If you've attempted to call just about any organization from a doctor's office, financial institution, water or power company, or even a grocery store during the pandemic, you've been put on hold -- sometimes for what seems like an eternity. But a few organizations have implemented new call back technology that allows consumers to have the organization call you back, eliminating the need for the consumer to remain on hold for an "extended" period of time.

Railroad & Industrial Federal Credit Union did just that. They implemented Fonolo's call back technology into their call center just before the pandemic shut everything down -- and their timing couldn't have been better. As we all know, the phones have gone ballistic during the last three or four months. Thankfully, that move helped them better serve anxious members -- not making them even more anxious by waiting on hold for hours.

To get the backstory, we invited Railroad & Industrial Federal Credit Union Vice President of Operations Anna Lampinen and Fonolo CEO Shai Berger on the show. Both Anna and Shai discussed how their organizations worked together to manage call volume spikes during COVID-19.

Wonderful success story here that added value to the credit union and convenience to the member. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

Since our slow recovery from the Great Recession and accelerated the last couple years, there has been an unofficial green light for many well-established credit union CEOs to retire and let the next wave of leaders take the baton. Kudos to them, however, for helping our industry weather an economic storm that probably hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. This is the type of leadership that makes our industry great -- and the hopes are that it will rub off on many fresh faces taking charge for the next few decades.

That said, our industry is experiencing quite an executive exodus right now, which means it's a prime time for new talent and credit unions alike to jump on this opportunity and continue to leveraging credit unions' unprecedented popularity. To get an inside look at what is occurring within the industry at the executive level and how credit unions and would-be leaders can step up, we invited D. Hilton Associates John Andrews and Brian Kidwell on the program.

Both John and Brian have worked with credit unions many, many years and know them extremely well. We touched on how significant the CEO exodus is today, how deep in the talent pool, how are credit unions preparing and proactively taking measures to attract top talent, how do they keep top talent, and advice for both CUs and executive candidates looking to lead. Enjoy -- and let us know what you're doing in these changing times.
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