PARC Street Partners' newest Executive Benefits Consultants Uma Zielinski and Jason Berman joined us on the show to share their insights and expertise in talent trends, benefits, compensation, attracting and retaining top-tier execs for today's credit unions, and much more.

Uma and Jason shared their focus on executive compensation plans and client education for early 2025, as well as connecting with CEOs, attending conferences, enhancing their expertise to help benefits clients.

They also talked about looking to help credit unions improve their executive benefits, addressing trends like C-suite talent retention, and plan performance. Their decision to join the year-old firm was heavily influenced by the strong culture and teamwork at PARC Street Partners.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Goodbuy’s Co-founders Cara Oppenheimer (right) and Cary Fortin (left) joined us on the show to share how Goodbuy can fuel credit union growth, helping accelerate their non-interest income, commercial deposits, and member acquisition.

Cara and Cary explained how their consumer-facing shopping site specifically works to galvanize a credit union's member base to grow business accounts and deposits. The Goodbuy platform enables credit unions to power a branded marketplace, facilitating seamless commerce between community businesses and their members online and in-person.

They also talked about their philosophical alignment with the credit union mission, while working with to accelerate a micro-economy in their served communities with a white label marketplace.

Very inspiring story here from Cara and Cary and how they (Goodbuy) can indirectly become a credit union's new business development department through their popular shopping platform.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

First Community Trust’s Executive Vice President, Managing Director Sheldon Reynolds stopped by the show to share his insights and expertise on trends in attracting and retaining today's top-tier talent for credit unions.

Specifically, Sheldon talked about his collection of compelling data on current workforce trends -- as well as macro trends about declining employee tenure and labor force participation.

He also addressed what employees are looking for in employer benefit programs and why they don't understand all that is available to them.

Lastly, Sheldon commented on how credit unions can leverage this information to attract and retain the top talent out there today and insights on 2025 in this arena.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire interview below for all the details.

Trellance’s Director of Strategic Consulting Mandy Zurbrick joined us on the show to preview her upcoming February 5 webinar: “Meeting Changing Member Expectations with Data Insights.”

Mandy shared some of those changed expectations:

• Personalization -- Tailored messaging, Tailored offers
• Integrated experience -- Mobile apps, online banking, physical branches, etc., Seamless, intuitive experience no matter the channel
• Proactive engagement -- Anticipate and meet member needs

She also talked about the role data plays in meeting changing member expectations:

• Data is pivotal for executing all of the strategies we just covered
• Data allows credit unions to create personalized messaging and offers, to create integrated experiences, and to be proactive in meeting member needs
• Investing in a data management solution is vital for meeting member needs

Lastly. Mandy mentioned how Trellance can help credit unions meet their members’ changing needs by offering robust data management solutions, including the Data Warehouse. She added that they have helped other credit unions meet member expectations, sharing a couple of examples of that assistance.

Again, all this and more will be discussed in Trellance's upcoming webinar on February 5th at 2:00 p.m. (EST) with Mandy and Amanda Emery who will be the presenting SMEs. Register today!

Chris Gomez, President/CEO at Heritage Family Credit Union, joined us on the show to share how he and his team are tackling the challenges of the housing market in Vermont with a creative fix -- not leaving the locals out in the cold when it comes to owning a home.

Chris shared some current challenges in the Vermont housing market right now with the lack of housing driving up the cost of homes that lead to very expensive prices, making the affordability for the average buyer a massive challenge. He added how these challenges are impacting consumers in Vermont looking to buy.

Getting to the heart of the conversation, Chris talked about what they at Heritage Family are doing to mitigate these challenges for members, working with local government to facilitate an $8 million dollar loan program called “Roofs Over Rutledge.”

As a result, he addressed how this partnership with the local government facilitating this lending program has benefited Heritage Family, becoming one of the most recognized housing providers in the state of Vermont.

Lastly, Chris commented on lessons learned here and advice for credit unions looking to enhance their mortgage lending efforts this year doing something very similar.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts. And be sure to watch the entire episode below for all the details.

Local news coverage of the Roofs Over Rutledge:
WCAX Channel 3 News
ABC's Local 22
NBC Channel 5 News