White Paper

Building a Purpose-Driven Workforce

By Beth Stetenfeld

posted 11.29.2017 (HR & OD)

Credit unions were founded on “people helping people” and are steeped in purpose—it’s woven into the cooperative fabric. However, as other businesses (including competitors) are discovering the power of purpose, do credit union boards and teams know and care about it? Do employees demonstrate purpose when interacting with members and when making decisions? While the percentage of purpose-oriented employees is likely higher in this industry, what are credit unions actively doing to drive purpose and engagement with staff?

In this white paper, the HR & Organizational Development Council explores:

• Definitions and descriptions of a purpose-driven workforce;
• Reasons a purpose-driven workforce is important for a credit union;
• Steps toward building and enhancing a purpose-drive workforce;
• Vignettes of how purpose-drive workforces operate, and how they’re maintained and nurtured over time;
• HR and organizational development strategies and tactics for weaving purpose into practice and decision-making; and
• Key metrics for determining and revealing how prevalent purpose is among a credit union’s employees.