NORWICH – Sidney Federal Credit Union (SFCU) was able to make upgrades for its customers, keep team members safe, and break ground on a new branch in 2020.
According to Sidney Federal Credit Union Vice President of Marketing Keith May, 2020 was a year of progress for SFCU with a new ATM in the Price Chopper Plaza in the Town of Norwich, and the announcement for a new branch in Amsterdam New York.
As of early 2021, SFCU had 55,844 members, $607 Million in assets, and nine branches located in Sidney, Bainbridge, Greene, Norwich, Market St. Oneonta, Oneida St. Oneonta, Delhi, Walton, and Hancock with a 10th branch Amsterdam coming in later 2021.
May said while growth was important for SFCU, safety was at the top of their priority list with the pandemic looming throughout the year.
“In preparing for the pandemic our number one priority was the safety of our staff and members,” he said. “Deploying staff to remote positions and being able to provide them the equipment and resources was critical.”
“We also needed to ensure as staff were deployed to a remote work environment, we were able protect our members’ information, which was accomplished through multiple levels of required authentication, but also provide the high level of member experience our members are accustomed to.”
Nearly a year later, as the number of COVID-19 cases started to rise again, SFCU was able to pivot quickly to a hybrid model for administrative employees. With proper precautions and protocol in place they were able to leave branch lobbies open for members to continue to conduct business in person.
“Having the majority of staff working in a remote environment; most of whom have never worked in that kind of environment is probably the most relatable challenge we faced,” May added. “Keeping staff focused and engaged, managers learning how to manage employees they cannot see face to face and keeping morale up during the long months of winter.”
“Our team really rose to the occasion.”
May said SFCU used the Teams application to hold virtual meetings and have engaging events. He said the organization hosted a series of fun contests that employees could participate in and as the days warmed up remote employees made signs at home and visited their local branches to socially show support for SFCU’s invaluable group of frontline workers, our tellers and platform staff.
“We are lucky to have nimble staff; they have become adapted to the changing landscape of our industry as a result COVID-19,” he said. “They have adapted to virtual models with ease.”
“Team members have been flexible in helping other departments in different roles, they have learned new ways of doing daily tasks and are ready to take on what each day brings.”
He added that with a flexible and hardworking the organization was able to push towards upgrading existing services and adding new ones.
“We were able to make upgrades in our online banking for business members, and these upgrades allowed for a tailored and more personalized business banking experience,” said May. “Also our commercial lending department was able to secure a SBA authorization to provide much needed PPP loans to our business members.”
“We will officially be rolling out our new Mastercard Rewards program which will be a huge benefit to our members and allow us to remain relevant and competitive within the credit card sector.”
May said SFCU has major plans for its digital platforms to provide a more concierge and robust experience to our members. He said they will also be actively working towards becoming an SBA 7.a lender to be able to better serve the businesses in their communities.
May added that COVID-19 will continue to be a big driver in a lot of what the economic landscape looks like for 2021 and the years to come.
“We are dedicated to being flexible and ready to make changes where we need to always have the best interest of our members and staff in mind,” said May. “In the next 6 months we will have opened our 10th branch in Amsterdam, NY and will officially have rolled out our Mastercard Rewards program.”
“In 2020, despite the challenging climate we were able to experience record growth in both membership and loan volume both consumer and commercial. We plan to continue on that path into 2021.”
Sidney Federal Credit Union did not have to reduce staff due to the pandemic, and that continues to be the case. While branch lobbies were closed, administrative staff was sent home to work remotely.
“We shifted our plans on finalizing Mastercard rewards to having our digital operations team support the surging use of online services,” he said. “Business development turned into a team of 20 employees conducting member outreach and calling every member, 55,000 members, at the credit union to let them know we were here for whatever they needed.”
“We have learned we are resilient; We were reminded of what we already know. SFCU is a big family and our members are just as much of that family as we are to each other.”
He added that while we are a ways away from “post-COVID-19” and the road will be long for many businesses.
“Small businesses who are fortunate enough to make it will be rebuilding for years to come, and they will need assistance, counseling, and support,” said May. “Members of the community who lost their jobs will need help for years to come.”
“The emotional impact of COVID-19 and all the friends and family lost will forever be in the back of our minds and in our hearts.”