Wauna Credit Union isn’t just a name. It actually says a whole lot about who we are as an organization. The first part is Wauna, because we were founded by members of the Wauna Mill 51-years-ago. While, we’ve expanded some over the years, it’s only to neighboring communities. We’re local, and proud that our name represents that. The second part, credit union, means something too. A lot of people don’t realize that credit unions are different than banks. In reality, we’re actually quite different. We call that the Credit Union Difference, and it’s why here at WCU we want you to join a credit union. It would be great if it was us, but if you’re putting your money and getting your loans from a credit union, we know you’re being looked out for.
At Wauna Credit Union, we serve our members by listening. If you read our anniversary blog post — we like to call them Waunaversaries — you’ll hear people talking about The Member Advantage (TMA). Every single employee at WCU spends a weekend in training and multiple phone calls to learn the best process to ensure that we are asking the right questions, and listening, to help our members.
Asking and listening are a big part of it, but how do we know we are listening in a way that we actually hear what our members are saying. Last week, six members of the WCU family attended the Emotional Intelligence workshop hosted by LCHRMA at Tongue Point Job Corps in Astoria, where they learned more about how to consider their own emotions, as well as the emotions of the people they are speaking with to ensure true communication.
The workshop taught them the importance of first identifying their own emotions and preconceived opinions to understand their strengths and limits, and the importance of recognizing and regulating those emotions to get a clear mind to guide decisions.
In addition, the workshop focused on the importance of empathy, and identifying the impact other’s state of mind has on their interactions.
“It’s important for us to understand ourselves, and to work to understand others in all of our conversations,” said Anna Bennet of WCU. “TMA teaches us to listen and interview, before offering a solution, but we also need to work to understand what our members and colleagues are really trying to tell us. The Emotional Intelligence Workshop helped reinforce that idea that you only get valuable information from people if you are willing to put in the time and effort to hear what they are saying.”
The workshop not only provided value to the attendees, but will provide future value across the credit union, as those who attended share what they learned about emotional intelligence with their colleagues through formal training, and informal discussions.
