America First Credit Union is far from being just another bank. It’s a member-owned cooperative, which means that they don’t have to answer to investors or shareholders, explains President and CEO Thayne Shaffer. “We answer to our members. One of the reasons why I love working here is that we always have the benefit of a member in mind,” he says.
“Our mission statement says, in part, that our chief concern is the financial wellbeing of our members. And it truly is a thread that goes through all of our decision-making.”
According to Shaffer, there’s never any concern about balancing the interests of stakeholders with those of the members. “That gives us an advantage in how we structure our business, where we place our investment, how we do our pricing and all of those decisions,” he tells The CEO Magazine.
Going the extra mile
A facet that goes hand in hand with being a member-driven company is the emphasis on – and importance of – having employees that truly want the best for their customers.
“I think it may be a chicken and egg thing between the culture and the people, but we have such fantastic people,” Shaffer says. “Our 3,100 employees care about our membership, they care about the organization, they go the extra mile.
“Our 3,100 employees care about our membership, they care about the organization, they go the extra mile.”
“They’re very dedicated and loyal. During the pandemic, people just worked an inhuman number of hours because of everything that was going on and they did it because they care about the success of the organization and they care about the members. And it’s just a huge part of our identity.”
Given Shaffer has been with America First Credit Union since 1987 – having started as an accounts payable clerk when he was still in college before working his way up to Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Information Officer – the longevity of his career with the company is a true testament to both the workplace culture and prioritization of upholding the values that it was founded on.
Conquering a fragmented industry
When he stepped into the role of President and CEO in April 2021, Shaffer identified certain areas that could be improved, particularly in the realm of technology and innovation.
“The financial industry has changed so much over the last 20 years and we needed some people to fill in there that could think ahead and act on those ideas,” he says. “We need to think differently for the future. Our members expect different things. They live in a digital world.
“So primarily, I saw it as an opportunity to bring up a team that could really get ahead of those kinds of things and think in non-traditional ways.”
“We need to think differently for the future. Our members expect different things. They live in a digital world.”
A long-term goal of America First Credit Union is to be the primary financial institution for its members – no easy feat, especially in a time when the variety and scope of choice means most people alternate between different service providers.
“The more somebody uses us, the better deal they get out of us and the better it is for us,” Shaffer explains. “The rub with that is that there’s been a fragmentation of the industry. There are literally hundreds of types of singly focused solutions out there.
“The goal to be the primary financial institution is becoming harder and harder because, at least for the younger generations, a lot of people see their primary financial institution as their phone. They can have Coinbase and Robinhood and America First and Venmo and Zelle on my phone at one time.”
Serving all customer needs
The particularly tricky part then, is ensuring that this focus on digitization doesn’t come at the expense of their in-person offerings because, ultimately, the company needs to serve an entire spectrum of clients with vastly different desires.
“On the one hand, we have customers who want to be served in a very traditional way – they literally want to walk into a branch,” Shaffer says. “They want to speak face to face with somebody and they want that smile and we do that. In our branches, service is our primary focus.
“We try to design our products and services in a way that it’s convenient, attractive and relevant to our members at whatever season of life they may be in.”
“On the other hand, we have people like myself who would never go into a branch if they never had to or, for that matter, even call in. So that’s a real challenge to design our delivery channels for all those people and be able to meet those needs.
When it comes to what America First Credit Union has in store for the future, Shaffer says the underlying objective is always to deepen its relationships with existing members.
“In our industry, the more a member uses the products and services that the credit union offers, the more benefit they get out of the relationship,” he says. “And the deeper the relationships, the more mutually beneficial that really is.
“We try to design our products and services in a way that it’s convenient, attractive and relevant to our members at whatever season of life they may be in.”