We've seen a lot of rhetoric about how the business community has had to tighten its belt and make cuts and education needs to do the same. Many districts have been very proactive when it comes to evaluating where cuts can be made. The news is full of stories of school districts already making cuts and evaluating each and every staff position.
The problem is that education isn't like a business at all. In most cases, a business has to make cuts due to lower demand. Lower demand = Less sales = Less revenue = Need for cuts. The demand for education in our region and Texas in general is growing, not slacking. If education were a like a business, we would expect that in order to meet increased demand, we would actually need to invest greater amounts in staffing and capital.
The current budget crisis has serious implications for education in the state of Texas. Cuts will need to be made but we must urge our legislators to minimize the effects of the budget cuts on education. After all, the demand is increasing and we must look at education as an important investment we can make for our future.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Promising to be trusted source of information
One of our seven service promises is be a trusted source for financial information. We live this out in a number of ways and we have made education a big priority as highlighted by some of the following:
We will chronicle one such trip to Austin on our facebook page on February 16th. We'd also invite our members to get involved this year as the legislature meets at this critical time.
- One obvious way is our financial education webinar series. Visit https://www.gcefcu.org/webinars.php for a complete list.
- Another is our commitment to provide BALANCE to our members at no charge. This program offers free, confidential financial counseling, budgeting tools, online member education and so much more.
- We require our employees to complete product certification and other online education modules from credit union university on a yearly basis.
- We belong to trade associations, review industry journals and attend educational meetings on a regular basis.
We will chronicle one such trip to Austin on our facebook page on February 16th. We'd also invite our members to get involved this year as the legislature meets at this critical time.
Monday, January 17, 2011
We promise to be a trusted and accurate source for financial information
One of the ways we plan on living up to this promise this new year is through a series of webinars about financial topics that can benefit our members. Our first in this series is about the wise use of credit cards and credit in general. We want our members to be informed and have all of the tools they need to be better consumers of financial products and services.
Topics that will be covered in the coming months:
A part of living up to this service promise is making sure that we are providing the types of information our members need. That's where you come in. Please let us know if you have any questions or want more information about a specific topic. If enough people ask, we may just be able to present a webinar on that topic.
Topics that will be covered in the coming months:
- College Financing 101
- Identity Theft
- Personal Finances for College Students
- Psychology of Spending
- Solving the Mystery of Credit Reports
A part of living up to this service promise is making sure that we are providing the types of information our members need. That's where you come in. Please let us know if you have any questions or want more information about a specific topic. If enough people ask, we may just be able to present a webinar on that topic.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Taking Ownership
I can think of no better example of one of our employees taking ownership than the following account:
One of our loan officer refinanced a vehicle for a member that was originally financed through Ally Bank (formerly GMAC - the financing arm of GM). He was able to payoff the loan and save the member money on interest. After the vehicle was paid off by the credit union he followed up to obtain the title. He was told that he was on his own in obtaining that because Ally did not have it. I suppose he took it personally and decided to take complete ownership. He took time on his lunch hour to drive into Houston to get a duplicate title. In order to complete this on the member's behalf, he first had to have them sign some paperwork. In order to make it easy on the member he dropped by their house on the way to do the title work.
Examples of employees taking ownership happen every day at the credit union. After all, it is one of our service promises. This example, however, shows how far some will go to take ownership of your request. Let us know if you come across an example of one of our employees taking ownership of your request. We'd love to recognize them for their efforts.
One of our loan officer refinanced a vehicle for a member that was originally financed through Ally Bank (formerly GMAC - the financing arm of GM). He was able to payoff the loan and save the member money on interest. After the vehicle was paid off by the credit union he followed up to obtain the title. He was told that he was on his own in obtaining that because Ally did not have it. I suppose he took it personally and decided to take complete ownership. He took time on his lunch hour to drive into Houston to get a duplicate title. In order to complete this on the member's behalf, he first had to have them sign some paperwork. In order to make it easy on the member he dropped by their house on the way to do the title work.
Examples of employees taking ownership happen every day at the credit union. After all, it is one of our service promises. This example, however, shows how far some will go to take ownership of your request. Let us know if you come across an example of one of our employees taking ownership of your request. We'd love to recognize them for their efforts.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Making it Easy to Business with Us
The credit union invests heavily on living up to this service promise. There are obvious technology investments such as online banking, billpay and instant issue Visa Debit Cards that make doing business with Gulf Coast Educators easier. There are other investments such as the Allpoint ATM network that may not be as well known. Our members have access to over 30,000 surcharge free ATMs in the US due to our participation in the network.
The largest investment your credit union makes in order to make it easy to do business with us is our people. Our call center staff continually put up some great numbers in terms of the numbers of call they answer each day so our members talk to person and don't get stuck in a phone system nightmare where it doesn't matter which buttons you push, you'll never get to talk to a human. Our MIS department keeps our systems up and running so that the tellers are able to process your transactions and our online services run almost uninterrupted. Our back office staff works hard and some of them early to make sure your direct deposits make it to your account before we even open our doors.
Our Pearland office doesn't have a drive thru but the employees there have been known to give curbside assistance to those who might have difficulties getting in and out of their vehicles. Each day, our employees try to make it easy for our members to take advantage of all the credit union has to offer. We encourage our members to let us know if there are other ways we could make it easier to do business with us.
The largest investment your credit union makes in order to make it easy to do business with us is our people. Our call center staff continually put up some great numbers in terms of the numbers of call they answer each day so our members talk to person and don't get stuck in a phone system nightmare where it doesn't matter which buttons you push, you'll never get to talk to a human. Our MIS department keeps our systems up and running so that the tellers are able to process your transactions and our online services run almost uninterrupted. Our back office staff works hard and some of them early to make sure your direct deposits make it to your account before we even open our doors.
Our Pearland office doesn't have a drive thru but the employees there have been known to give curbside assistance to those who might have difficulties getting in and out of their vehicles. Each day, our employees try to make it easy for our members to take advantage of all the credit union has to offer. We encourage our members to let us know if there are other ways we could make it easier to do business with us.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Responding in a Timely Manner
Last year we introduced our service promises to our members. Visit https://www.gcefcu.org/mission.php for the complete list of service promises. If you ever feel that we are not living up to any of these, please let us know. It is important that we get feedback from our members.
In the coming weeks, we want to focus on our service promises and let you know what you should expect from us and what we expect from our employees so that we live up to that service promise. This week, we focus on our promise to respond to your request in a timely manner.
As a part of this promise, employees are asked to reply to e-mails and phone calls within 4 business hours. We know there is nothing more frustrating than not getting called or e-mailed back. For this reason, we also try to respond to e-mails after hours and on weekends.
If you call us, you can expect a live person to answer the phone within 30 seconds. Our call center does a very good job of living up to this service promise. They consistently have good numbers to reflect their commitment to responding in a timely manner.
Now it is your turn. Let us know if you feel we respond in a timely manner.
In the coming weeks, we want to focus on our service promises and let you know what you should expect from us and what we expect from our employees so that we live up to that service promise. This week, we focus on our promise to respond to your request in a timely manner.
As a part of this promise, employees are asked to reply to e-mails and phone calls within 4 business hours. We know there is nothing more frustrating than not getting called or e-mailed back. For this reason, we also try to respond to e-mails after hours and on weekends.
If you call us, you can expect a live person to answer the phone within 30 seconds. Our call center does a very good job of living up to this service promise. They consistently have good numbers to reflect their commitment to responding in a timely manner.
Now it is your turn. Let us know if you feel we respond in a timely manner.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Take Time to Thank a Teacher
This week is teacher appreciation week and for us at Gulf Coast Educators FCU, it has special meaning. We really do appreciate the teachers for being such loyal members. We've bucked the trend and have remained true to our roots: serving the financial needs of teachers & employees of school districts.
It has further meaning for many of our employees who have family members in the teaching profession. We have several on our management team who have spouses or children who teach. So we hope you join us and honor those who teach our children.
A couple of years ago during teacher appreciation week, I visited my high school's website and found that a few of my influential teachers were still there. I sent them a quick e-mail to let them know how influential they were and thanked them for believing in me. So just in case they see this, thank you Harriet Reap for instilling confidence in my writing skills and Lorraine Day for believing in my leadership ability and nurturing that. I invite you to do the same and track down a teacher who has meant a lot to you and let them know. They will certainly appreciate it. I know Mrs. Reap & Mrs. Day did.
It has further meaning for many of our employees who have family members in the teaching profession. We have several on our management team who have spouses or children who teach. So we hope you join us and honor those who teach our children.
A couple of years ago during teacher appreciation week, I visited my high school's website and found that a few of my influential teachers were still there. I sent them a quick e-mail to let them know how influential they were and thanked them for believing in me. So just in case they see this, thank you Harriet Reap for instilling confidence in my writing skills and Lorraine Day for believing in my leadership ability and nurturing that. I invite you to do the same and track down a teacher who has meant a lot to you and let them know. They will certainly appreciate it. I know Mrs. Reap & Mrs. Day did.
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