Monday, August 27, 2018

Discovery Conference Brought Credit Unions Together for 2019 Strategic Planning Training




Our ninth-annual Discovery Conference brought credit union leaders and employees together to learn about and discuss strategic planning trends for 2019. Over the course of the day, speakers and panels discussed future economic trends and predictions, the auto lending boom, rising interest rates, technological advances, multicultural initiatives, analytics and much more.

Keynote Speaker Scott Bales
Keynote speaker Scott Bales kicked off the day by setting the technological landscape. With technology and data changing so quickly, he says businesses will need to make sure they collect only the data that is relevant to their industry. Bales suggests credit unions look to their employees to move forward with innovation. He says many employees already know what problems need to be solved. They just need to know their organization has confidence in them to pursue their ideas.

In addition to changing technology, Anne Legg from AdvantEdge Analytics says credit unions must meet customers where they are. Because member expectations have changed, this integration will be even more important in the future.
Chief Economist Steve Rick

Other highlights from the conference included:
  • Chief Economist Steve Rick predicted current economic trends will continue for another year, followed by a slight economic recession in 2020.
  • Filene Director Elry Armaza analyzed how the personality of a credit union’s CEO can impact its business and employee engagement.
  • Financial Support Consultant Bob Larson investigated how rising interest rates may impact the profitability of certain lending products.
  • Vice President of Sales Susan Hochsprung says record auto sales may be masking potential issues for credit unions and how to identify them.

The Discovery Conference is now available on-demand through February 2019. Once registered, participants can access all breakout sessions, hot topic chats and keynotes at any time, at no cost. Check it out today!