Little Things, or Big Things?; NCUA's Focus

As credit unions and other businesses attempt to improve their operations, they will focus on improving this or that.  Perhaps it would be improving processes, technology, or training.  For the sake of simplicity, I call these tweaks "little things."  By the use of that term, I mean no disrespect.  Tweaks to "little things" can make major improvements. 

I've always wondered, however, if changes to "big things" could also have a positive effect.  What comes to mind today is employee health and fitness.  

Where am I going with this?  I generally feel and perform better when I live a "healthy" life.  If it is true for me, it should be true for most employees. If you could promote health and fitness among your employees, wouldn't that improve individual performance, all other things being equal?  I would think so.  

But how do you do that?

Employers could purchase gym memberships, install a gym, or make some other health-related investment.  But budgets are tight, and not everyone has the space or resources to do such things.

We're going to try a different tactic at NAFCU, focusing on education.  At this month's all-staff meeting, we're going to watch this video (You Tube), which I call, 23 1/2 hours.  It is just over 9 minutes in length, and it can be a bit dense at times, but its message is powerful.  In it, a researcher answers this question: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?  I won't steal its thunder.  You'll have to watch it for yourself. 

I will tell you this, though.  That video caused me to make one fundamental change in my day, which has improved my productivity both at home and at work.  Not bad for a free video from You Tube, eh?  

***

NCUA recently issued this letter to credit unions to announce NCUA's supervisory "focus" for 2012. These documents are worth their weight in gold, as NCUA tips their hand regarding where examiners will focus. Those areas are:

1. Credit risks
2. Interest rate and liquidity risks; and
3. Concentration risks

In the letter, NCUA went out of its way to sound an alarm bell regarding mortgages:

Of particular concern: Growth in low-rate first mortgages continues to far exceed growth in overall loans. Credit unions holding high concentrations of long-term fixed-rate loans will be subject to negative margins when interest rates rise and short-term funding costs exceed income from fixed-rate mortgages.

I'd also note that NCUA devoted a good portion of its most recent monthly "NCUA Report" to hammer away at this theme.  I think they are trying to get our attention.

NCUA's guidance will not necessarily predict the focus of any one particular examination.  But NCUA doesn't issue such documents out of boredom. I'd read and share it as necessary within your shop.

Comments

[Cary Anderson]

Helping your employees to have a healthy balanced life is the best thing you can do to improve the performance of your organization. At Main Street Financial FCU we spent as much time on this as we did on credit union training. The payoff was energized employees which leads to better member service.

[Anthony Demangone]

Brilliant stuff, Cary. If you have time, I'd love to hear about how you went about that. Many thanks for sharing.

[Harry L. Metz, Jr.]

Anthony,

I enjoyed your piece and the video on exercise. It is especially poignant to me. In spring 2007 I decided to “get back in shape” and joined Gold’s Gym. I noticed immediate improvement in my health and well being.

In May 2011, I started feeling poorly but assumed it was a cold. After several weeks of “wifely advice” I went to the doctor to treat the cold only to learn I had a heart murmur. The murmur turned out to be a damaged mitral valve. This problem was due to a congenital defect that appears to have been aggravated by stress. The doctors were not able to understand how I was able to function until I explained my work out history and my overall physical conditioning was better understood.

On July 7, 2011 , I underwent open heart surgery to repair the damaged valve. On July 8th I had to undergo a second surgery to correct a bleeding issue. However, within days I was up and walking around the hospital and was discharged on July 14th. I was back in the gym in less than 3 weeks and back at work in one month.

This past Saturday (1/7/2012) marked six months since the surgery. I workout 30-45 minutes, six days a week. My last cardiologist visit revealed my heart is functioning at the level of an 18 year old. There are no signs related to the damaged valve or the surgeries.

The doctors indicated that I could easily have died from my condition. I was complaining that my bench press reps had declined. That is a difference that is well worth 30 minutes a day.

[double glazing prices]

Work-life balance should really be the priority right now. It makes the employees more productive.

[double glazing quote]

Employees are more productive when they are not stressed. A healthy amount of pressure is ok but overstretching is counterproductive.

[Cheryl Hart]

Walking is the first step to a healthy lifestyle. One step and you are on the road to learning to exercise and who knows you may learn to love it. Learning how to balance work and home is key. You need to balance stress and learn how to be productive without it.

BTW Anthony, contgrat on your promotion - well deserved!!