If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times – the credit union culture is great! And the way myCUmortgage and its team of experts embrace that culture is out of this world! Last week was a perfect example of how myCUmortgage lives the credit union way in everything they do. They extended beyond the day-to-day workings and interactions with partner credit unions and members to deliver a galactic dose of culture to its internal experts.
Celebrating its culture and continuing to build upon the team comradery that myCUmortgage is known for, nearly 50 experts attended a Dayton Dragons baseball game. Gathering directly behind the centerfield fence, it was a grand opportunity for experts to be together in a casual environment, chatting and laughing and even talking a little mortgage-speak. Everyone had smiles on their faces, just like the smiles we share when we assist a partner credit union in getting a member into a home… or help keep a member in their home during times of despair… or show a member that homeownership is possible… you get the picture.
But this post isn’t about the credit union culture. Instead, I want to share an observation I made while attending that minor league baseball game.
For those of you not familiar with professional baseball, I’ll do a high-level overview that will help set the stage for my observation. The ultimate destination for individuals who want to make a career out of playing baseball is the MLB, or Major League Baseball. To get there, they need to work their way up through the minor leagues. Each professional baseball team works with several minor league teams to develop players for the big leagues. When players show progress, they move up until eventually, the big stars end up on a major league team.
The Dayton Dragons are a minor league team for the Cincinnati Reds, and we’ve certainly witnessed the early growth of many big-league stars coming from the Dragons. Currently, Dayton is in first place in their division and poised to make the playoffs. When I realized this, that’s when my alien brain observed what a great feat that is. Here’s why…
Due to the nature of the professional baseball development system, the minor league teams have rosters that are constantly changing, with players getting “called up” to other teams or players joining the roster from other programs. Since baseball is a team sport, that makes it difficult to develop true cohesion on the field and in the dugout, and it makes it even more difficult to have a consistently victorious team.
While raw talent of the players certainly contributes to minor league success, I feel the true factor that keeps them winning is an excellent coaching staff. No single minor league team can rely on individual “stars” to carry them through a season or get them out of tough situations on the field because as these players become “stars,” they move to other teams. The coaching staff must have a true “team” mentality in preparing their players for the field of play and leading them to wins.
It’s no different in credit union mortgage lending. While there are certainly some loan originators who are heavy hitters, they can only do so much by themselves. They need a team and a coaching staff of experts behind them to succeed in helping get members into homes.
Processors, underwriters, marketers, IT specialists, closers, accountants, servicers, those making sure everything is compliant, those helping to keep members in their homes… Again, I think you get the picture. And I haven’t even mentioned the support of additional service providers, like mortgage insurance companies and title agencies.
You are a part of a bigger team whose single goal is to help more members with homeownership through the life of their loans. And nowhere is the culture of teamwork more prevalent than in the credit union space! That’s why at myCUmortgage, we KNOW that the best path to homeownership is – without a shadow of a doubt – through credit unions.
Tell us about your credit union teamwork stories below, and we can all celebrate those victories together. Go Dragons!