YES LIVE: 30 under 30 - Creating Programs for Young Adults by Young Adults

It is important to know what the major needs of the demographic are, and how credit unions are successfully meeting those needs. But it is equally important to stay on top of what is going on within credit union land so you can draw upon current information and knowledge to further develop effective programs for young adults. In the spirit of YES Summit sessions such as yesterday’s on Young & Free, as well as tomorrow’s session on NCUA’s 2020 initiative, this session provided another opportunity for attendees to learn about another way the movement is tackling the issue of better serving and attracting young adults.

Jeremy Presta, CEO of Parkside Federal Credit Union, led a session on 30 Under 30 - a program initiated by the Filene Research Institute to bring 30 young credit union professionals under the age of 30 from across the country together to develop solutions for credit unions to better serve young adults.

After giving an overview of the last year of the 30 under 30 program and all of the resulting projects from the group, Jeremy spoke about his own group’s project – iAdvancecu.com (actual site under construction):

A mounting talent shortage affecting all industries is projected to peak by 2010. This war for talent will make it even harder to retain top talent and credit unions alone – large or small – will not be able to compete. Combine this shortage with the reality that Generation Y will not only change jobs but careers numerous times, and it’s inevitable that this generation of employees will likely leave your credit union within 2-3 years. iAdvancecu.com, is a website that unites credit union opportunities, showcases our expeditious career-paths and provides testimonials of relevant Gen Y employees that will serve as a recruiting tool for credit unions. (this overview taken from Filene’s website)

> Click here for the full iAdvancecu.com Business Plan

Before he presented, I asked Jeremy what he thought the biggest challenges were facing credit unions in serving young adults:

1. Changing the mindset of not only employees and management, but also convincing the board of directors that we need to focus on this generation.
2. Generally speaking a member early on in the financial life cycle is an unprofitable member. There needs to be some foresight and see the big picture that down the road these members will become profitable, and be the members that we all want.
3. Typically credit union employees including management and board members themselves are of the older generations and they don’t understand and in some cases don’t care to ever understand or serve this generation.
4. Credit unions need to realize that simply setting up a Facebook/Myspace page is serving these individuals or connecting with them where they are.

At the end of the session, Josh Jones also talked a little about the transition of the 30 under 30 program from Filene to CUNA. In early 2009, CUNA will start the application process for the “new class.” I’m looking forward to continuing to be involved with the program in some capacity.

PS – I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shameless plug for my 30 under 30 group’s project: "Win-Win Savings." Read the full business plan here.

Resource Links:
CU Tomorrow Blog
Filene Research Institute
Overview & Links to all 30 under 30 group business plans