Tag Archives: trust

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose — The Challenges Facing Canadian Credit Unions

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Murray Fulton, Brett Fairbairn, Dionne Pohler

Canadian credit unions are facing significant challenges as they attempt to reorganize to meet a rapidly changing economic, technological, demographic, and organizational environment. These problems have been well documented and can be found in reports by credit union organizations such as Central 1’s If now now, when? and in academic commentaries such as our recent blog post, “Credit Unions in Canada: Design Principles for Greater Co-operation.” Continue reading →

Credit Unions in Canada: Design Principles for Greater Co-operation

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Murray Fulton, Brett Fairbairn, Dionne Pohler

The credit union system in Canada is at a crossroads. The following quotations from Central 1’s October 2016 report If not now, when? illustrate the challenges nicely:

Canada’s Credit Union system is approaching a tipping point. As the small player in the national financial services sector, Credit Unions are being consistently outpaced by the scale and marketing strength of the major banks.… Continue reading →

Organizational Listening: A Framework for Revitalizing Co-operative Engagement?

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Amanda Sampson

“Communication is a two-way street” is often touted as a guiding principle of success. Public and private organizations, including co-operatives, invest large sums in public engagement and rely on social media to allow stakeholders to “have their say.” Yet, do organizations actually embody this two-way street by responding to what their stakeholders are saying? As participation-based organizations, co-operatives should be aware of recent research that argues industry communication standards are perpetuating a “crisis of listening” that undermines key stakeholder relationships. Continue reading →

Banking on the Upsell: Lessons for Credit Unions

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Dionne Pohler

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Across Canada and the United States, major banks are facing public scrutiny after media reports that employees feel intense pressure to mislead customers in order to meet unrealistic sales targets and avoid losing their jobs. Is this an opportunity for credit unions to show that they treat their members — their customers — differently? Continue reading →