Solutions For A New Beginning: Culture, Growth, and Organization

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The merger of two credit unions to join together in Southfield, Michigan, resulted in the creation of Alliance Catholic Credit Union, a $400 million institution, serving over 40,000 members. The success of the merger demanded a centralized intranet system, a seamless solution that would allow Alliance Catholic Credit Union to focus on integrating the branding, culture, and ethos of the merging companies.

Alliance Catholic Credit Union partnered with Passageways, a provider of intranet portals, to create a solution promoting collaboration. The Passageways portal encourages participation, increases efficiency, and streamlines business processes. Working together, Passageways developed a complete Landing Page, a solution that focused on employee accessibility and the fostering of purpose and culture within the new company.

One of the central investments was creating a user experience that solidified branding and eased the end-users transition into the new system. This was accomplished by creating a portal that was simple, organized, and driven by the notion that nothing should be more than 3 clicks away. The result was a Landing Page that included a banner displaying important news and updates, a central resource hub arranged by department, a Quicklinks section that provides users access to their need-to-know sites and a page devoted to celebrating employee milestones and accomplishments.

The staff was quickly won over with features that coupled time efficiency with social feedback. Employees accustomed to the world of social media found it liberating to generate conversations and comment on announcements. The social functions developed a positive feedback loop, where employees felt listened to, generating ideas allowing the newly formed institution to navigate the merger with increased ease.

Alliance Catholic Credit Union launched their portal complete with the tools designed to foster growth, culture, and productivity. Robin Justin, Vice President of Learning and Development, said that a well-designed start page was vital for their employees to walk into the organization prepared and organized, resulting in higher efficiency throughout the credit union. When asked about picking the end-users favorite features, Robin said, “They like the Quicklinks and Announcements, but I couldn’t pick. They like it overall; they like the efficiency.” Later, she added that the search field functionality rated very high on the employee’s list of features they liked!

Today, Alliance Catholic Credit Union is in the process of creating a portal administration team, one they plan equipping with enhancements that suit the needs of management. A carefully crafted and organized portal is, perhaps, the best way to get everyone off on the same page.