Finding the Fit: Hiring the Right Talent for the Co-operative Sector
Submitted by George Scott, GSTS Consulting Services
The Ontario Co-operative Association boasts members from a wide variety of industry sectors, from agriculture and utilities to housing, food product manufacturing, auto dealers, insurance and more. Despite this disparity, there’s something they all have in common — a need for talented, committed employees.
Not everyone is a fit for the co-operative sector, however. It takes dedication to an altruistic worldview, a collegial working style and a durable commitment to ‘making a difference.’ Attitude may be more important than aptitude. But co-operative organizations can’t grow and succeed without plenty of aptitude, too.
So how do we find the right people to meet the talent needs of our organizations without sacrificing what makes us special? For insight, let me share four case studies from my recruiting for credit unions and associations which, while not co-operatives, are nevertheless member-driven and member-governed organizations. [To protect the privacy of clients and individual recruits, names have been changed.]
- Business Development Manager, Employer Credit Union
In 2008, a small credit union in Ottawa was looking for a new hire to handle lending, financial planning and wealth management, which is a broad portfolio. The person was also expected to develop a sales culture, which would require emulating successful techniques commonplace in the big banks. In addition to a financial planning designation and securities license, we were also looking for a track record of profitable business development. It was a tall order for one person to fulfill, especially at the compensation level we were offering.
Of all the candidates, André stood out. Having served in advisory roles at Scotiabank, CIBC and TD Canada Trust, he ticked all the boxes on experience at the age of 36. Versatility is not something one usually finds in a banker. Too often they are pigeon-holed into a specialized role and then look for, or even expect, resource help with everything else they need. In the co-operative sector, those extra resources usually don’t exist; to be successful, you often have to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself, from the research that underpins your strategy to ordering lunch or bagging up the nightly trash.
Although he had been a caisse populaire member as a youth, André had no credit union experience. But he wanted to leave the bank for the right reasons. Pressured by a relentless product push to meet volume targets, he was being asked to recommend products and services he felt were not in his customers’ best interests. He felt “choked.”
André was attracted to the credit union because of its small size — he felt he could make a big impact. My assessment of his intangibles included characteristics such as honest, sincere, forthright, passionate, motivated and enthusiastic. He looked like he had the right qualities to make the transition to the credit union culture. In his own words: “For the first time in my life I would be willing to take a small decrease in salary to be happy.”
The CEO has since retired; the credit union has grown larger with the addition of other employee groups; and André remains happy. He’s still there after 13 years.
The takeaway: Versatility, Resourcefulness and a no-job-too-small attitude are critical variables for success in co-operatives.
CALL OUT
Retired credit union executive John Lahey has a valuable perspective on making the transition from a big bank to the co-operative sector. He left a senior executive role in CIBC’s retail bank to become CEO at FirstOntario Credit Union, and then Alterna Savings. “In the bank,” he explained, “you tend to grow in silos. Whether it’s retail, commercial or wealth management, you don’t often move from side to side. You rely on other areas to give you what you need — funding from treasury, new product development, IT development. The big revelation for me in leading a credit union was that I was now responsible for a heck of a lot more than just distribution and sales.”
- Certification Manager, Professional Association
This role is the go-to person for all aspects of professional certification at an association with a 50-year history and more than 20,000 individual members. Among other attributes, the ideal candidate would need to be a resourceful problem-solver and a collaborative motivator and facilitator. The previous incumbent, whom we recruited two years earlier, had a broad skill set — finance, HR, risk management, licensing and examinations. After excelling in this role, she was recruited to a key position as Executive Director for the Toronto chapter of a US-based professional association.
Tough shoes to fill. But Roberta had it all, and more. She is personable, empathetic, honest, genuine, a straight shooter, pragmatic and sensible. Coming from a municipal government, where she led a team of engineers, she was serious about learning and compliance. So much so that she had already earned certification from the association she was about to join, making her the first staff member ever to hold the same distinction as thousands of her members and her board of directors. Throughout her career, Roberta had demonstrated the heart and determination to do whatever it takes to meet objectives, even if they fell outside her normal responsibilities. That’s a recipe for success in the co-operative world.
The takeaway: The best candidates for co-operatives are people motivated by a sense of service to go ‘above and beyond’ and ‘make a difference’ through the work they do.
- Chief Executive Officer, Employer Credit Union
Following the retirement of the long-time CEO of a Toronto credit union which served employees of a public service and their families, we embarked on a search for a replacement. We set out to find an accomplished strategic thinker and change agent who also had a broad operational background in retail banking. This small credit union would need a leader who could handle marketing, PR, HR, finance, administration, lending, technology planning and ERM. Since it was unlikely that we could find that kind of versatility in a banker, the top five candidates all came from large credit unions. Four were local but Jeff was in northern Ontario and so we conducted his first interview by phone. Then we supplemented those findings by gathering insights on his character, intelligence and performance from our network of system insiders who knew or had worked with him.
CALLOUT
John Lahey offered his perspective on attracting the right talent to the credit unions he led. “We needed expertise; I had to go outside to get it. But it’s more than just skills,” he continued. “I wanted people who are calm, cool-headed and thoughtful in their approach.” He added: “I made a mistake with a head of marketing, who was too aggressive. He brought value but created a lot of chaos. The ability to get along is very important.”
In addition to meeting our experience requirements — all branches, wealth management and commercial credit reported to him — he was energetic, dynamic, innovative and driven, with a positive attitude and common sense approach. Having worked for many years at a level just below CEO, he welcomed the chance to drive
the process and call his own shots. Most important, he was fully committed to the “credit union difference” and was emotionally attached to the co-operative sector.
Jeff served this employer credit union well for six years before it agreed to merge with a larger credit union, where he spent four more years as the chief marketing officer.
The takeaway: An effective leader for a small co-operative organization must be a strategic thinker who also relishes the day-to-day responsibility of tactical execution.
- Manager of Corporate Partnerships, Professional Association
In 2019, the same professional association mentioned earlier had designed a new corporate partnership program to draw employers closer to the certification body. The new Manager of Corporate Partnerships would need to be a high-energy self-starter, expert in business development and marketing including social media, and have polished presentation skills. Unlike other association staff who were focused on the needs of 20,000 individual practitioners, this position would interact with CEOs, corporate development executives and VPs of Human Resources. It’s a prestige audience so we needed someone with high-level exposure.
Kevin had a strong track record developing partnerships with major sponsors like Nike, Scotiabank, Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire. Coming from a marketing agency, his event management experience encompassed a 500-person product launch for Nike, a 10,000-person university event at Copps Coliseum and a Sheep Dogs concert for 30,000. But Kevin had become frustrated with the legacy marketing thinking at the agency and wanted to break out with his own strategies and tactics. This new role was wide open for him to define it.
On a personality level, Kevin is energetic, positive, creative and engaging — a natural leader. His strong personal presence has an intensity which partly stems from competitive athletics, where he excelled in multiple sports. But his intensity wasn’t intimidating — it could better be described as infectious enthusiasm. Kevin was different from the typically collegial, soft-spoken and diplomatic staff members at the association. But he was the perfect fit for the executive audience he had to influence.
The takeaway: Hiring a dynamic personality is a risk for a comfortable, family-like corporate culture but it’s important to find the right fit for the right job.
George Scott is an associate member of the OCA and a consultant in business and strategic planning, communications and recruiting based in Alliston, ON.
For more stories and information on co-operatives in Ontario, join our newsletter.
