cooperative spirit has plains - whatever the reasons, historical or been a part of the Prairies for as long as we have

a history."

10 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

Small-town prairie Canada has long been under siege due to the steady erosion of commodity prices, subsequent shifting demo­graphics and other cold economic and societal forces. Once-busy town sites are now empty land - fading dots on an outdated map.

THE PLAINS TRUTH Some small towns are fighting back with

the cooperative spirit, made of flesh, brick and board. "We are seeing cooperatives being created or expanded to fill the gaps in service that become apparent as existing businesses close their doors for good," says Goussaert.

In Manitoba, a dying family-owned store was revived - and is now owned - by the community. In Saskatchewan, fire and disaster put new legs (trotters actually) on an already strong co-op initiative. And in Alberta, the local

credit union rolled in to rescue the British Army and the small Canadian town living under its armour.

Here are three little Prairie engines that could, and did.

MAY 2006 · ENTERPRISE 11

REGION : PRAIRIE

Rosei• I• Community Grocery Co·op Roseis/e, Manitoba

In rural Manitoba, it's tough being a small independent grocer. A few years ago, in the tiny to~n of Roseisle, 100 kms west of Winnipeg, it be,came too tough for Garth Campbell, proud owner of Campbell's General Store (est. 1903) .

. Sales had been so-so for the family-run gn;icery/gas bar/post office/local hangout, and then word came that its old underground gasoline tanks didn't meet new environmen­tal requirements and had to be replaced. Reluctantly, Campbell decided to close the door on a century of history.

'Roseisle is a community of75 hardy yet diverse souls: retirees, crusty conservatives, liberal artists and craft folk, all attracted by the benign lifestyle and gentle rolling landscape. Roseisle is a short jaunt off the main road in the Roseisle Creek Valley. While small, there is a substantial, stable and growing population in the surrounding rural municipality of Dufferin with new young families moving in.

But this diverse lot had a commonality of purpose - resuscitate the heart ofRoseisle. without the store, the town would likely go the way of all too many small Prairie towns.

Local farmers, such as Frank Peters, hefted hammers and bent their backs (and a few nails, it's joked, where Frank was involved). Gravel-pit operator Gabriel Durand dug deep and came up with S5,ooo worth of gravel. Local dry-waller Roger Gauthier went to the walls, literally, Don Klassen's backhoe (with Don aboard) trenched the water and sewer lines and contractor John Miller put in the floor. The counters and bread racks were crafted, at cost, by the Rose Valley Hutterite Colony.

In mid-May 2005, built in less than a year entirely by local volunteer labour and fund raising, the new store opened. The proud new manager? Garth Campbell.

At 2,000-sq. feet, the Roseisle Store has the feel of a rustic rural store but with modern touches and tastes: deli, hot-dog cooker, fridge and freezer (all donated by Ray Fry of Fry's Trucking), organic chickens, eggs and garlic, enviro-cleaning products, homemade pizza, bison meat, made-on-the-premises cookies and muffins.

The store cost about $200,000 to build and carried a $60,000 debt. Hefty, but without community support and sweat, the price tag could have been as high as $400,000.

But this diverse lot had a commonality of purpose -

resuscitate the heart of Roseisle. Without the store,

the town would likely go the way of all too many small

Prairie towns.

The community met and agreed: the old store was too small and needed too much upgrading. The decision: build anew, but do it themselves. They didn't wait for a government grant or help. They didn't expect an outside investor or bank to angel down; with little profit expected, the numbers were too unat­tractive. Financially, the place could be better of( if set on Highway 245 west of Carman, but that wouldn't have helped Roseisle.

In 2004, in the teeth of a chillingly damp October, the communi ty held a fund-raising auction, rummage sale and lunch and pulled in $18,000 - well above expectations. It was a start.

For a munificent S1, Dufferin donated a plot of abandoned railway property, just across the street from the old store.

1 2 ENTERPRISE · MAY 2006

One downside: as a non-affiliated co-op serving a sparse population, the membership fee was a pricey S500 for each of the 110 inaugu­ral households. The upside: the high buy-in is a real encouragement for locals to buy locally­for a long, long time.

At nearby Carman, the co-op store opened its door in 1959, but couldn't send out dividend cheques for 30 years. "We're not telling anyone that," Can1pbelljoked at the opening. "The people who put money into the Carman co-op had practically all died by the time it started paying."

C11nadian ForcH Base Suffield Alberta

The Challenger 2 main battle tank is an awesome beast - 62.5 metric tons of high-tech armor and precision force. The crew of four

professional British soldiers, the thinking end of the 12omm cannon, can coolly obliterate an enemy machine, day or night, from many ldlometres away.

Bumping into one Challenger 2 is bad enough. In a battle group - tanks, armoured

(L to R) Branch manager Jenine Corah with other Community Credit Union staff members at the Suffield Canadian Forces Base.

infantry squadrons, artillery, attack helicopters and a real mean attitude -you'd be (briefly) on the receiving end of the mechanized apoca­lypse called BATUS, British Army Training Unit Suffield.

For years, the British Army has brought in four or five new battle groups per year, with up to 7,000 troops in each, to train on Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield's rolling prairie. Anchored by the nearby town of Ralston, the base and BATUS is a huge economic driver.

Yet the entire rumbling might of BATUS, the fate and future of CFB Suffield and Ralston itself were nearly stopped dead by another acronym, the single ATM left behind in Ralston when tile Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce closed its CFB Suffield outpost in July, 2000 and fled.

Armies of old marched on their stomachs; troops today march to the drummer of mort­gages, RRSPs and prompt bill payments. When CIBC retreated, 15 businesses in Ralston and 170 military fan1ilies were affected, as were hundreds of permanent and semi-permanent base troops, plus those periodic hordes of thousands of British soldiers.

The bank helpfully suggested that everyone simply shift their banldng business to its nearest branches in Red cliff or Medicine Hat, 50 km away.

BATUS wasn't pleased. Faced with inconve­nience, an enhanced sense of isolation for its people and the security problems of hauling huge cash payrolls around, the long-term viability of the whole BATUS/CFB Suffield rela­tionship was called into question.

If BATUS left, the economic loss would have been huge. The combined salaries of all base

staff are about $40 million a year. The base's annual operating budget is around S73 million, with $212 million spent on infrastructure in the past 12 years. The British families alone spend

almost Ssoo,ooo a month. Each time a battle group rumbles in, another $4 million-plus goes into the area. The topper - 90 percent of that is a direct infusion from United Kingdom coffers.

Back at CFB Suffield, the stream of sold iers was forced to trudge off to the CANEX, the mili­tary grocery store in Ralston, to line up at that

one lousy ATM. The military has a word for it:

chokepoint. Community Credit Union C EO Murray

Haubrich has another word for it: opportunity. "I think the militmy really didn't know

where to turn anymore," says Haubrich. "They

had gone to every other financial institution

and were turned down flat." Then, someone mentioned the Red Deer­

headquartered Community Credit Union.

"When I took it to our board, we saw an opportunity," says Haubrich. "We're a pretty successful credit union; this was an opportu­

nity for us to step up to the plate, a community initiative, and to show everybody that we really do care about the community and find innova­

tive ways to make stuff work." To avoid any potential operating loss,

Community wanted a 'top-up' fund provided

by the militaty in case the branch didn't garner normal levels of business and returns. (The fund hasn 't been touched.)

The only request from the military was that, subject to credit union and branch manager Jenine Corah 's approval, the other staff be

recruited from the British families , soldiers and upper echelon staff, who know the English way of life and could help ease new members

into the local scene. This has meant fairly regu­lar staff turnover, every 18 months or so, but Haubrich says "it's been a huge success from

our point of view as well." "I'm not sure how you talk about banks and

comp etitors in the rest of Canada but I can tell

you here in Alberta, what we say in our commu­nity anyway, is that they make it easy for us," chuckles Haubrich, who has an open invite to

go for a jounce in a Challenger 2 tank - the Brit

way of saying, "cheers." After taking over the former CIBC branch

and renovating it on the military's pence

and pounds (and with plans to expand), Community rolled in its own machinery­

twO A'l'Ms .

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 13

REG ION : PRAIRIE

LeRoy Agra- Pork Co-op LeRoy, Saskatchewan

The co-op principle has deep roots in Canada's flattest province. Saskatchewan has some 11300 co-ops in every sector. Together, they provide

jobs for 15,000 people, control S10 billion in

Each of the four barns built by the LeRoy Agra-Pork Co-operative houses 10,000 pigs.

annual business and, in 20041 represented

28 of the province's top 100 businesses.

Over in 450-s trongLeRoy, 240 km north of Regina, the co-op tradition is strong. When

three worrisome events rolled in, what would have crushed most communities instead trig­gered new opportunities, specifically the LeRoy

Agra-Pork Co-op.

In Saskatchewan, being small, farm-based and rural generally m eans declining popula­

tions and slow extinction. Early in 2001 in LeRoy, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool warned it would soon close the local grain elevator. There

was an ongoing drought and loss of the Crow

wheat pool, established an integrated fa rm­supply service for fertilizers, crop protection and seeds and created a business opportunity where

the corporate bean counters only saw failure. Within weeks of the fire, the commu­

nity formed LeRoy Agra-Pork, committed

The [NGC model] Is complicated and there really needs to

be champions who are prepared to work hard to tie all the

pieces together. LeRoy had that in a small, dedicated group

of individuals. • Warren Crossman, executive director, Saskatchewan Co- operative Association

Rate grain-transportation subsidy. The local hospital had closed, the curling and hockey

rinks were on the edge. Then came the fire at Stomp Pork Farm, the area's major employer. Stomp lost breeding stock and the town

lost jobs. But this is Saskatchewan. Where others

might fold, here you fight. The grain elevator?

The LeRoy-Watson Co-op bought it from the

$10 million to the venture and created Saskatchewan's first successful New

Generation Co-operative (NGC), the latest business model for farmers.

As part of a $40-million integrated pork

operation, LeRoy Agra-Pork employs 50 people and literally eats up 800,000 bushels of locally produced grain a year to fatten 130,000 hogs.

Along with other local initiatives, such as

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14 ENTERP RISE MAY 2006

the revitalization of the LeRoy Leisureland

Regional Park, golf course and swimming pool,

it turned the town around.

Big in the United States, but relatively

unknown in Canada, NGcs are designed to

up the long-term profitability of farm bus i­

nesses by adding value to their products. NGCs

share many features of traditional co-ops:

one member, one vote, return of surpluses to members based on patronage, democratically

elected boards. There are some differences:

higher levels of equity investment by members,

firm contracts setting out delivery rights and

obligations and membership limited to those

who purchase delivery rights.

For each of LeRoy Agra-Pork's 100 members,

this meant an immediate $20,000 payment

into the pot for a delivery-right share and 8 1000

bushels of feed grain per annum into the feed­

ing pens. "The model is compl icated and there

really needs to be champions who are prepared

to work hard to tie all the pieces together," says

Saskatchewan Co-operative Association execu­

tive director Warren Crossman. "LeRoy had

that in a small, dedicated group of individuals."

A win-win for everyone. For Stomp, the four

new 101000-head hog-fin ishing barns, owned

by the co-op, give it new room to grow without

incurring new capital costs. Co-op members

have a big partner to share the risk and access

to a secure, cheaper supply of local feed grain.

Local farmers have a guaranteed market and an

ongoing supply of high-quality organic fertilizer

(pig m anure) to reduce farm costs and depen­

dence on commercial fertilizers.

In LeRoy, economic stability rides high on

the hog.

That indomitable Prairies cooperative spirit.

As Goussaert notes, an ingrained sense of

community ownership and focus helps seed

unique opportun ities to provide viable and

s ustainable alternatives to traditional business

models. "Ultimately, this community-driven

approach is what makes co-ops work so well

on the Prairies." ~

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: ~CENTRAL • Jennifer Armour • Marni Smiley • Cindy Paterson • ~FORMS suPPLv Ph: (604) 421-0966 • Fax: (604) 421-7719 • Toll Free: 1-800-561-9952 (Canada wide)

email: sales@centralforms.com • web: www.centralforms.com

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MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 15

REGION: ONTARIO

16 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

HEARD IT ON THE RADIO Toronto radio is a marketing channel that offers tremendous exposure to credit unions,

but at significant cost. A handful of Toronto credit unions have taken to the airwaves in the

past few years, with varying success. by Laurie Stephens

IT'S 10 O'CLOCKonablustery Toronto night and you're safely tucked under your covers, ear cocked to a bit of evening radio on a favourite FM soft rock s tation. Just as you're about to nod off to sleep, a commercial catches your attention.

DUCA Financial Services is advertising its Flex Step-Up RSP, offering "flexibility and interest rates that get better every year," and encouraging consumers to "Come Bank With Us." The message is a no-nonsense, straight-up promotion of a timely financial product.

Listeners to Mix 99.9, Toronto's fifth-most popular radio station, would be forgiven if they believed DUCA was yet another bank, albeit a small player, in the heartland of the country's fiercely competitive financial services sector. But a careful second listen to the same

commercial about 12 hours later on the same station reveals DUCA to be "a credit union that puts its members first." It's a passing reference, book-ended by more prominent messaging that reinforces initial "bank" impressions.

DUCA's choice of brand positioning and its use of mainstream Toronto radio to deliver that message signify a step in a different direc­tion taken by most other credit unions in the Greater Toronto Area ( GTA), a geographic area that boasts a media-savvy consumer base of about 5.3 million people.

In contemplating how to crack a notoriously difficult market with limi ted marketing dollars, DUCA CEO Jack Vanderkooy has fi rm opinions on how best to market his $680-million, 33,000-member credit union and the products and services it provides. In his view, most consum-

ers in the Toronto market either have "no clue" what credit unions are or they believe in former truisms that you must belong to a labour union, a church or a certain company to take advantage of a credit union's services. What's worse, the two words: 'credit' and 'union' leave a negative impression in a marketplace that's generally conse1vative and anti-union.

"You really need to get over those barriers," says Vanderkooy. "We're in the banking busi­ness and we have no problem using that term. I think it has created clarity."

DUCA's decision to market its products rather than the credit union brand on mainstream radio reflects a conundrum many Toronto credit unions face in how to differentiate themselves from other financial se1vices providers.

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 17

REG ION : ONTARIO

COAST TO COAST RADIO

British Coh1mbli1 credit • nlona

ilTt the aclmowlndged leilders ln

the use of broaOc.Ht advertis-

ing. Province-wide television ltd

e41mpaigns, funded coOec:tively

by the members of Credlt Union

Centr1I of British Columbia. and

o rchestr1ted by a province- wide

communications committee, have

becin put of t he West Coast expe­

rience for mitre thaft io years.

The committee, h-evet, has

not conducted province-wide

radio itdvwrtlslng. lnste;id, It has

provided cred1l unions with th•

tools, such as radio scripn tied to

the latest adY«tiling campaign,

Current wisdom from Toronto's Teny O'Reilly, one of the country's foremost experts on radio marketing strategy, is that eve1y brand

needs an enemy, and credit unions do best by positioning themselves against the 'Big Bad Banks.' This strategy works best in regions

where credi t unions are seen as being on par with other financial se1vice providers.

But that's not the case in Toronto.

Statist ics show that while 15 percent of Ontarians belong to a credit union, credit union mem bership in centres outside of the GTA is significantly higher than the provin­cial average. In other words, the intensively

competitive Toronto financial services market

continues to be a drag on Ontario's credit union sector.

Combine that with no history of, or

plans for , any kind of comprehensive image campaign to build credit union awareness as has been done in other provinces and you are left with an environment in which Toronto­

based credit unions have to be creative and discriminating in their efforts to build their

business . Toronto radio is a marketing channel that

offers tremendous exposure, bu t a t significant cost. Only a handful of Toron to credit unions have taken the plunge in the past few years,

18 ENTERPRISE • MAY 2006

to purchow air time e n lonl s tit­

tions as they 1e1 fit.

UH of thne radio scripts I•

more common In mllfl<etl with

fewer credit unions competing

a g1hut uch other. In the more

conantrat-4 lowet' Mainland

market, however, uedlt unioN

prefer mort lndlvldual "H!S$agu

anti teAd to fecus on specific prod­

ucti;. Pronrinetlt radlo advertls~s

ln thi• gl'Dllp include Envision,

Coast C.pit.t Savings, Yancouver

City Suin1111n4 Gulf and Frner

Fi1twmnen'1 tl11'.rfrt unions.

S8- bnfion Coast Capititl Sr.1lngs,

uys 1bor.rt 30 to 35 percent ef

Coast Caplta1'1 media advertis­

ing Is Hdlo-baed. Ustenen are

teased with 1 product offering.

such 1s the no•fH chequlna

accouiat, to entke them te try

out tile uecllt 11nion. Once in ttMI

<redtt 1mion. staff has the oppor~

tunlty to CTUS5 sell other products

tlke mortgages, Farguson 11y1.

to $s.ooo to sponsor the news.,

weather or sports during the

morning drive- t ime 11lot from

7 AM to 8 AM l• winter. "W• ,et

lou of winter wuther •ut hen

and people are glu.d to the radio

1t t hat time ef the morning,"

lridge1 Uy$.

Th• uadit union doesn't git

1 lot of payback from in ratlio

adwrtmng, llut llridg&1 u ys It'•

Important to <lo It "Just to kae'

eur n11111e out there."

L.awri• Fergusol'I, 11nior

vice-president of marketing for

In Prince Edward Island, Daug

Bridges, m11ketlng officer for the

twD-li11nch Met,. Cradlt Union,

uses radio 1llverti1ln11 u a means

to raise general aw..-enus of the

credit union. He spends $.µ>oo

and they've used different strategies, with vary­ing success.

The O'Reilly approach is probably best exemplified by the highly successful advertis­ing cam paigns by British Columbia credit

unions in the 1990s that open ly mocked the Big Banks. The former Richmond Savings'

was attempting to woo. Unfortunately, not all

Ontario credit unions have done the same. Faced with uneven consumer experience

with credit unions, DUCA chose to compete on products a nd price with a straight-forward

message, what marketers call "category development." The ta rget is fi nancially savvy

Banking is not a humorous hmd of thing. It's an

image that we wanted to portray - that we're in

a serious business here and we're here to service

your financial needs. • Jack Vanderkooy, crn, DUCA Financial Services

"Humongous Banlc" advertising campaign, for

example, was ground-breaking in its approach and impact.

But this strategy doesn't necessarily work in

a tough market like Toronto, says Vanderkooy. "The problem with image advertising is you're only as good as your weakest party," he says,

pinpointing a key chink in the Ontario credit union system's armour.

Several years ago, DUCA realized it had

to upgrade a couple of its branches or face a credibility gap with the very consumers it

consumers who are first and foremost moti­vated by a good deal and then consider the bona fides of the financial services provider.

DUCA adopted this approach in its recent

RSP advertis ing campaign on Mix 99.9 and two other Toron to stations. The ads, which cost

DUCA $2710001 highlighted the product with a straight-forward message that piggy-backed on the business-like reputation of banks. "The

prima1y focus from the get-go was we d idn't want to put down the banks," says Vanderkooy.

"Banld ng is not a humorous kind of thing. It's

an image that we wanted to portray- that we're

in a serious business here and we're here to seivicc your financial needs."

A third strategy is a hybrid of the previous two, using different marketing vehicles to promote an individual credit union brand first, and, secondarily, its products and seivices. This is the approach that's being employed by S3.2-billion Meridian Credit Union, formed last year through the merger of GTA-based Hepcoe and Niagara credit unions.

Radio spots, local newspaper advertising, direct mail, billboards and ad mail arc all tools in the marketing arsenal of Rick Duncan, vice­president of brand development and commu­nications for the 43-branch credit union that covers a large portion of southern and central Ontario. "What we've worked really hard on is the brand voice," Duncan says. "And the brand voice for us is hopeful, caring and empathetic."

The brand doesn't include promoting Meridian as a credit union, however, Duncan acids. "Meridian is a different kind offinancial institution. It is not a credit union first, it's Meridian first."

The credit union promotes its current campaign - "Where Real People Build Lives" -on CHUM FM, Q107 FM, CFJ'R 680 and Mix 99.9 FM radio stations, which together boast 22 percent of Toronto listeners and reach half of Meridian's member base in the GTA and beyond. "I can't put 100 percent of my weight behind one radio station as I need the extra reach," Duncan says.

Meridian complements its radio campaigns with direct mail to members, unaddressed ad mail "geo-targeted" to potential members around its branches, advertising in community newspapers and an Internet presence. Each of these tactics supports the Meridian brand while promoting time-specific products and seivices; each is assiduously tracked for its efficiency and effectiveness.

Prior to becoming Meridian, HEPCOE was another credit union that used the Toronto airwaves to build its brand and business. Wendy Brennan, HEPCOE's former vice-president of marketing and public relations, mounted ambi­tious and creative radio campaigns that tried to overcome the limitations of the medium in a market like Toronto.

"The challenge, I think, for credit unions in the GTA is that you don'thave a lot of highly visible, prime retail locations to drive business into," says Brennan. "You reach of lot of people (through radio ads), but they don't see you on

every corner. You've got to drive them to a tele­phone number or the credit union website. From a brand perspective, these service channels are not key brand strengths of credit unions."

Brennan found that radio advertising was far more effective in smaller centres where credit unions are much more visible. A series of amusing HEPCOE radio ads in 2003 and 20041 featuring the distinctive 'HEPCOE Guy,' were very successful at boosting business for branches beyond the GTA.

The former Metro Credit Union, which merged with CS Co-Op in 2005 to form Alterna Savings Credit Union, has adopted a targeted approach to radio advertising in the GTA. Norman Ayuoub, senior vice-president, marketing and product development for the St.8 million credit union, likes 'bundling' tactics, for example, partnering with a media outlet during nsP season to deliver financial advice to listeners. This raises the credit union 's credibility as a source of financial advice.

From DUCA's perspective, it's thrilled to be part of an elite group of credit unions that has dared to crack a tough, expensive advertising market and experience success. The credit union has bought radio time since 2004 on 680 AM, but what appealed to Vanderkooy about Mix 99.9 was its younger demographic.

"We see the challenge ahead as attracting the younger members," he says.

Throughout an initial eight-week advertis­ing campaign in 20041 DUCA experienced a 15 percent increase in visits to its website. Search engine referrals to the credit union also went up 200 percent. While the credit union has not determined how many new members it gained as a result of the advertising, "the fact is, our business increased dramatically," says Vanderkooy. "It was quite a successful campaign."

Successful enough that the credit union is currently running another eight-week campaign on CHUM FM - complemented by community newspaper ads - reaching out to first-time home buyers.

"What happens with radio advertising, it puts you at the table," Vanclerkooy says.

"You'vejoined the big leagues." Vanderkooy is banking on it.

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SOLUTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 19

REGION: GLOBAL

First on the agenda for this fledgling charity is raising money to buy

food hampers for the AI DS patients of a South African home- care cooperative.

by Roberta Staley

ANGELS IN SOWETO PROJECT LAUNCHED UN ABLE T 0 suppress an overwhelm­ing sense of injustice and impotence, Marian Lucas-Jefferies, normally a cool and composed nurse, erupted into a rant aimed at no one or thing in particular, except, perhaps, cruel fate.

"I got into the truck and s tarted screaming and crying. It's just so wrong that people have to exist like this ," says Lucas-Jefferies, of Public Landing, New Brunswick.

It was 2004 and Lucas-Jefferies was in Soweto, South Africa, conducting a project eval­uation of the Soweto Home-Based Care Givers Co-operative on behalf of the Canadian Co-

20 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

operative Association ( ccA). Ottawa-based CCA

had been supporting the Soweto co-op, which provides care to Arns sufferers, s ince 2001 by paying its members ' salaries and providing training. Currently, CCA gives $139,000 over a two-year period to pay the wages of the 15 men and women who feed, bathe and administer medications to their charges.

The co-op was started in 1998 by a small group of women who had lost loved ones to AIDS. By 2004, the co-op had a clientele of 300 patients, including orphaned children , most living in horrific conditions in the South African

black township. Few of the patients came to them; rather, they were found by the co-op members, who !mew that AIDS sufferers often died in great pain in lonely, filthy surroundings, succumbing to starvation and opportunistic infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and cancer.

Lucas-] efferies was not only evaluating the program over a two-week period, but holding workshops on how to support people in the final stages oflife. Little did she realize that the desperation of those she saw would prove so overwhelming.

MAY 2006 21 . ENTERPRISE

REGION : GLOBAL

One client, Lucas-Jefferies relates, was a tiny stove was used for heating and cooking. specialist nurse. She applied the same auditing standards used in Canada to assess the home· care program in Soweto. The co-op scored above Bo percent; it compared favourably with care delivery in Canada, says Lucas-Jefferies.

"In three years, this group had gone from being illiterate and low skilled to operating their own

young woman with AIDS who had two pre-school There was no food, and neighbours were feed-children. Her home was a two-metre-wide piece ing the dying woman's two toddlers, one of of backyard sheltered from the elements by a whom was also stricken with AIDS.

corrugated steel roof spanning the outside wall of a house and the wall surrounding the prop­erty. This is a common arrangement in Soweto, where the poor rent a portion of someone 's

A Soweto home care member discovered the woman, who was too sick to sign up for social assistance. At the time of Lucas-Jefferies' visit, the co-op was trying to find a way to properly

The Soweto home care co-operative's success is being

touted as ground-breaking - a template that could be

re-created throughout the rest of Africa as a way to deal

with the overwhelming palliative care issues confronting

cooperative enterprise and providing signifi· cant care to people who were living and dying with the disease."

Lucas-Jefferies was a featured speaker at Credit Union Central of British Columbia's 2006 Annual General Meeting, held April 21- 22

in Vancouver. She related her Soweto experi­ences at the AGM, as part of a launch that has been dubbed the "Angels in Soweto" project, a Central-backed initiative to help raise money for desperately needed extras for the co·op's patients. The initiative is being adminis-

the continent. • Marian Lucas-Jefferies, Canadian Co-operative Association

back yard as a permanent domicile, creating shelter from scavenged plastic bags and pieces of tin and corrugated steel, tied together with rope.

The woman's third wall was blue tarpaulin ­there no fourth wall to enclose the makeshift structure. Thin blankets covered a bed, and a

Board Admin ••• ••• -

shelter and feed the suffering woman and her tiny offspring.

Lucas-Jefferies, 55, who is currently training to be an Anglican priest at the Atlantic School of Theology, has been a director of Co-op Atlantic, a community development worker with AIDS New Brunswick, and an addictions

tered by the ccA, which will take donations through its charitable arm, the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) and providing charitable receipts for tax purposes. A website, www.angelsinsoweto.ca, provides further infor­mation on the Soweto home care co-op as well

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22 ENTERPRISE · MAY 2006

as a link to ccA's website, www.cdfcanada.coop,

for those wanting to make a donation.

Erin Nelson, ccA's program officer, interna­

tional development unit, travels twice a year to

Soweto to monitor the co-op. Nelson supports

the creation of incremental objectives for the

Angels in Soweto project. The first objective,

recommends Nelson, is establishing a food

fund, since the co-op workers often dip into

their own pockets to buy food for their starving

or malnourished clients . The co-op needs food

parcels for 30 patients, consisting of mealy

mash, sugar, tea, canned fish, milk, peanut

butter, rice, sugar beans and fish oil. This

works out to R4777, or C DN $975, a month, or

just $11,700 a year, says Nelson.

The co-operative will be expanding this

year out of its current office in a metal cargo

holder. The Toronto-based Anglican charity,

the Primate's World Relief and Development

Fund, has allocated $96,000 to build a medical

clinic and community centre for the co-op. The

day clinic will have a full-time nurse and a part­

time doctor, who will administer to AIDS suffer­

ers who, unlike the co-op 's home-care patients,

are still capable of walking to the clinic for

medical care.

The new clinic needs office equipment,

from desks to computers and filing cabinets,

as well as day-hospital beds and other medi­

cal equipment. It is hoped that credit unions

will be able to assist with this funding as well,

Nelson says.

AIDS is modernity's most devastating

scourge, leaving in its wake 15 million

orphaned children in Africa alone, and more

than 45 million dead. The United Nations

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Affairs estimates that more than 80 million

Africans could die of AIDS by 2025. The Soweto

home care co-operative's success is being·

touted as ground-breaking- a template that

could be re-created throughout the rest of

Africa as a way to deal with the overwhelming

palliative care issues confronting the continent,

says Lucas-Jefferies. She hopes that Canadians

embrace the vision of this tiny but determined

group of cooperators. "This has moved from

being a job for them," says Lucas-Jefferies .

"It's their fight for freedom from AIDS." E

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MAY 20 0 6 • ENTERPRISE 23

National & Provincial Credit Union Assets*

(Dollars In billions)

Britl1h Columbia Alberta S11k1tchew1n Manitoba Ontario

Non-afflllated and calsses populalres Credit union system

Qdbec New Brunswick

Calsses populalres Credit union system

Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia Newfoundland and Labrador

National*

2005 2004 2003

32.3 29.0

9.8 9.0

9.0 8.6

9.1 8.3

7.3 7.0

14.2 13.0

78.8 73.0

2.0 1.9

0.9 1.0

0.6 0.6

1.3 1.3

0.5 0.5

J61.3 JSll.11

'SOURCE: Credit Union Central of Canada

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 n 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

M mber Ip BC Credit Unions at December 31, 2005 (unaudited) with comparable figures for 2004 {audited). Data reported as of March 31. 2006.

TOTAL ASSETS MEMBERSHIP

2005 2004 % Change 2005 2004 % Change

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union' $ 10,101,227,453 $ 9,026,765,317 11.90 330,305 320,742 2.98 Coast Capital Savings Credit Union 8,210,264,996 7,200,088,900 14.03 339,890 298,717 13.78 Envision Credit Union 2,406,070,175 2,119,300,547 13.53 78,795 81.734 -3.60 f'rospera Credit Union' 1,657,711,999 1,476,547,727 12.27 48,431 47,955 0.99 Interior Savings Credit Union 1,460,106,311 1.237,905,810 17.95 82,082 81,596 0.60 Westminster Savings Credit Union 1,313,197,732 1.191,066,711 10.25 51,119 50.593 1.04 Coastal Community Credit Union 1,255,552,377 1,187,956,566 5.69 82,741 82,391 0.42 North Shore Credit Union 1,206,870,844 1,120,730,004 7.69 36,468 36,851 -1.04 Valley First Credit Union 971,699,416 915,740,557 6.11 44,073 43,790 0.65 Island Savings Credit Union 875,390,659 773,705,670 13.14 37,870 36,724 3.12 Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union 751,538,667 689,814,829 8.95 28,802 28,787 0.05 Kootenay Savings Credit Union 597,319,755 564,055,557 5.90 39,822 39,566 0.65 Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union 345,630,872 322,962,367 7.02 18,045 19,138 -5.71 Aldergrove Credit Union 327,348,348 284,745,996 14.96 20,368 20,061 1.53 lntegris Credit Union 317,511,206 289,208,122 9.79 25,310 25,506 -0.77 Northern Savings Credit Union 314,046,236 279,960,614 12.18 15,767 16,516 -4.53 Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union 303,285,940 270,217,264 12.24 19,651 19,170 2.51 Sunshine Coast Credit Union 255,215,884 238,059,530 7.21 13,880 13,809 0.51 Community Savings Credit Union' 223,182,180 209,453,721 6.55 11,845 11,879 -0.29 Vernon and District Credit Union 186,112,936 152,488,341 22.05 10,012 9,705 3.16 Bulkley Valley Credit Union 181,375,894 171,621,662 5.68 13,266 13,124 1.08 Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union 180,706,644 169,565,512 6.57 9,951 10,037 -0.86 Lake View Credit Union 174,703,432 160,892,700 8.58 15,057 14,526 3.66 Sharons Credit Union 161,830,350 152,226,83 5 6.31 8,393 8,927 -5.98 Williams Lake and District Credit Union 152,990,237 140,852,755 8.62 11,242 11,373 - 1.15 North Peace Savings and Credit Union' 147,193,050 121,079,779 21.57 8,639 8,270 4.46 Greater Vancouver Community Credit Union 141,145,360 133,484,310 5.74 6,519 6,541 - 0.34 Summerland and District Credit Union 138,299,137 128,778,109 7.39 7,405 7,341 0.87 Nelson & District Credit Union 131,611,714 124,041,026 6.10 11,461 11,398 0.55 East Kootenay Community Credit Union 129,310,105 112,689,959 14.75 9,012 9,272 -2.80 Khalsa Credit Union 128,859,832 114,389,491 12.65 11,450 13,654 -16.14 Columbia Valley Credit Union 114,207,370 106,604,778 7.13 5,096 5,260 -3.12 Powell River Credit Union 112,845,465 112,172,300 0.60 6,283 6,142 2.30 Revelstoke Credit Union 93,440,548 87,103,636 7.28 4,720 4,731 -0.23 Osoyoos Credit Union 89,540,626 88.099,752 1.64 4,776 4,718 1.23 Castle gar Savings Credit Union 88,153,392 85,135,761 3.54 7,338 7,108 3.24 Ladysmith & District Credit Union 84,383,917 80.127,986 5.31 5,966 5,788 3.08 V.P. Credit Union 83,552,435 78,862,462 5.95 3,964 3,796 4.43 Creston and District Credit Union 79,953,799 75.786,680 5.50 5,473 5,412 1.13 Spruce Credit Union 79,591,078 74,071,835 7.45 7,490 7,295 2.67 Squamlsh Savings' 73,217,572 61,699,617 18.67 6,802 6,953 -2.17 Greater Victoria Savings Credit Union 59,297,062 56,126,984 5.65 5,533 5,626 - 1.65 Operating Engineers Credit Union 56,554,965 47,603,593 18.80 1,083 1,104 - 1.90 Terrace & District Credit Union 43,409,589 46,454,768 -6.56 3,938 4,193 -6.08 Union Bay Credit Union 43,203,943 43,188,317 0.04 3,763 3,745 0.48 Enderby and District Credit Union 37,851,836 35,738,476 5.91 4 ,709 4,706 0.06 Mt. Lehman Credit Union 36,085,678 34,925,188 3.32 1,852 1,859 - 0.38 Quadra Credit Union 29,676,155 29,431,720 0.83 3,570 3,541 0.82 CCEC Credit Union' 23,164,502 23,426,288 -1.12 3,024 2,764 9.41 Compensation Employees Credit Union 19,119,348 17,929,459 6.64 1,722 1,772 - 2.82 Cumberland & District Credit Union 17,440,902 16,695,046 4.47 1,948 1,895 2.80 Vancouver Firefighters Credit Union 11,791,083 12,254,885 -3.78 1,326 1,338 - 0.90 Arrow Credit Union 1,665,030 1,509,318 10.32 454 439 3.42

36,025,456,036 32,295,345,137 11.55 1,538,501 1,489,878 3.26

Mergers and Name Changes' Evergreen Savings Credit Union and Comox Valley Credit Union merged with Coastal Community Credit Union effective January 1, 2005.

Vil lage Credit Union merged with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union effective July 1, 2005.

• North Country Credit Union became lntegris Credit Union effective April 2 0, 2005.

• Squamish Credit Union merged with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union effective December 31, 2005.

1 Squamlsh Savings Is o Vancity Partner and operates as a business division of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union.

Total assets and membership of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union ore net of Squomish Savings' assets and membership.

Fiscal year-end September 30. 2004 figures have been adjusted for these mergers in order to accurately compare year-over-year changes.

Annual credit union patronage rebates take on many different forms aCrOSS the COUntry. by Laureen Griffin

26 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

MAY 20 0 6 · ENTERPRISE 27

EVERY SPRING, Michael Wagner, CEO

of Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union in the Shuswap region ofBritish Columbia, starts getting calls from local merchants. They want to know when the brightly coloured patron­age cheques will be mailed to Salmon Arm's members. The merchants then schedule their retail sales and promotions. This past March, Salmon Arm returned $3 million to its 20,000 members in patronage rebates, money that hit the local economy within 10 days. Between 30 and 40 percent of Salmon Arm's members will receive more than $500 because the rebate amounted to 25 percent of interest earned on deposits and a whopping 15.5 percent of inter­est paid on Joans and mortgages. A member with a $140,000 mortgage, S6,ooo in savings and an active chequing account would have received a rebate of just under $1,400. That same member could cover her next mortgage payment, buy new shoes for the kids and have dinner out with her honey.

Wagner says that his board has made a strategic commitment to returning the major­ity of the credit union's profits to its members so long as its capital adequacy ratio remains above 10.5 percent. As Salmon Arm's capital ratio has hovered around the 15 percent mark for more than a decade, the percentage of prof­its being returned has steadily increased. This year, that $3 million represented 75 percent of its pre-tax profit.

Patronage rebates are one of the primary points of distinction between credit unions and banks. All members become owners by purchasing a minimum number of shares. But it is dividends - rewarding ownership - and rebates - rewarding usage - that can make member-ownership tangible.

Dividends and rebates are not only consistent with the credit union philosophy of member ownership, but are a way to build member commitment and increase market share. Some credit unions view the payment of patronage dividends as a dominant trait that distinguishes them from banks. Others see it more as a recessive gene that adds colour - and a small but growing group of credit unions is engineering its extinction.

At Salmon Arm, the patronage rebate program is regarded as a successful marketing tool. "We know that five out of eveiy 10 people in the Shuswap do their primary banking with us," says Wagner. Seventy percent of Shuswap residents have at least one account with Salmon Arm, and the credit union provides half of all

28 ENTERPRISE • MAY 200 6

the mortgages in the area. While it's true that Salmon Arm is the only credit union in the area, Wagner believes that the patronage rebates are a major reason for such market domination. Wagner used toworkforBanlcofMontreal in the small town ofFernie, BC, and he remembers well the feeling of wanting "to get the hell out of Dodge" when Kootenay Savings Credit Union,

than $13 million in cash, split almost evenly between dividends and patronage rebates. Community's capital strategy calls for doubling the an1ount paid out to members by 2008.

"Until then, the amount returned will gradually grow, as long as we are increasing our capital and retained earnings. Roughly speaking, we want half of our income returned to members,

Dividends and rebates are not only consistent with

the credit union philosophy of member ownership, but

are a way to build member commitment and increase

market share.

which also has a generous rebate program, would announce its profit sharing. "As a banker, you just have no answer," Wagner chuckles.

There are many credit unions that should leave bankers speechless. For example, the Desjardins Group returned $408 million, or 37 percent of its $1.089 billion profit, to share­holders in 2005. Weyburn Credit Union, in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, distributed half of its before tax profits by giving out cheques in its branches over doughnuts and coffee, and Operating Engineers Credit Union, a closed­bond credit union in Burnaby, BC, returned 95 percent of its $1 million profit in 2005. Operating Engineers is in the unusual posi­tion of having far too much equity, according to general manager Don Stark. "Our capital adequacy ratio is between 47 and 48 percent, and our overhead is exceptionally low because it takes only four employees and one branch to serve our 1,100 members." The number of members may be small but they have hefty an1ounts in their share accounts. "We have lots of members with between $100,000 and $200,000 in shares," says Stark.

Sufficient capital is key to being able to pay patronage rebates and dividends that truly affect the lives of members. Until 2004, Community Credit Union, headquartered in Red Deer, Alberta, did what many credit unions did to build equity: patronage rebates and d ividends were paid in shares. Only five percent of those shares could be redeemed unless the credit union member moved out of the province or died. "It was veiy frustrat­ing for the member," says Murray Haubrich, president and CEO of Community, the seventh largest credit union in the country. This year, for the second year in a row, it returned more

20 percent to go to taxes and 30 percent to retained earnings," says Haubrich. With 110,000 members, Community uses a relatively complicated formula engineered to reward its most Joyal members. Bonuses paid on interest earned, interest paid and a 15 percent rebate on service charges are just the start of the calculation. That amount is then raised or lowered depending on the number of products a member has with Community. To earn the full amount, a member must have at least three products. "A typical member with a mortgage, loan, MasterCard and RRSPs earned an average payout of $900. If the member had just one more account, that average payout would have been $11200," says Haubrich. "It's the way credit unions should operate."

Many credit unions have built up their equity and are eager to share the profits with members. It's not just a good marketing tool, it's tax advantageous to the credit union. Sunshine Coast Credit Union in BC started paying regular patronage rebates in 2003, in large part to reduce its taxes, says Dale Eichar, Sunshine Coast's CEO. Because patronage rebates and equity share dividends can be paid from pre-tax earnings, those programs can save credit unions a sizeable amount in taxes. Eichar also notes, however, that it can be "sticky" to promote the dividend and rebate advantage to non-members. "We gave back more than $7001000 this year, and made an announce­ment in the paper, but you can't promise that you will do the same thing next year."

Under a program called Shared Success, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union gave $8.6 million back to its members in dividends and rebates for 2005. This amount represented 10.7 percent of pretax profit, yet it is not seen as

a way to entice new members to join. "It's the cream on the top, a way of engaging and thank­ing members," says Ray Comeau, manager of segment marketing at Vancity. Although some members may earn thousands of dollars, Comeau likens it to the way credit cards market travel points. "They talk about the advantage of using the card without specifying that you need to charge $60,000 on your card to get a free flight from Vancouver to Calgary." To make a bigger impression, Van city gives nearly as much in donations as it does in rebates and dividends. Last year, it gave $6.3 million to community projects, including its annual $1 million Vancity award, where members choose a worthy winner.

After several large mergers, Surrey, BC's Coast Capital Savings Credit Union had to decide on which rebate and dividend plan of its constituent credit unions to retain. After consultation with members, it scrapped the whole thing. "We were refunding millions in dividends, and the majority of our members were not even aware of it," says Bill Well burn, chair of Coast Capital Savings. Now the credit union splits its earnings between community donations and retained earnings.

"We ended up with a relatively large organization that wasn't capitalized as well as it should be," says Well burn. By donating S4. 7 million or 10 percent of its after-tax profit, Well burn says that it can make six-figure dona­tions to a number of projects and truly make a difference in the community. Wellburn also cites Coast Capital's no-fee chequing account and no-hassle mortgages as up-front advan­tages for members. "Every member gets our best rate, the fa ir rate," he says.

Some larger credit unions across the coun­try are turning away from rebates to give what Glenn Friesen, CEO of Manitoba's Steinbach Credit Union, calls "a bonus every day. We gave patronage rebates for 25 years," Friesen says, "and on d1at one day of the year we might get press coverage if it was a slow media day." Starting this past February, Steinbach increased its savings rates by 25 basis points.

"Members prefer getting the better rate up front instead of the lower rate with the possibility ofa bonus later," says Friesen.

Patronage rebates and dividends are a time-honoured credit union tradition. But as with all traditions, each credit union has its own formula for rewarding members for their patronage. E

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MAY 2006 • ENTERPRISE 29

Wayne Nygren with his long-time executive assistant Denise McDermott, who is also retiring from BC Central.

ENTERPRISE • MAY 2006

Credit Union Central of British Columbia's CEO

Wayne Nygren is retiring after 20 years of growing

the province's credit union system - and earning

respect and accolades along the way.

by Richard Littlemore • photography by Dina Goldstein

MAY 200 6 · ENTERP RISE 31

FEW PEOPLE would offer the day they were fired as a defining moment. In most lives, such events are dark, personal and, therefore, banished as soon as possible from

• conscious memory.

-Even in the case at hand - in the 1985 dismissal ofWayne Nygren as Chief Financial Officer ofBC Central Credit Union - the actual day was no pleasure. "Self-pity overwhelms you," Nygren says now. "It was one of the most trau­matic days of my life."

But here's the important bit: "It changed the whole way that I viewed the world. I realized (in the days that followed) that I would never again be in a position where everything I had worked for could be taken away in 15 minutes." Nygren turned to his family and his faith and he said: "That's what's going to drive my life.

"It gave me a whole new attitude. After that, I wasn't afraid to make decisions or to try new things."

As it turned out, it wasn't long before he had a chance to try the next "new thing." Within three months, the chairperson of Central's

32 ENTERPRISE · MAY 2006

board of directors, George Viereck, was knock­ing at the door. The board had sacked the man who had fired Nygren and they wanted to offer Nygren his job. It was an easy decision.

The only problem with that story, as an introduction to the nature and character of the outgoing President and CEO of Credit Union Central of British Columbia, is that it might suggest that Wayne Nygren was once tentative or indecisive. The record shows anything but.

Nygren was born on March 251 1945 in Springside, Saskatchewan, a town of 800 a little north and west ofYorkton. He was raised in the

"boot camp" run by his schoolteacher mother, an environment in which "if you played by the rules, you got a lot of freedom." He is the eldest of three children and learned early the burden of responsibility. His fa ther, who had often

worked away from home in any case, died of a heart attack when Nygren was just 16.

The young Nygren was "not a good student ­there were no serious thoughts in my head growing up." But he was an accomplished jock; he played hockey, football and baseball, and only missed basketball because Springside wasn't big enough to have a gymnasium. All sports were outdoors. Nygren remembers fondly the day, in 19591 when they got the first snow blower for the ice rink (not a Zamboni, but a snow blower). Up to that point, the Springside hockey team had suffered a home­ice disadvantage: they had to show up to the rink early and clear off all the snow before they could play, so they were always tired when they started their home games.

When he graduated from high school, Nygren could imagine just two options: he

Wayne Nygren, with four-year­

old grandson Lukas Frers, on his Harley Davidson.

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 33

-could go build dams for Saskatchewan Power, or he could answer the ad for tellers at the Royal Bank in Yorkton. He chose banking as the lesser of two evils and embarked on a five­year flurry as a management trainee, moving to a new town every six months - Lanigan, Viscount, Craik - eventually landing in Calgary in 1968. Aged 23 1 he was the Royal Bank's youngest branch manager.

But, at $710 00 a year, he was not the best­paid. He wasn't even the highest-earning employee in his own branch. Clearing the payroll one Friday, he d iscovered that one of his six staff members was earning $71600.

When Nygren queried this inequity, the folks in head office explained that university gradu­ates earn a premium and that this particular employee had an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. Nygren hung up the phone

34 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

(left} Ten-year- old Wayne attended a one-room schoolhouse in Springside, Sask., where his mother, Frieda Nygren, was his teacher.

(right) Wayne graduated with an economics degree from the University of Calgary in 1971.

and called the University of Calgary. He signed up for economics, quit his job without notice and started back to school the very next Monday morning. Betty, the girl from Ebenezer who Nygren had met in high school and married the year before, took this as an opportunity to be supportive.

It's clear that if Nygren was an indifferent student in high school, he was a distinguished talent in university. After he graduated in 19711

the Bank of Canada added him to a staff of junior economists that included futu re gover­nors John Crowe and Gordon Thiessen and Fraser Institute founder Michael Walker.

There fo llowed years of fascination and frustration. It was thrilling to argue economic policy with some of the finest minds in the country. And it was engrossing to see, from such a perfect vantage point, how the economy

worked - to learn about interest rates, equities and foreign exchanges and about how each element integrated into the whole. But the bureaucracy was hidebound and hierarchical. All decisions were made by committee and there was no outlet for an entrepreneurial spi rit.

Restless and eager to return to the West, Nygren took a position in Regina in 1975 at Credit Union Central of Saskatchewan as the director of loss prevention services and, in seven short yea rs, was offered a vice-president position.

That's when Don Sherritt came look-ing. Sherritt is a headhunter with Western Management Consultants. He was trying to fill the position of CFO at BC Central and, he says,

"Wayne had the right mix of experience, senior­ity and values." He also was "a straight arrow," exhibiting qualities that were easy to like, even

When he graduated from high school, Nygren could

imagine just two options: he could go build dams for

Saskatchewan Power, or he could answer the ad for

tellers at the Royal Banh in Yorhton. Aged 23, he was

the Royal Bank's youngest branch manager.

if they were hard to define. Sherritt convinced Nygren to come west, if only to take a meeting with then-BC Central chief executive officer, Peter Podovinikoff.

It wasn't so much a meeting as a test of nerves, Podovinikoff says today. He picked Nygren up at Vancouver International Airport and proceeded, at speeds not entirely in accord with legal limits, to Chilliwack, where he was late for an appearan ce at a Rotary Club luncheon. "We just ta lked, and I immediately thought, 'this is who I want.' Wayn e was open, sincere and knowledgeable. He knew about the credit union system, the Bank of Canada and the chartered banking system. Who could be better?" Podovin ikoff immediately offered Nygren the job and says, "It's the best thing I ever did."

It was, however, a tense time at BC Central. Although the big urban credit unions had most of the members, and were paying most of the dues, small credit unions had control of the board of directors and a growing rift between large and small was threatening Central 's effectiveness. When Podovin ikoff resigned at the end of 1983, he recommended Nygren as his successor. The board instead recruited James Thomson of the Workers Compensation Board of Alberta to be CEO. Fourteen months later, Thomson fired Nygren.

Controversy raged over Nygren's dismissal and, when he returned eigh t weeks later, it was as Thomson 's replacement as CEO. But, prior to his return, Nygren ensured that he had the board's commitment to the land-mark Nanoose Accord, which restructured control of Central , while better balancing the com pet-

ing interests of its member credit unions. The accord introduced full proportional voting based on membership, provided for the equal­ization of share investments in Central by 1991, removed the ceiling on dues assessments and guaranteed s tandard liqu idity deposit rates and service charges on clearings, irrespective of volumes.

"It wasn'tj us t about the politics," Nygren says now. "It was about culture and values. The accord protected everyone's rights and needs. It meant that, regardless of the size of your credit union or the size of your account, every member is as important as every other member."

Although clearly delighted with the result, Nygren is inclined to shuck off much of the credit for the Na noose Accord, pointing out that others were responsible for the negotia-

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 35

It's a great accolade when you can say people are

good at what they do, but even greater praise when

you can say that they have enhanced the community

that gave them a living - and Wayne Nygren has

done that in spades. ~ Grace McCarthy

-tions; he wasjusthappy to take charge of imple­mentation. But Podovinikoff says Nygren has less room for modesty. In bringing a permanent peace to Central 's operations, "he did what none ofus before him was able to do," Podovinikoff says. "It was a remarkable contribution."

Nygren admits that, with the new accord in place, "the system took off." Central's assets, which were just over $1 billion in 19851 are now $4. 7 billion, and Central is now the banker for the Province ofBritish Columbia; it is the only instance in Canada in which a credit union central fills that role. BC Central has also become a national provider of Member­Direct, offering Internet banking and advanced e-commerce option s to 320 credit unions across the country.

While the credit union system was thriv­ing under his guidan ce, Nygren has somehow

36 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

also found time to mal<e a big impression as a community activist and volunteer. "I think Wayne first came to public attention when he took on the United Nations pavilion at Expo '86 as deputy commissioner," says then-cabinet­minister-in-charge Grace McCarthy. It was a "Herculean effort" and a huge success, McCarthy says.

McCarthy has also followed Nygren's good works in other organizations, through the Vancouver Board of Trade, the Business Council of British Columbia, as an adviser to the Vancouver Port Authority, an Honorary Patron of the BC Schizophrenia Society, a trustee of the Sports Hall of Fame, a director of the BC Lions Football Club, a governor of Trinity Western University and a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, on which McCarthy herself also served for 30 years.

"People call on Wayne because he is low key and extremely friendly and helpful," McCarthy says, adding, "You never find yourself refused when you ask for his help."

Nygren is also "well-known, well-respected and well-travelled" in the BC business commu­nity, says Vancouver Board of Trade President and CEO (that's ChiefEngagementOfficer) Darcy Rezac. Nygren was chair of the board of trade in 1995- 1996 and had the pleasure of presiding over the lunch at which then-Finance Minister Paul Martin came to Vancouver to stop the board's 'Debt Clock' - the 15-ft.-wide, nine-ft.-high counting monster that so effec­tively illustrated the effect of the country's mounting debt. But Rezac says the biggest issue of the day was probably the business community's strained relations with the NDP provincial government of Mike Harcourt and,

(L to R} BC fishing guide Fred Helmer. Wayne Nygren, and fishing buddies Mark Andrew, general manager of the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver and Richard Thomas. BC Central 's vice-president of trade services and corporate secretary.

later, Glen Clark. "Wayne's good relations with the government gave us access, even if it didn't give us influ ence," Rezac says.

Clark himself disputes the latter comment. Now an executive vice-president with the Jim Pattison Group, the former premier says that Nygren - and BC Central -were enormously influential within the halls of government. It was partly because Clark always found Nygren to be "a stand-up guy." But it was also because of the quality of advice and analysis that govern­ment learned to expect from the credit union system. During the 1990s, for example, Clark says the credit union's forecasts were consis­tently more accurate in BC than those offered by any of the big banks.

That, says Nygren, is because "we're on the ground here." No matter how aggressively the banks try to source information in BC, "there

are 40 communities in this province where credit unions are the only game in town. That gives us phenomenal intelligence on what drives the economy."

The upshot is that Nygren, now 61, is retiring from BC Central on a high note. A self­proclaimed fan of Kenny Roger's lyrics, "Ya gotta know when to hold 'em; know when to fo ld 'em," Nygren says the time is right for him to "walkaway."

Does that mean he's job hunting? "No, but I'll be doing something," he says. For starters, he plans to spend more time golfing, more time riding his Harley Davidson Road King Classic and a lot more time with his two grand­children.

Longtime friend and TCG International (Speedy Auto Glass) CEO Al Skidmore says he also expects to see Nygren continue to take a

prominent role in community life. Skidmore says that whi le Nygren "made it in the secular world, he has always stood by his values, always stood up for his family and his friends. He's just a very supportive guy, very ethical and honest. That's what's always been most important."

Or, as Grace McCarthy says, "It's a great accolade when you can say people are good at what they do, but even greater praise when you can say that they have enhanced the commu­nity that gave them a living- and Wayne Nygren has done that in spades."

MAY 2006 ENTERPRI SE 37

I

38 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

IN RETROSPECT,Iwasa fathead. Face pressed into the computer screen at

a freebie Internet cafe in Hong Kong, tapping out emails, I was oblivious to my surroundings, let alone my carry-all computer bag at my feet.

spoofing or 'phishing,' designed to spook the unwary into disclosing private information.

Months later I'm still monitoring all my online financial transaction records: chequing and savings accounts, credit card and, so far, so good.

I was lucky; the financial and personal losses were contained - I hope.

Other Canadians haven't been so lucky.

of 1,400 to 1,800 Canadian ID theft complaints a month, most from Ontario.

The RCMP describes identity theft as stealing or hijacking the identity of another person -or in some cases a business - thus providing an effective means to commit other crimes.

When someone gets bilked, that person's bank, credit union or insurance company will likely take a hit as well. And the hi ts are getting

When I finally looked down, the bag was gone, along with passport, airline ticket, laptop computer (containing years of work), extra cash and assorted papers. It had literally walked out the door, scooped by an opportunistic thief wait­ing for thegwailo nitwit's inattention.

The next few days were bad. And, adding insult to injury, weeks later and back in Canada, I was getting odd overseas emails from 'myselP - someone using my name -with provocative subject line and armed with suspicious attachments.

The advice we give credit unions to pass on to their

members, is 'protect your identity. Be very careful to

protect PIN and social insurance numbers. People can

and do - take advantage of them to create a separate I lil<e to think I'm not a total idiot; the

emails were killed immediately. Next, I received an emailed letter purporting to be from eBay, complete with logo, sternly warning that unless I re-entered and confirmed my ID info within 24 h ours, I would lose my account. No legit company, bank or whatever ever makes such

identity f Or themselves. • Art Chamberlain, spokesperson, Credit Union Central of Canada

In 2002, the RCMP received 8,187 ID- theft complaints worth $11.7 million; in 2003,

the latest figures available, there were 13 ,359

reported thefts with losses doubling to a demand online. It was someone's attempt at what the identity-theft experts call brand-

$21.6 million. Major Canadian credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion reported a total

OTHER FRAUDS

Are you worried that a member

might submit a bogus 10- theft

claim? Unlikely, says Dan Heaman,

the fraud report. When there is a

problem, often it's where a teen­

aged family member gets hold

manager of risk management, of Mum or Dad's credit card and

Credit Union Central of Brit ish (briefly) goes to town.

Columbia. "It's pretty uncommon. If anything, Heaman worries

I'm not aware of very many cases more about members who trust

where we have serious disputes too much in others.

with members," Heaman says. He refers, for example, to a

If there is a claim, Heaman member sell ing a big-ticket item

looks at t he member's buying pat- on line and who then receives an

terns, time and place of the credit- out-of- province cheque in pay-

card purchases and then "goes ment at far more than the selling

on gut instinct" when assessing price. Along with the cheque,

40 ENTERPRISE · MAY 2006

comes a hard- luck story asking

that the trusting member deposit

t he cheque in his or her account ,

keep 10 percent of the excess fo r

the trouble, and transfer the rest

to an overseas bank.

Of course, t he 'payment'

cheque is bogus, but by then the

real money has gone . This varia­

tion on the Nige rian letter scam

shouldn't work, but as PT Barnum

noted, "there 's a sucker born

every minute."

bigger. Or as Dan Heanrnn, manager, risk man agement of Credit Union Central of British Columbia notes, changes to existing laws put a greater onus on financial ins titutions to get involved in the mess. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Credit Card Se1vices and various levels of government are getting behind the little guy or gal.

Before, the consumer had to prove that he or she had been truly robbed, that their ID,

credit cards or whatever had truly been stolen and that subsequent purchases were made by the thieves. That's changed, says Heaman:

"The onus is no longer on the consumer to prove, 'It wasn't me.' The financial institution's thing- 'we're not going to reimburse you until you can clearly prove to us it wasn't you•, is not the case now. It's been flipped around."

Although credit union members are as vulnerable as anyone to outside fraudsters, few credit unions expect that a member will attempt to scam the system by making a sudden, huge credit card purchase and then claiming identify theft. Credit unions, by

nature and design, are bui lt on loyalty and a feeling of 'ownership;' it's highly unlikely that a long-time member is about to mess about with what he or she feels belongs to them.

Then again, detecting such a lie wouldn't be easy. "It's vety difficult," muses Heaman.

"You're relying largely on the information provided by the member and there are no hard and fast rules." But there is common sense; any smart financial institution keeps a short leash on new, unknown customers, increasing the credit level as the client builds up a history. "So people they don't know, who may be susceptible to fraudulent acts, aren't given much latitude to create a potential problem," adds Heaman.

But for honest fo lk, the problems a re getting worse.

Based upon studies out of the United States, ID-theft victims now spend on average 600

frantic hours - the equivalent of 15 work weeks -making contact with the creditors and chasing down a nd plugging the holes. Three years ago the average was 175 hours. In many cases these victims are treated with suspicion, reluctance and disbelief by the companies against which the fraud has been perpetrated.

Other organizations are getting proactive. For example, the British Columbia

Automobile Association introduced identity­theft insurance this year as an addition to members' homeowner policies; the S40 rider covers up to $ 10,000 of financial loss, plus the time and expenses needed to repair it: long­distance calls, notary fees, registered mail and the like.

"The advice we give credit unions to pass on to their members is 'protect your identity,"' says Art Chamberlain, spokesperson for Credit Union Central of Canada. "Be very careful to protect PIN and social insurance numbers. People can-and do - take advantage of them to create a separate identity for themselves."

Canadian Central strongly recommends that credit unions link their websites to the Working Group of the Consumer Measures

Committee (CMC). An intergovernmental collaboration of public and private-sector stakeholders, includ ing Canadian Central and the Canadian Bankers Association, the CMC offers a comprehensive ID-theft toolbox for businesses and consumers.

The Consumer Identity Theft Kit puts 'structure' into the shock and suggests ways to prevent it in the first place. The Business Identity Theft Kit teaches business owners how to safeguard customers' personal information, reduce risks, protect data and what action to take if a thief strikes. Should the worst happen, it provides response plans with advice on how to inform your customers that, oops, a breach has occurred and what's being done to staunch it. Follow-up investigation, strategies, whom to contact and what to do - it's all covered.

Another useful online source is the Safe Canada, Financial Safety section, a treasure trove of information on safety issues, provin­cial and federal contacts, and how individuals and businesses can protect themselves. As well , PhoneBusters makes recommendations in combating rn theft.

Another excellent pool is CUSource, the national credit union knowledge network, which, notes Heaman, has produced a series of web casts to credit unions covering updates on and new requirements for consumer protection.

Core advice: help your members become vigilant. Protect their records, assume the bad guys arc out to steal their 'face' and make bloody merry with it. It doesn't tal<e much, a few pieces of choice information can wrinkle out more info to build a monstrous doppel­ganger, a Frankenstein's monster that on the outside, can look like you, me or any of your members.

Watch out for them. Oh, and by the way, if you ever spot one

lurching by with my computer bag, p lease let me know.

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Office Affairs

42 ENTERPRISE • MAY 2006

How to Lose a Promotion • in 2.0 Days L1r Too-casual or boorish mannerisms might not only scandalize

colleagues but put the kibosh on corporate advancement.

by Laureen Griffin

A N Y 0 N E W H 0 has ever watched a luncheon

companion mash bright green peas into a grey

pulp while discussing his ingrown toe nail opera­

tion knows that manners are important. Yet while

some people can remember, before ordering, that

they slurp spaghetti and then bleed sauce from

the mouth, many feel that it is perfectly accept­

able to grab the first seat available at the annual

Christmas party and get a head start on the bread

before anyone else is seated. It's not.

For a long time, the word 'manners' made

people wrinkle their noses and roll their eyes, two

not-very polite gestures. Manners. it was said,

were a form of class hypocrisy: people who knew

the right fork to use were the quickest to stab

you in the back with it. The new style is more

genuine and relaxed, but don't be fooled into

thinking that there aren't rules or that people

don't notice when those rules are f louted.

Because personal service is a characteristic

that many credit unions use to distinguish them­

selves from their competitors, most hire employ­

ees who have a grasp on the rudiments of good

behaviour. Classes in member service reinforce

the importance of eye contact, smiling, saying

"hello" and "thank you." Employees are trained to

soothe the impatient member and to hustle the

whiner into the manager's office on the double.

It's when business and social situations mix that

many realize their etiquette knowledge is shaky.

In particular, it's the hand and the nose that

many people worry about when dealing with

members or attending meetings. Not knowing

when and how to shake hands can make some

look like they are doing a weird new dance that

consists of repeatedly extending and retracting

their arm. While it's awkward for front-line staff

behind a counter to shake hands with members.

loan officers, financial advisers and managers

should certainly extend their arms and keep

them extended at the beginning and end of

meetings with members. Spaghetti fingers and

bone-crushing clasps are both verboten. Talcum

powder can dry out sweaty hands, otherwise

too disgusting to touch. It's considered polite to

stand and shake hands at small meetings with

people you haven't previously met.

Of course everyone has met a nose picker.

Years later. one witness vividly recalls such an

encounter: "The executive really dug in there and

the detritus was falling on to the table and the

guy was complet ely unflustered. He just swept

his pickings onto the floor." Touching any part

of the face, especially the nose. is not polite. But

we all get colds and feel compelled to attend

work even when most of our colleagues wish we

hadn't. No matter how bad the cold. nose honk­

ing is a definite no-no except in the washroom.

"If you must blow your nose, do it gently and turn

away from your companions," says Pamela Bedour,

founder and director of the Protocol School of

Ontario in Zurich. If at all possible, just dab gently,

holding t he tissue in the left hand and disposing

of it quickly but discreetly, she advises. Although

many people are germ phobic, Bedour says that

you should still stretch out your hand, even when

you have a cold. If someone seems unwilling to

take your hand, unobtrusively withdraw it.

Introductions can also be tricky. Members

are the most important people in the credit

union. So if the CEO drops by while you are creat­

ing a $20 account for a teenager, you say the

teenager's name first in presenting the CEO to t he

adolescent. It can be even trickier to introduce

your spouse to the CEO. In a business situation,

the CEO is the big cheese, so you present your

mate to your boss. But if you run into each

other at the movies, the introduction is reversed,

reflecting your partner's importance to your life.

Introductions should include the person's full

name and some snippets of information t o get

the conversation started. Don't blush if you can

remember flubbing an introduction. All etiquette

experts agree that it's more important just to

make the introduction than to get the order right.

Cell phone and email etiquette is still evolv­

ing. Bedour says that many offices are asking

employees to turn off their cell phones during

office hours because all the original ringing songs

and beeps are driving people batty. Certainly, cell

phones should be turned off at all meetings, and

don't think that text messaging is acceptable

there either, because it's not. Politeness dictates

that your full attention be focused on the people

in the room. Bedour says that people continue to

GOOD MANNERS ARE ABOUT SHOWING CARE,

CONSIDERATION AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS.

• Karen Mallett, co-founder and managing partner,

In Good Company

speak louder than necessary on their cells, an act

that's both rude and disruptive. She advises her

clients to use standard business style in introduc­

tory emails, including a salutation, introductory

and body paragraphs and appropriate closing.

Subsequent emails, she says, can be more infor­

mal. But never, ever use Internet abbreviations or

symbols. "You should get that loan somewhere

else, IMHO" just fails the courtesy test.

"Good manners are about showing care,

consideration and respect for others," says Karen

Mallett, co-founder and managing partner of

In Good Company. Although Mallett stresses that

manners are "not about the fork," she knows

t hat many people are embarrassed by t heir t able

manners. Mallett and her partner, Lewena Bayer,

known as "the etiquette ladies," are headquar­

tered in Winnipeg but travel the country teaching

business people proper etiquette. Their most

popular course is on table manners.

Imagine the etiquette challenge for the young

loan officer at an annual awards night. Beneath

his navy suit. he wears a credit union T- shirt, and

his accessories include three earrings in the credit

union colours. Uninvited, he sits at the cEO's

table, immediately harpooning a roll from across

THE NEW STYLE IS MORE GENUINE AND RELAXED,

BUT DON'T BE FOOLED INTO THINKING THAT THERE

AREN'T RULES OR THAT PEOPLE DON'T NOTICE WHEN

THOSE RULES ARE FLOUTED.

the t able with a knife. He uses the bread plate t o

his right to spread butter lavishly on both halves

of the roll, eats his salad with the fish fork, and

sneezes into his napkin. He bores his neighbour

to tears with a recitation of all his recent accom­

plishments, but he never learns a thing about her.

He finishes his meal before everyone else at the

table is served, leaving him time t o stretch and

burp before dessert. When the chocolate sorbet

with candied kumquats arrives, he points to the

small orange frui t s and asks, "What the heck

are these?"

While the loan officer is nursing his hangover

the next day, it is certain that his bosses are

discussing his behaviour. In those conversations,

someone surely remembers that he is a hard

worker. bright and tremendously enthusiastic. But

one of those bosses will have to summon mana­

gerial courage and have a very uncomfortable

conversation wit h him. "You can't just telephone

or email some behaviour suggestions; you have

to have a face-to-face conversation, and the

manager will feel horrible during and after it,"

says Mallett. "But it must be done."

Will the loan officer's behaviour threaten his

career? It depends on his ability to heed h is man­

ager's advice and pick up the cues raining down

on him. His fashion miscues could be rectified

by a careful look at what his bosses are wearing,

and his over-the-top boosterism will mellow into

something calmer and more acceptable with age.

Improving his table manners will require a little

studying. and, in his case. a lot of practice. To

become truly mannerly, the most important thing

he can do is learn to listen.

MAY 2006 ENTERPRISE 43

Office Affairs

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Leasing made ll possible to save lives and property.

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44 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

Bette Sterling, senior vice-president of human resources and internal communications at Prospera Credit Union in Abbotsford, British Columbia, interviews many potential executives over lunch and uses that opportunity to find out how mannerly they are. The most common error she finds is inattentiveness. "People who don't listen can't ask an appropriate question or form an opinion," Sterling says.

At Prospera, all employees are expected to treat members as they would invited guests in t heir own homes. Members, early for an appoint­ment or meeting with a financial adviser, are offered drinks and an array of fresh snacks on a silver tray. To help its employees to be comfort­able with members in every situation, Prospera

MANNERS CERTAINLY PLAY IN ANY PROMOTION

DECISION. IF YOU CAN'T LEAVE SOMEONE ALONE IN A

SOCIAL SITUATION ... THEN THAT PERSON IS PROBABLY

NOT GOING TOO FAR. • Dave Craigen, CEO,

Powell River Credit Union, BC

has two mandatory etiquette courses. One focuses on the member while the second covers business etiquette, including introductions. handshakes, business card protocol, the art of small talk, meal etiquette and global protocol.

But even with such good training, Sterling says it's easy for people to forget the bare essentials like "please" and "thank-you" in the demands of a busy day. "Sometimes people just think it's faster to omit those niceties. but honey is far more effective than directives," she says.

Although most credit union managers are tolerant of small lapses in manners, it is likely that a boor will have an executive chair whisked out from behind him. "Manners certainly play in any promotion decision," says Dave Craigen, CEO

of Powell River Credit Union in BC. "If you can't leave someone alone in a social situation and know he or she will do the right thing, then that person is probably not going too far."

For far too many people, manners are like fo rmal clothes t hat are dragged out for use at weddings and funerals and company functions. The truth is that it can be deadly - at least in a professional sense - not to use them everyday, just like toothpaste and deodorant.

When people are sure of their manners, they have the possibility of developing true civility, someone who is genuinely genteel, open and honest, who always has time for others, treats them with dignity and respect, smiles and makes others feel good. Oh, for a proper introduction to this person.

(

6 SAINT MARY'S ,, w UNIVERSITY ~INC[ IWl

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Marketing Maven

Hello, Hello, Anybody Out There? Hello? Radio is the perfect medium to connect listeners to your

credit union brand. by Diane Luckow

CATCHING THE EAR of your members is no easy feat. There is the gut feeling that people aren't listening to radio much; that they're downloading music onto iPods inst ead and tuning in to new communications media, like podcast s and biogs.

So is the advertising audience disappearing? Ron Bremner, a vice-president with BBM Canada, which pro­

vides audience measurement estimates for radio and t elevision in Canada, says no, not rea lly. However, it is becoming more diff icult to measure listening habits as people receive radio signals on different platforms, such as Internet and satellite radio.

With so many ways to consume information and music. Bremner acknowledges that it's challenging for measurement bureaus to keep pace. And it's challenging for marketers to know where to place their message and how best to present it.

Rob Tarry. an associate creative director and writer with Rethink Advertising in Vancouver, says that for credit unions to get noticed, particularly in cluttered radio markets like Toronto, the solution is to ri se above the competition by being as creative and unique as pos­sible, even when the urge is to "amp it up and turn the shout up."

Another key point for credit unions is t o "speak intelligently and respect the listener," Tarry says. And, since so many radio listeners are dialling in news and are 'news-receptive,' it helps to have some­t hing t angible to say that they can take away with them.

46 ENTERPRISE MAY 2006

Terry O'Reilly, one of Canada's top radio writers and a partner with Pirate Radio and Television in Toronto, says today's audi­ences must be wooed, not chased. They must be entertained in a way that makes t hem connect with a credit union's brand, O'Reilly says. Imagine. for example, a one- minute radio program featuring a celebrity who is asked, "What is the one job t hat cha nged the direction of your life?" The show, he says, would air each day during a regular morning radio show and could be sponsored by a recruit­ment company that wants to be known as t he place people go to t ransform t heir lives.

O'Reilly calls it 'branded entertainment' and it works, he says. because it doesn't run in an island with other commercials, it runs in its own time slot at t he same time every day.

"It attracts your loyalty and, over time, it starts to link transform­ing your life with the company," he says.

"If you want to move masses, it's easier to do it on radio t han on TV because it's so personal," O'Reilly says. "Radio is a whisper in your ear; TV is t he Sermon on the Mount. " Radio is also, he adds, the only medium that can fo llow you from home to your point- of- purchase.

Successful radio begins with high quality, high entertainment value, and a strategic fit with the client's product and objectives. "Radio is such a powerfu l medium,'' O' Reilly says, "and people need to look at it with fresh eyes." 1