Connecting Abri Credit Union's people to its purpose

Abri CU logo

About the project

Abri Credit Union was at a cultural crossroads. For myriad reasons, morale and pride-of-place was inconsistent; friction was apparent at every level of the organization; and there was little sense of collective purpose.

The bad news? This turbulence was clear for all to see — members included.

The good news? The board and executive team wanted it fixed.

Mission Brands Consulting was brought in to help the organization rediscover its purpose, and then provide the cultural and operational roadmap for pursuing it.

Background
Client
Abri Credit Union
Category
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The challenge

As the saying goes, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast," so before we could provide a strategic roadmap for internal alignment and growth, we had to help the credit union develop a cultural framework; guidelines that would unequivocally establish the credit union's:

Brand: What the organization stands for and how it shows that to its people and members.
Team contract: The behavioral and cultural non-negotiables for every employee.
Operational norms: The standardized expectations for people, processes and systems.
Abri Credit Union employees taking part in a session with Mission Brands Consulting.

Our approach

We believe you can't fix a problem if you don't understand it, so our approach to working with Abri Credit Union was to immerse ourselves in the organization.

Research and insight

It began with a deep analysis of Abri Credit Union: its people, its members, its products and services, and perhaps most criticaly, some no-holds-barred conversations about the challenges facing the organization.

Brand framework

With a deeper understanding of the organization's challenges, but also its strengths and opportunities, we led a two-day immersive brand workshop to define the organization's:

  • Purpose: Why it exists
  • Promise: What it exists to do
  • Principles: How it uniquely operates and delivers
  • Values: The strategic lenses through which decisions are made

The group was comprised of employees from across the organization, with myriad tenures, seniorities, and responsibilities.

Employee engagement

Composing a new brand framework with 14 people representative of the organization is one thing; making sure 90 other employees buy into it takes something else.

Shortly after developing the PPPV, Mission Brands brought together Abri's entire workforce for a one-day event with clear objectives:

  • Share and celebrate the new brand framework
  • Ensure every employee felt seen, heard and represented by it
  • Define the Team Contract: the organization's cultural and behavioral non-negotiables
  • Align the organization on several systems and process priorities — and deadlines to have them addressed by
Operational support

With a revised brand framework in place, all employees excited by and aligned to it, and a clear list of institutional priorities, we switched to supportive mode: working with Abri Credit Union's leadership to address the technical and operational challenges identified in the previous phases.

Outcomes and impact

While the work continues — and always will — there's been some significant changes since we started working with Abri.

Unified team


After a period of turbulent staff turnover, employees are now aligned with and informed by the organization's direction. Retention is up, morale is up, and it shows in productivity.

Cultural embedding


Work is underway to create a revised onboarding experience for all new employees and board members, to instill Abri's brand essence in everyone from day one.

Tech clarity


The organization now has clarity around certain core systems and how to use them, for everything from knowledge sharing to underwriting, significantly reducing friction.

SOPs


Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are in development to unify operations across all branches and departments, and improve member experience.

Working with Mission Brands Consulting has been a transformative experience for the credit union. There was never any doubt of our commitment to our members, but for some time our support of one another wasn't where it needed to be. Now there's clarity. Our team knows what good looks like, knows what to expect from one another, and we're pulling for each other. I'm excited to see what the future holds.
Colleen Brooks
Colleen Brooks
President & CEO

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