From Literature to Leadership: Kristy’s Unexpected Path

In this episode of The CUllaborative, Kristy shares her journey through the credit union movement, reflecting on the experiences that have shaped her passion for people, purpose, and growth. From navigating career transitions to finding her voice as a leader, Kristy offers an honest look at the challenges and wins that come with building a meaningful career. Tune in for a conversation filled with insight, authenticity, and encouragement for young professionals carving out their own path in the industry.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome back to the Collaborative, the podcast for young professionals in Michigan's credit union world who are out here trying to connect, grow, and basically take over the cooperative finance universe one episode at a time. As always, we're powered by Fuel Michigan because even podcasts need a hype squad. Whether you're tuning in on your commute at your desk pretending to look very productive or with a cup of coffee that may or may not be your second or your third, I'm just really glad you're here. I'm your host, Camille. Now let's get into it before your coffee gets cold. Today's episode features someone who truly brings passion and purpose to compliance. Christy Beauregard from Consumers Credit Union. Christy's journey is a powerful reminder that there's no one right path into this space. Starting out in the call center, she built a strong foundation in member service before finding her way into compliance, where she's made a lasting impact ever since. In our conversation, we talk about her career journey, how she's embraced education as a tool for growth, and her commitment to making compliance approachable, not intimidating. It's a great reminder that compliance doesn't have to be rigid. It can be collaborative, impactful, and even inspiring. All right. Hi. Welcome, welcome. Thank you for answering my call for guests. Tell me about your journey from your credit union space from day one to now. What does it look like for you? Where did you get to where you're at in consumers? Yeah. Um, I just want to say thank you so much for putting out the call for guests on your LinkedIn. I was so excited to see that. So I actually have a degree from um Oldman University in Virginia in British literature. So I never really thought that like the financial industry was for me. I kind of was just like, I like to read books. I don't know anything about numbers. Same, same. Ask me about books, they're great. Exactly. Right. So I was had just left a workplace that the culture wasn't great, a great fit for me. So I was really trying to find a new step, like try something different to see if that would help find like a home, basically. So I was in Michigan and I was, you know, trying to find somewhere to go. And I had a friend who I played soccer with at a local like indoor soccer arena. And she worked at Consumers, and she was like, You need to come to Consumers Credit Union and work with us. Like it's awesome. Um, and a couple other people on that soccer team also worked for Consumers, so they were like, Yeah, come check us out. Like, we're awesome, we do great things. And so I was like, you know what? Let's try it. I've never been in the financial industry, like, let's just give it a go and see what happens. And like from day one, like the culture was such a forefront and important thought that they put a lot of energy behind even with the interview process that I was like, wow, this feels different. Like something feels like this might be a great place for me to grow and learn. Um, and so I actually got a position in the call center. So I started out as a call represent representative, and let me just tell you, they work their butts off. Awesome. They have to know little pieces of everything, and then they get the people who are yelling at them, and I'm just like, You're like, Well, friend, how do you do this? We will get out of there without them. Right, exactly. And I'm so thankful that I started there because I learned a whole like f I learned all the facets of the credit union industry, all the different services and products, and how to get into different things and assist. And so for me, that was like the greatest education I could have asked for when coming into the credit union industry was getting that chance to learn and grow in the call center position. So that was that was wonderful. I will never not be thankful that that was the first role that I was offered in the credit union. But then I was like, what's the I was just gonna say that's how I feel about being a teller. Like it gave me the stuff in, and I got to learn bits and pieces and learn our members and our culture a little bit different. Where when you're in the back office, you don't see it. Right, exactly. And the way that they kind of organized the call center, it's so different. I've worked, I worked at a call center when I was in college, and it's very much like we need donations, get donations, like don't care about anything else kind of vibe. And this was so vastly different that I felt I felt like it was like a different position. Like I wasn't in a call center, you know what I mean? So I worked in the call center for I think like a year, two years, and like gained a lot of opportunities. We I created a newsletter called The Dial Tone. That's that's a good pun though for a call center. Right, right. I loved it. I was like, the name is just it. You're for another one. So I create yeah, and I just was like, I got the opportunity to express my creative like literature reading side as well as learning about the financial industry. So that was such it was such a great opportunity. And then I wanted more, like I wanted to know what my next step was. And we do interactive tellers, as you know, so on our ITMs, and I was fascinated by that. I'm like, this is so cool. Like, how do I learn about this? And so that was my next step. I became an interactive teller and I learned that side of the credit industry, like how to communicate with people, make sure people don't think that I'm a robot, you know, and like how to do multiple transactions and the financial aspect of things, more so as of like helping walk someone through, like getting into online banking or something like that. I now was taking in deposits and learning to look at checks and all that, all that stuff that you're like, this is fascinating. Like, what is happening here? So that was a great experience. And then the pandemic hit while I was an interactive teller. And so I know, but we got the opportunity that we had, I think we had ice creams in all of the drive-throughs. And so we really had the ability to help people through that time while, you know, still being there, but not being able to be there in person. And that was such a value for me to be like, I still show up every day and help people through this really tough time that you know we're all learning how to go through together. So that for me was really awesome. But I also grew knowledge on checks. So I was really reviewing checks for fraud. So, you know, trying to find check wrap car scams, all these things, like learning all about it because we were really taking our checks through our ITMs, and that was it. They weren't coming into an office. So it was really a very quick introduction into check scams. And I didn't know much about it. Like I barely knew how to write a check, let alone like check washing. Yeah. And if it's hard because it's going through a machine where at least like on the teller line, if I got a check that I knew was false because of the way it felt, it was easy to tell because it wasn't a digital image. I mean, number one lady brought in a truck and it was like it was like a long truck, like it wasn't like a payroll as big as payroll stuff, but like a longer one. And then it was on regular printer paper. And if you like flipped it over, the back endorsement was the size of a regular truck. And I was like, sweetheart, this is fake. And she was convinced it was real. So I can't even imagine having to do that with a machine. I would probably and like I really had to learn and grow my like investigative skills. Like, how do I ask questions so that the member feels like I'm talking to them and I'm not like saying they're doing anything wrong? Like, I'm just trying to understand where this shit came from. You're just wanting to understand it and help them and protect them. Right. Exactly. And I'm like, how do how do I do that? You know, how do I make someone feel comfortable enough when I'm on a screen? You know, I'm not there in person. I can't read their cues or see what they're doing. Like, I have to learn how to do it while on a machine. And that was really a tough like moment to grow through was trying to figure out how to ask questions in a conversational way and not in like an accusatory way. And so I I fell in love with fraud though, in that most moments. Being able to save someone from depositing a fraud check was like the greatest feeling ever. You're like, I just saved this $10,000 check and it's fraud. Yeah. Like we're both on the great, we're on the great page of like saving each other, these, you know, amazing fraud checks that were coming out during the pandemic. It was wild. Yeah. I remember I was on the color line before the pandemic. So I I remember those very, very well in the uh the uh scam um stimulus checks and and all of it and the panic that ensued that I can't get my money and the fraud. And yeah, I it was a lot. I think that definitely is something that people newer to the industry don't understand when I when I talk about COVID to our newer tellers, they're like, You did what? And I was like, Right? Listen, we don't have ITMs at Harbor Light. We just have like the old school drive-thru and ATMs. And that was a wild time. And so when tellers freak out about being like $20 off, we're just like, you should have been here during COVID because it was worse. So it yeah, it was it was a tough time. And like I really feel thankful that we had the leadership we had at the credit union because it really was so tough to find ways to connect with people when everyone is not there, you know, like we're not at the corporate headquarters, we're not in the offices, we're all virtual, and like how do we continue our culture and like push it forward? It was such a great learning experience, but in the moment it was very tough, like to keep going every day. You'd wake up and you'd be like, Right? Or you'd be like, I have to go to my home office. We actually and I'm all alone. Right. We actually implemented four four-day work weeks, so everybody got a mandated day off and they got paid because after like a month, we were all just kind of. I remember I had a difficult member on the phone. I wasn't on the line that day, I was in an office, and I threw the mouse to my computer because the person was so rude to me, and I was in tears, and I was COO like saw it, and she goes, Go home, you're taking tomorrow off. And then they mandated us to because we were it was a it was burnout, yeah. And it was like we were panicking, yeah. We had to like go and show that we were okay because we had to stand there in front of someone else who's panicking and absorb that emotion and be like, Hey, I'm taking this on, I'm not gonna panic, but I'm gonna go home and panic. Right? And so it was just this like weird conundrum of trying to, you know, put your face on and go to work and tell everyone it's gonna be okay, and then going home and being like, is it gonna be okay? Like, are we gonna make it through this?

SPEAKER_01 10:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

And I and I'm thankful that I was like part an interactive teller previous before like the pandemic hit because we had such a strong bond with the other. There were only eight of us at that time working in interactive tellers at the credit union. So the eight of us were like strong bonds. We really relied on each other. We helped train anyone who had to come through who was in an office. We trained them via teller so we could just add them on in and get as many people as possible to help through our ITM since the offices weren't open. So it was just like this really great test when a company is like, hey, we're all about culture, and then something like this happens. It was that really great test of are you really just all about culture? Is that what you say? And in those moments, I was like, these are these are my people. These are people that I will show up every day and fight for because they'll do the same for me. And it was it was pretty awesome. It's amazing. And then you moved obviously, you found your love of fraud there when you moved into the compliance. Well, actually, I took a I took a detour to fraud. So I was in the fraud department for check scams and romance scams, and that's where I really found my love of education and like being able to take like a very complicated fraud scam and break it down into these small pieces and say, Hey, here's where we could have seen a red flag, or here's where we could have maybe done something different to stop this snowball effect and help this member in these instances. And I started a podcast, me and the chief marketing officer, we did a fraud podcast, and then I did fraud education outside at libraries and stuff. That's true. Because I really found that if people can understand what's going on, they're more likely to catch it themselves. And we don't always have to be the ones that are like, hey, this isn't real, this is a scam. Because that's the worst part is when you gotta call somebody and tell them the new job they just got isn't real, and the check that they just deposited isn't real.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

And it's it's hard to do that day in and day out. So if I can provide some education to people and then they can catch it, they feel like a hero, and I get to be like, great job. Woo. I've explained like my role to my grandma, she is 90 later this year, and she's kind of tech savvy, like not super tech savvy, but she has an iPhone mostly because I have the find my app so my mom and I can check her because my mom is her caretaker, and my grandma just wanders in Walmart, and so I got the app so my mom could like zoom in and find her. She'll get texts or calls, and because I've explained fraud, and like when I go, they live up in the Kiwanaw Peninsula. It's like a nine-hour drive. Okay. My God, why? When I go and visit, or they come down here to visit, like, they ask how my job is, and obviously I talk to them like almost every day to either my mom or my grandma, but like I explain my job, or I'll say, like, there was this fraud, and I had to work, I had to work with the fraud department because of this. And then it was like possible suspicious, or like maybe an APS call, like all these things. And my grandma now is terrified of getting scammed. And I'm not mad about it because she's very Right. She's gotten a text like when I was there, I have this text from like ABC Bank. I don't know, it was a local bank. Um, and it's like my account's negative, dude. And I need to put money. Is this real? And I said, Well, do you have an account with that bank? And she goes, No. And I said, So it's fraud. And she goes, and so now my mom, I'll get it. Oh, like I'll be sitting here some evenings and I'll get a notification from my email. And then it's a random forward from my mom. And like five seconds later, my mom's FaceTiming me, is this real?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

This is real, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:38

You know, that's where you're like, if anybody in my family were to do that, I'd be like, Yeah, sure, I'll tell you, or at least we'll tell you the red flags of like, yeah, it could be, but there's a possibility that it's not. And even the the Michigan unclaimed property, I was looking for it and I found my grandma and grandpa on it. And so I called her and my grandpa's deceased, and so I called her and my mom, and I was like, hey, you need to do this, this, and this. And my grandma legitimately thought it was fraught, and she wouldn't listen to me. And I was like, no, grandma, this is like the one time I'm gonna come to you with something that this is fraught. This is right. Yes, it's real. We go through it, it's real. It's $300, it's a legitimate $300, and it was from their mortgage company like 10 years ago. Yes. Uh I've learned so much about unclaimed property and my role now that I'm like, I've gone because I'm from Virginia. So I went to like the Virginia Unclaimed Property website and was like searching my whole family. I'm like, Who's got money left somewhere? I never knew it existed until I started working at Harbor Light and our accounting manager. She literally sent it out the other day, like an email of like, hey, we're sending out our e-sheets paperwork. Yeah. And when I saw that email, because I get it every April and it's been eight years, the immediate thought, and I sent her this gift, it was of Mariah Caring going, It's Yes, it's going to wrong for me.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

It's a payment time.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yes. And I wanted to email that to the whole staff, but I didn't want them to like get distracted and not read her email. So I was like, I'm just gonna send this to her. Like, let me just pause for a second. It's it's wild. And I love that we have a job, we work in an industry that like supports that silliness and that culture while also being serious and helping our members. Right. Like when we uh so when we have we have an internal messaging like service, and when they gave us the ability to do gifts, yep. Oh my gosh, we were about it. We went from Teams to Zoom because we switched our phone and our phone goes through Zoom, so we just kind of moved everything over. And the amount of gifts compared to Teams was like non-existent. That good portion of us were very sad about it. And I now have a folder on my OneDrive for gifts, and it's about 200 gifts that I've saved, and I have them organized by reaction, and so like I'm always giving ones that people don't listen. I I'm a millennial, this is how I communicate. Yes, do you know AOL Instant Messenger? That was our jam as millennials, like that is who we are to our core. The away messages and the little bio and the capital, lowercase, capital, lowercase. Yeah. Oh my god, yes. I think my username is like Glass Mears 25 or whatever. Like you remember my username. I remember uh Nate's was Nate Dog and then some numbers. I remember I I think I did one that was like baby girl, but I accidentally misspelled it and it was baby grill. And so, like, that's just kind of the vibe I went with. Listen, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and you just go with it. Exactly. I was like, it's too late, we've committed to this. My new name, this is what I'm known as Baby Girl. Exactly. Yes. Oh my gosh, but yeah, so fraud was like this wild, wild west adventure, basically. I didn't know much about it, and then I jumped into the fraud department and I learned so much about scams and AI scams and grandparents' scams and everything. So like I was in there for I think two years in that department, and I like really grew and learned how to like educate and as well like think fast on my feet. Like I had to be able to adapt quickly in situations when I'm talking to a member and they're giving me information, I have to be able to adapt and change my line of questioning or change, you know, why I'm approaching a situation. So that that was great is really learning how to be very adaptable. So after that, then I made my detour into compliance. And I was like, all right, so we have fraud, but why do we do what we do? Like, what are all the regulations? What do we need to like function properly? And so I I was presented with the opportunity to move into compliance, and that's when I really like took my ability to communicate and educate and was like, how do we break down such a complicated landscape into pieces that like everyone can devour and understand? Literally, though. These regulations are wild, like the alphabet soup, come on. When you read like the actual legislations and its legalese, and you're just like growing sidetic. I know. I'm like, how do I I've read this eight times and I still don't get it? That's been how do I understand? Can you make this explain it to me like I'm five? Right. Like, how do you break this down? And so when I like learned about it, I was like, okay, but how do we expect like our call center and our interactive tellers and our frontline staff to understand this stuff when like I'm going through intense trainings to learn it, to like fully understand what it means. So, like, how do I break that down for people to devour that aren't gonna be able to go through an intense training like that? So that really is it really has become like a very strong part of my journey in compliance. I love it. What like what is it about helping people get it that like super lights you up? Like I just love seeing that moment where they get it, and I'm like, yes, I made sense. I made it. I feel like you're kind of the same way. Yes! Like when I like when someone messages me and like, hey, Christy, like I literally just had this moment with this member, and I got the reasoning for putting like the reg CC disclosure on the back of a receipt, and I did it and it was great, and the member was so thankful that they could see it. Like, those moments to me are such wins because before people do things and they don't know why, and there's no buy-in. They're just like, this is annoying. This is an extra step. You guys don't understand, you're not on the front lines, you don't know how long this takes. And now it's like, oh my God, I love doing this step because I know why we do it, I know why it's important. And so those moments for me are like, those are my bread and butter. I love them. They fill my bucket every day when I get those messages in of hey, I understand this, or hey, I got this, or hey, what do you think about this? Those are those moments where you're like, this is why I do what I do. Yeah, I always tell people, so I'm internal controls, I am taking over BSA in less than a month, um, completely. Uh I got my BSA B sacks before they've changed it with America CU two years ago because I want it to grow. I didn't know how. And I was like, I'm gonna start this. And then I went and got my CU CE the same year. So, like, yeah, 2024 was was a wild ride. But when I while I did that, I was in control internal control special is what I am, or quality control. And so when I go and I make changes to a procedure or how we're doing it on the front line, or because whether new legislation came out or an audit finding came out or the examiners came at us, like I always make sure to tell my people, like especially on the front line, like I'm not doing this to make it more complicated for you at all. Right. And if we need to change, and they all know that like if we come up with a process and then later on it's not working and it needs to change, let's communicate it and we'll put it in the procedure and we'll change it. And I'll change how I look at it to make it easier for you. I'm not, I'm not trying to make anybody's Life's difficult. Right. Especially my own. But like our dormant account procedure, I remember specifically when we really needed to crack down on dormant accounts because we weren't. And so we have something called contact manager where we put an event and we have one for dormant accounts of like you have to verify this member. We need an updated ID and a signature. And like you need to track this and do all this because that's a risk not only for the member, but for us. Like I'm protecting our employees because you're putting in that you're doing it for the member, not for you. And right, we had somebody who had been there like 40 years at that point, and she in front of the entire staff argued it that it's a waste of time and she's dizzy. And I was like, I'm sorry, I I understand the frustration. I really do. Yeah. But like this is my job and this is our job. And we're trying to protect our member. And so when I get people in, and I love personally, I love getting newer people in, like new people on the front line and talking to them and like explaining to them of like this is what I'm gonna ask of you and what I'm gonna look at you and why you're gonna see me around. Right. And it's not just you're just gonna see me and I'm gonna be the person. Like I always joke, like, I'm the person telling you no and what you're doing wrong, but I'm also the person explaining it to you and making a joke. Right. Yeah. And like for me, I find the opportunity for seasoned like employees to provide such great feedback. Like, yes, I am putting this procedure together. It has to have these certain components, but like talk to me and tell me how this is realistic for your position because you're doing it day to day. I am not like let me work with you to understand because like I am not a huge no person. Like, I'm a huge how can we do this together and make it work while meeting all the requirements we have to meet? Like, yeah, there are some things that are non-negotiables, but that doesn't mean we can't get creative with how we handle those non-negotiables. So I I really appreciate seasoned employees being like, hey Christie, I love this idea, but reality is this is not gonna work. Maybe we can try this and it might work. And I'm like, yes, like let's get that feedback in, let's tweak it, let's understand, let's grow together kind of vibe. I'm always saying, you know, two plus equals four, but so does three plus one and five minus one and one plus four. Like it's it or one plus three. God, I can't even do math today. That's okay, no one needs to know. But like the thing, like, yeah, we have our standard of like our standard operating procedures, but also sometimes things change. And as long as you're staying within compliance and the law and you know, it works, then great. I love that. Right. And like to be honest, when I came into compliance, like it was the beginning of like this huge regulatory shift with all this new executive orders and all these new things that we had to like read through and understand and see what was changing. And so for me, it's always been like a very like adaptive like how do we understand this? How do we read this? What's going through the courts right now?

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 24:54

And so I never really got the, you know, every day is the same in compliance because now every day is vastly different because we have so many different regulatory changes and things like that. Literally every day, too. Right. And so for me, my bread and butter is like Alphabet Soup, marketing. That's what I do in my role as an answering like frontline staff questions, like that's you know, providing feedback when we have new projects on what disclosures we may need, things like that. That's where I sit. We have like a BSA side and we have an internal audit side. So I'm really just in the middle of like trying to understand all the regulations, all the disclosures, what we need to give, how do we help? How do we answer questions? You know, unclaimed property, deceased members, all those wonderful things. So for me, it's like every day we are like, this is new. Is this gonna become a regulation? Is this gonna become a law? Like, where is this going? Who's suing who? So this is very interesting. In your LinkedIn bio, you have compliance warrior. What does when you said that? I was and you had like I saw that in your bio and I was like, I freaking love that. What does that mean to you? Yeah, so like the regulatory landscape, as I said, is like wild. There are so many things that are changing. Like the pendulum swings hugely with different administrations sometimes. So we're just, you know, trying to figure out where we fall in it. And so for me, it's like going into battle, and the biggest power that I have as a compliance warrior is knowledge and providing knowledge to others. So, like, we're all in this together. We all have to try to help our members understand our, you know, we're really there to help them grow their financial ability to understand and lend and do all these different things. How can I provide our frontline staff with the power and the weapons they need to be able to go into that battle and know what they're doing? And I feel like at the heart of it, that's what a compliance warrior is, is someone who's there supporting our frontline staff, supporting our marketing department, supporting our call center, with aiding them to be able to do their job within the regulations, within disclosures, within compliance. Like that's my job. I'm a big supporter, I'm a warrior for you. I go to battle every day to make sure that you guys stay compliant and understand like the why behind it. Yeah. And empowering them to come to you, it sounds like, and not making it intimidating. I work hard on that too. I work from home four days a week, but I uh I had surgery in January, so I had to work remote for like the first two months um and slowly come back into the office because I couldn't walk. But I make it a point and I tell them like on Tuesdays, I'm there for you. Like I'm there for the FaceTime with you. I go over to our branch and spend time with them, not just our main office. Like, I'm I'm there to put a face to it. So I'm not just the person you're asking questions behind the screens. I do my best to be approachable and always remind them like, you know, we all make mistakes. Like, yeah, I'm finding your mistakes, but I last week I went to adjust a payment because, like, you know, your loans can only be paid ahead so so much, and somebody was paid like three years ago. Yeah, yeah, on a row balling line. And so I pulled it back. I hit 2025 instead of 2026, and then it pulled $700 from this poor lady's savings. Oh, and like it was a whole thing. And I was like, and I went to the the virtual branch person who found it, and I was like, it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me. It's me, I know this. Here's no proof that like I'm not perfect either. And so like I try to not necessarily highlight or emphasize it, but like I'm gonna admit when I make the mistake and know that like oh yeah, I'm approachable, ask me questions. And granted, when I'm messaging or emailing, I'm not gonna use and when I'm in work mode, I don't use the emojis or all of that. And like I'm just gonna tell you, like, hey, this is wrong, can you please fix it? I'm not trying to be mean, right? I've had that conversation with them of like, I mean, I do just for fun, but also, can you please like do this and try not to be intimidating and you know, because people heal compliance and they're like, oh no, they're terrified. I know, and I so I'm a big proponent of exclamation points and emails. Then I have to like explain to multiple people, like, hey, I'm not yelling at you. I'm just like super excited about everything. So exclamation points are my vibe, so I have to put them in an email somewhere. I can't have an email without one, so just so you know, I always totally understand. If I have it in bold, that means like that is the very important thing, and that's what I want you to take the most from. Yeah, just read this bold and we'll be good. Like, and then like here's the rest of the why, but I need you to like that is like out of the whole paragraph of everything that I have to tell you, this is your cliff's note. And then sometimes they still come back and ask me, and I'm like, please refer to my last email, or I'll be like, So I I mentioned it in this email, uh, but this is what it is. Yeah. I like uh email to me is like it's our paper trail. So I'm gonna make sure that what I need to say is in that email. But I may message you on the side and be like, hey friend, this is how we can do it. Like, talk to me about your concerns to seem more approachable because my email has to be, you know, our paper trail. We have to show that we've discussed this, but like talk to me, tell me what's going on. Like, let's see if we can work through this together. And when I've learned in leadership classes that I've taken at consumers, like if someone shows up to my desk, I will always step away and talk to them. I'm not gonna make them feel like they inconvenience me. I'm not gonna be like, oh, I have so many things to do. Like, can we just do this over email? Because in my head, I'm like, that person took the time to walk over and find me. It takes a lot of courage. Like, I am gonna, I'll do whatever. I'll stop and do whatever I'm doing is not as important as this person taking the courage and time to come talk to me and want to and like ask questions face to face. And that's something that I like truly value as like in a compliance department when I know that these things are scary and overwhelming at times. Like, you show up to my desk, I'm stepping away and we're gonna talk. Like, I don't care what's going on at that point in time. You coming here is important. Yes, and empowering them to Yeah. I I think a big thing too is, and I'm I'm working on it right now with one of my coworkers because we kind of did a small restructure and um the account specialist, and I'm trying to like help her build the confidence in it. Like, I've explained it to you, you know what it is, you have your resources. Like, you don't have to ask me when you know what the answer is. And so I I went to her and said, So I'm gonna when you and I and I love questions. Like, I am the person that will explain it to you like 10 minutes. I'm gonna show you you, like I'll answer you, and then I'll also provide you with the resources. Like, hey, this is like here's this email, like here's this. I told her, I said, I'm gonna start responding to your questions that I know you know the answer to, to what do you think it is? And it's not me being, I'm not saying like, well, what do you think it is? I'm saying, what do you think it is? Because you know, you know what it is. You know the answer to the whatever compliance question it is, because we've talked about it. What do you think it is? And if you tell me and it's wrong, I'll let you know. I'm not gonna let you. She tells me all the time, because during COVID, she was we had teams, we tag teamed at one point, and I was like the lead of one. And I was with her and two other people who are not at like our branch is totally different than our main office. And she was coming to me, and finally, one day I was like, I can't help you anymore. You've been here eight months, like you can do it. So she always jokes that I kicked her out of the nest, and I was like, But I've never let you fall flat on the ground. But I exactly maybe I'm gonna ask you what do you think it is? Right. Like, like you may think I kicked you out of the nest, but really I put it on the ground and you just kind of walked yourself right out of it. Like it's yeah, like you're okay. I'll keep I'll keep doing that, and so I um I don't mind when they tell new employees, like, ask me, I'll I'll help you with that. And it's right, and I think that that's important. Yeah, and having to like like recently I had to talk to our virtual branch of what's the difference between a SAR, suspicious activity, an unusual activity, like where does that fall and what's what's the difference? Because if you send me a SAR and it's just unusual activity, like it's a lot of work for it, everybody done. We don't have to do, I can still monitor. And so just kind of making them understand it and like breaking it down. Yeah, and like that's so important. Sometimes like you get seasoned employees who they have so much knowledge, but they don't understand that you have to break it down for someone who doesn't have that many years in the industry. Like you have to be able to break it into tiny pieces so that someone can then build it up. And I think that's that's what my role in compliance is I'm breaking things into tiny pieces so that individuals can take that nugget and add it to what they're building in their self-confidence and their empowerment so that they have something to lean on. Yeah. And I my I hate the excuse because that's how we've always done it. Uh like because I wanted to try to intermediate it. And a few months ago, I I think it was our COO asked me, and she goes, So why?

SPEAKER_01 33:50

And I was like, that's because we've always done it that way.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

And I don't like I don't want to say the words that I hate, but that's literally all I know about this project. I do like that you said uh email is a paper trail. Yeah. I recently saw a TikTok like a few days ago about um a millennial, and he was saying, like, a lot of people newer coming in, like Gen Z coming in, and it's not to bash this is not bashing Gen Z at all. It's saying that like they don't realize that email is a paper trail. So they're like, well, why didn't we just talk about it in in Slack or Teams or Zoom or whatever? Like, why are you eating because that's our paper trial now? That's our proof. Yeah, like we and granted, they have they can go and see our conversations a hundred percent. Like, I've never been under the assumption that anything I do on my computer by work is is private. They can't be funny to me when people are like, they can see what I say. Yeah, but that is true. And I think it's important like that we meet generations where they're at. And so, like, if you think that this Zoom is important, cool, then when I'm done talking to you on Zoom, I'm gonna tell you, hey, I'm gonna respond to your email and state that we chatted about this on Zoom so that we're all on the same page. So, like, I love meeting people where they're at. So, if like I have an employee who's like, this is how we've already done it, like let me meet you there and I can walk with you up to where we are now so that you feel engaged in the journey. And it's not just me being like, we're not doing it that way anymore. It's me being like, cool, like let's talk about why we've done it that way and why we need to do it this way as we move forward, you know what I mean? Yeah, meet them where it is, and we can have a great conversation, but I do want to email and oh I I do put the thing as we discussed or per discussion or you know, corporate ease that that we use. Yeah, of course. What is something like going back to the beginning? Because you, you know, did the British Lit, which I adore. I love that for you. And then you go, what is like once something you really wish you had known sooner? And so like we are here for me. I think what I wish I had known sooner is that culture is important. Like when I graduated college, I was like, I gotta find a job. I'm 20, whatever. I need to get a job, I gotta get my life moving. I'll take whatever job I can. And it really led to that journey where you were like, this company doesn't care about me, or like, I'm not important, or oh, they don't care if I show up. So it really was a moment where I was like, should I I need to think about culture? Because it wasn't really a word that was really thrown around a lot when I was starting my career, like after college. No one really talked about it. No one like it wasn't something that people put like in their mission statements. Like it wasn't now it's everywhere. And now, like being at a company that truly like values it, I look back and I'm like, these companies that I worked for before, like I there it's night and day, like it is a complete difference. And you're like, I wish I had known A, what culture was, and B, why it's important to look for companies that have that value and actually like speak to that value and walk that value, not just like put it on their sign and be like, hey, we're cool. They actually like walk in it and like really put emphasis on it. So I think that that's something I wish I had known. They actually care about you. If I would have known the culture of credit unions, I would have applied way sooner than I am. Right. A hundred percent. And like I think about how you mentioned like different generations and they need different things. In like my leadership journey and like walking through the credit union space, they all need different things, but there is one thing that every generation, no matter what it is, wants, and it's a feeling of belonging. Like they want to know that showing up matters, and they may want to know that in different ways. And you know, you have to find that out as a leader, like what your team wants and how they feel appreciated. But like at the end of the day, no matter how old you are, no matter how long you've worked there, you want to feel like you matter. And I think that that is super important to remember when you're like a leader of teams that have multiple generations, yeah, people want to matter at the end of the day. And if you do that, then other the other things will fall into place and you can learn and grow, but you have to make sure they feel mattered. I've talked to like I have friends all over the country from COVID. COVID was wild. I met a random group of strangers on a Facebook group of people who like the office, and we were all single, and we started a Facebook group specific for that, and we had Friday night Zooms, and six years later, I still talk to a good freaking chunk of them.

unknown 38:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

And I have them and I'll say something about work, about like our culture of like one thing that we have at Harbor Light is we have our bereavement policy is 80 hours a year. You can use 40 at a time, and it can be for anything, for anybody. Like I've used it to attend a family friends funeral. I used three days of it when my dog died two years ago. Um, and there it's just and like I I say, like, like, oh yeah, we do this, or this is our culture. And I have friends going, like, wait, what? Right? You you're allowed, like your company does that for you. Yeah, yeah, they yeah, they do. They care. And I mean, when my dog died, I got multiple messages from people, uh, my work outside of work saying, like, hey, are you okay? Because she was 12. I moved across the country with this dog by myself. And like that culture is just there at the time. I feel cared for. I don't know many CEOs of companies that would text their employees after surgery to see how they're doing, but mine had. Yeah. And like, I in every role of compliance, I had to work Saturdays. Like, and it's just something you have to do, and it's much what you do when it is what it is, and you show up and you do what you got to do when you're providing a service for members and they need it. And I remember one Saturday I was working in the fraud department, and our CEO comes walking through and he is shaking the hands of everyone who was there saying, Thank you for showing up, thank you for you know, giving our members the opportunity to come and do their banking on a Saturday. That's amazing. And that to me is is wild because who does that, right? Like, what CEO does that? And so a lot of companies, you don't even know what your CEO looks like. Right. And I'm like, this my CEO just showed up shaking my hand on a Saturday morning, like thanking me for being here. And those little moments that take like nothing, like that didn't cost any money. It wasn't loud, it was a quiet moment where the person who's in charge of this company said, Hey, I see you. I appreciate you. Yeah. And I think that that's so important to find a company that does that. 100%. Our CEO walks around our our main office every morning and says hi to every single person. And it's fun when I pop in there on a day that I'm not usually, he's like, Oh, hi. Okay, right. And they're approachable. Like I I've done I've worked with our chief marketing officer, I've you know, seen our chief lending officer out at my husband's a soccer coach, and he had friends who were playing on the team. And so he was out there and you know, talking. Like it's just they're very approachable. And I had not experienced that before coming to consumers in any job that I have had, that the people who are in charge, the high leaders, the C-suite, they they walk around just like you. And it's so amazing to be able to walk and say, Hey, you know, how are you doing today? And like they know who you are, and that's just it's we uh we do uh executive round tables every quarter. So somebody had an exec team. So our CEO, the last one was our COO, and you know, it's a round table. They want to hear from us. What is working? What isn't, you know, and there's never any repercussions or judgment. And I remember one time we had a bunch of new people there, they had all been there within a month, and he's doing the exec team and the round table, and he's saying, like, I want you guys to know that my door is always open. Like, you can, unless it's like physically closed, obviously, because he's in a come in and talk. Like, there's no judgment. And somebody's like, But you're the CEO. And before you can say anything, I was like, Can I say something? I said, I have cried in every single executive office in over my 50 years, including Justin's multiple times. Like, I break down and there's never been any judgment. Yeah, you're good. Like, I walk into Justin's office all the time just to be like, hey, so random question, or to tell him a story about how you know I went and paid $120 for my lawnmower to be fixed because it wasn't starting and it was just the filter because I didn't know that. Yeah, I don't do lawnmower, so no either. I told them that he's like, okay, so I'm gonna tell you how to do it next year so it doesn't happen. And I was like, thanks, Dad. I love that culture. I love that no matter the size, because consumer is just really big compared to my place. Oh my gosh, yes. No matter the size, still there, and they're still one of us in a way, and it's not, they're not intimidating. They're gonna, they're gonna answer your questions, they're gonna be great about it, and they're gonna be welcoming. Right. And I think for consumers, the way we've grown, there has just been an intentional push to make sure that we still hold values that make people feel like they belong. Like we may grow and we may be big, but that doesn't change the fact that our CEO or our chief voice officer are approachable and we'll walk around and talk to you and like we'll take time out of their day to talk to you. So I think that is something I have really, I kind of feel like a sense of pride about when I talk about consumers is like we may be growing and we may be big, but the core of us, we are a small town credit union who values our employees and values our members so much that we make that a point to keep it as we continue to grow. And I'm I've never seen that before. So when I talk about it, I'm like this, I'm so proud. Actually keeping out values. I love it. Um Right. It's just it's wild. I love it. With anybody, like young professionals who are just joining out. What's one habit or mindset or piece of advice that you could give them of like what's gonna make the biggest difference on turn? can you do today to you know in a year or two do more right and i i have a i have a great mentor who worked at consumers for a long time and she she told me like if you find your passion you have to be loud about that passion but flexible like you it may look like like I have a passion for education so I immediately was like I should be in the education department but if that opportunity doesn't present itself do I just give up on my passion? No I like am flexible to find a different so like I did fraud education I do compliance education like I found a different way but I stayed loud about the fact that education is important and that's my passion. And I think being a young professional find your passion and then be flexible about how you apply that passion because the opportunity may not look like what you think it's supposed to but that doesn't mean it's not an opportunity to grow and truly find somewhere you want to be. Yeah opportunities look different and even right rejection can be an opportunity. Like I I have applied for multiple positions at Harbelly and didn't get them and that's okay because I I'm the person and my my piece of advice to everyone not that like I asked myself but like with that opportunity is when you apply for a position like outside of your norm, you're telling you what I get some more is you know if you're told no ask what can I do to make it a yes next time. It's never I never I was recently told by a coworker like go ask this because you never get told no and I was like I get told no all the time you just don't write about it. You don't hear about it because instead of getting mad or upset or sad I go okay so going forward if this were to happen like if obviously if it's within regulation and all of that like what can I do to make it a yes? Like you didn't give me the position this time but if the position comes up available again what can I do to possibly make it a yes and that's a big one too. Like opportunities are great and be flexible with it and find the why on how to make it happen. And be patient. Right. And I think when you're in a position where you're interviewing people for like an open spot in your department I I think it's so important to meet with someone that you are saying no to and provide them feedback and provide them thoughts and I I understand email is more efficient but for me like when I have always been in a position where I have to tell someone no we want someone else I find time to meet with them and talk to them and show them like hey it may not be right now but here are some skills if you gain you can be a top candidate if there's another position that opens up like I want to make sure that people have that opportunity to express like hey I was really frustrated in the process with this so that I can get feedback on how we handle interviews and things like that. But I also want to provide the opportunity to speak with them so they can ask those questions. And I think that that's important. Yeah email is efficient but there's nothing like one on one email doesn't provide the tone but I I feel like it's rejection comes a little bit easier when it's face to face just because it's not this nameless faceless thing and you can give the feedback and I love that you do that because that is a big and I've never worked at a place or an industry before that that never gave feedback on why you didn't get something or why the answer was no. And I'm a very big why person. I want to know I was the kid asking why why why to the point where my mom would just say I asked you asked the yes or no question and my answer was no. Like that's it. Yeah I know I have two kiddos and I have one who's in the why phase and he'll go why why and I keep trying to answer and then at some point like he'll ask about space or something and he'll be like why this mom and I'm like I don't know I have a degree in British literature like I didn't pay attention in science like I don't know so I'm very fully capable of admitting when I don't know something and being like hey let's figure this out together but it's science babe I don't know and that's a big one too of like another habit of admit that you don't know like right you don't know everything. Yep 100% and like like I just come from my perspective of parenting and leadership from the fact that like I have received emails where they've rejected you and how it feels and I've received moments where like a parent talks to you in a certain way and how you feel and I don't want to do that. Like I want to be better than what I have seen and I know what that feels like and I don't want someone to feel like that. I want to make sure that someone feels like yeah you're being rejected but you're being rejected with the opportunity to grow. It's empathy and I I think that's a huge thing that a lot of people or in general over the last especially the last like two years we've seen a lack of empathy in so many places especially online behind keyboard warriors and having that kind of empathy and talking to them and being like hey I think that's really important and I admire that you do that and I I love it. You're people so incredibly lucky to have that because you don't find that a lot of places. And I really have learned like in compliance I work with a a woman who is fantastic. She is a lawyer and she's amazing and she really has opened my eyes to being able to weigh both perspectives so one side of the problem perspective and the other side especially in the climate that we're in now where it's very divisive at times where people are like well I believe this. Why don't you believe this or you believe that that's wrong. She really has she comes at problems from the middle and like how do I understand both so that we can solve it so everyone feels like they gain something and no one feels like they're treated unfairly and I I have really valued the teaching moments that she has like provided while I've grown in compliance and I am forever grateful that that is someone who works at consumers that I can lean on and be like hey I'm coming at it from this side am I considering the other side or give me give me some help here please right like tell me I need to look at the other side what excites you the most right now with the future of how things are going in the credit union I know AI is is a big one in terms of just development leadership compliance any of it like what just kind of yeah like you're excited for yeah so I was at the U conference as well and I think you were there too and yeah I know I I saw you like I know that's what I'm saying. I was like I'm trying to network and make myself like know more people and I saw that you were there and I was like darn did I miss this opportunity I was I was the one limping around but I was there. Exactly that's all that matters I made it um I think what really excites me at the moment is the opportunity to really kind of dive in and understand the changing landscapes like to know kind of how things swing. It's it's been a while since we've had a huge pendulum shift in the compliance arena so to be a part of it at this time and be able to see like hey what's our risk tolerance hey do we want to swing with the pendulum do we want to stay more towards the middle do we want to go a little bit more conservative on certain policies or not? Like it really is an opportunity to try different things and see if they work and if they don't then we grow and we learn and I think I appreciate the way that compliance kind of has been set up in consumers credit union. So our chief risk officer set up made this department and it really is an idea of we aren't people who say no. We are people who provide feedback and provide different options but we really want to encourage creativity within the regulations in marketing within all those things that we have to weigh in on because we're not the people that are like we're no fun. Like we're the people that are like let's have fun but we got to make sure we cover these things and then we can continue having fun kind of vibe. And so it's been such a great experience to be able to be in a landscape like we are today and really see what's important, what we need to critique what we need to fix, what we need to tweak maybe a little bit, what has been given some breeding room and what hasn't so I really think that the entire regulatory landscape and I NAI included is just very interesting at this time. Like there's a lot happening and there's a lot changing and there's a lot going on that like it's so interesting and fascinating as someone who's new to this career in compliance that I'm joining now so that I see this huge swing and then I can be like okay well this is what happened last time there's a swing so now we know better and we're equipped to handle what's going on. Yeah no I love it. Finally my my final question for you is I don't know if you've listened to any of the episodes it's the same that I ask everybody especially those who have had operational experience but is there like you're we're all passionate like anybody who comes on here we've talked we're passionate about credit unions like we love it. Yes is there a specific moment that kind of stuck out with you of like this is why I love my job this is why I love where I work this is why I do it is there like a specific moment that like just kind of sticks out to you I would have to say it's actually a recent moment like there have been moments where I I have said I love my job but like recently we had I live in Plainwell and recently we had a tornado go through and it was like three minutes from a house. Oh my god it was absolutely insane it was absolutely terrifying it was terrifying but tornadoes are really I know I'm like don't come here we just like built a new place set for my son and I was like oh my god if it tears up this place that I'm gonna be so upset. I grew up in Lansing and Flint and then I moved out west where they don't get tornadoes and then I live in Miskegon so we don't really get tornadoes and last year I'm in a tornado like my alarm my ADT alarm system is beeping phone and I called them and I was like it's dark out what do I look like for a tornado she goes is it really quiet outside I said I can't hear Jack and she goes you better get inside and I was like and I'm in the basement like panicking and my grandma's like you're such a wimp you understand I know it was like 1140 when we got the warning and the sirens are going off and I'm pulling kids out of bed and I'm like we gotta go. Yeah yeah but we were okay and the next day I get a bunch of texts from my team my coworkers people that I've worked with in the in consumers credit union since the beginning are you okay? Like do you need something? Like what's going on? And for me that moment is just like a confirmation that the journey I have been on with consumers has been one that's so incredibly meaningful outside of just being my job. Like the person who officiated my wedding I met through consumers. The person who walked me down the aisle at my wedding is someone I met through consumers. Oh my gosh these are people who altered my existence and who made it better and I wouldn't have gotten that opportunity if consumers didn't value culture. I would never have met these people I would never have gotten that opportunity. So it just is like this culmination and it's a great question to ask because I'm like this is the this is a great moment to share it's just this culmination of hey we really care about everyone outside of just being our coworkers like we're human beings and we care and it it was like one of those feelings where you're like oh my gosh people care that I I'm still here that our house is still standing you like me you really like me. Exactly I know so it's just it's just those moments that remind you like yeah consumers is a larger credit union but it's also a small town credit union that still has that vibe and the people who work for it are some of the most empathetic honest human beings I've ever met in my life and I am so incredibly grateful. Oh my gosh I love that thank you so much for talking to me and telling me all about it and your journey I you have been so much fun to talk to you don't even know I love this yay I'm so excited and we will meet in person 100% like next conference I'm gonna be like are you going? Are we going together? Whatever you're gonna be at uh the MCL G A C next month I will be there. I will also be at Ace next year. So yep I'll be there next week too so we'll figure out we'll be there we're gonna be there together yes we love it thank you so much yes thank you for taking the time I hope you have a great rest of your Saturday you too yeah bye