Exceptional Values, Processes and People Account for Quality.

north Island Federal Credit Union (NIFCU) received awards and global recognition in 1999 from Arthur Andersen for "Best Practices" and from organizational guru Ken Blanchard for being a "Best Place to Work in San Diego." Strategic leadership, human resources and customer service have been acknowledged as areas where we excel because of our perpetual attention to quality. Our peers have joked about a "secret formula." However, we believe that exceptional values, processes and people are essential to achieving quality at a continuing, escalating level.

For most emerging businesses, the pursuit of quality in the workplace -- especially the kind that translates into bottom-line success -- is never an easy undertaking. The irony, no matter what your industry, is that the hard part begins once you've succeeded in achieving your quality goals. Why? Because resting on your laurels without an eye toward improvement or change is unwise in a business world that evolves through revolution, both small and large. Merely seeking to maintain what you and your employees have worked to create, may ultimately lead to organizational stagnation.

Corporate leaders can prevent this situation and its potential negative business results by developing and implementing an architecture for continuous quality improvement. Granted every company leader has a personal theory about achieving success, but priority should be given to comprehensive ways in which your business can practice and project a commitment to quality and excellence.

Values and Processes

Strong business processes are propelled by definitive values that become pervasive throughout all the activities and departments of your organization. NIFCU's corporate values are reflected by the acronym CLASSIQ (Communication, Leadership, Accountability, Service, Symbolism, Integrity and Quality). Aligned under this values "umbrella" are the "Formula for Success," corporate mission statement and "Eight Quality Criteria." They are explained as follows:

1. Mission Statement: "...continually improving quality service and customized products that promote personal fiscal responsibility and organizational safety and soundness." By offering the best possible service and products, we can secure financial benefits for ourselves and our members.

2. Formula for Success: "...employee satisfaction and accountability drives member satisfaction (or customer satisfaction, in other industries), which in turn, equates to financial success." This emphasis on the balance between employees' and members' satisfaction -- a "people first" philosophy-- creates a solid foundation for workplace culture.

3. Eight Quality Criteria. Service drives member satisfaction. All employees are consistently made aware of service expectations within the framework of the Eight Quality Criteria. These criteria were derived from benchmarking studies, and validated through member focus groups. They include:

* Timeliness

* Accuracy

* Friendliness

* Clarity

* Competence

* Features

* Accessibility

* Appearance

These three representations of CLASSIQ values have proven to be effective. When they are integrated into employee training and incentive programs, they instill a foundation for communication, unity and satisfaction among all employees. Simultaneously, management gains trust in employees to contribute to the company based on their professional training, experience and expectations. Overall, CLASSIQ promises, among other ideas, that employees will be given the required professional infrastructure, resources and work culture to succeed and excel.

The People

Jobs at NIFCU are created to provide a high level of quality and productivity. It takes exceptional personnel to meet these goals. Consequently, we promote an employee- and family-friendly culture to attract and retain the best staff resources. We have been able to consistently attract and retain staff who reinforce our quality orientation by aligning corporate values, goals, processes and financial objectives.

Staff at all levels remain motivated by their jobs, which are designed across the organization to allow flexibility, opportunity and professional challenge. Individuals and teams alike are encouraged to take initiative, solve problems and design work process improvements. Several programs highlight how you can to foster career development, recognize and reward work, and support overall employee health and wellbeing, including:

1. The PACE (Planning, Accountability, Coaching and Evaluation) process, a comprehensive performance management system, has elements applicable to many types of organizations. As a communications tool, the PACE process provides the opportunity for a supervisor and employee to review performance, assess strengths, provide recognition and promote discussions on necessary improvements. During the PACE cycle, the supervisor and employee work together to create a specific program of plans and goals for the employee. Their collaboration is based on a clear understanding of performance accountabilities and expected results. The plan or "accountability map" is intended to improve job performance and promote future development.

2. The Excellence in Service Program (ESP) is a hallmark recognition plan. ESP is an incentive bonus program that rewards employees based on individual performance and team participation in relation to predetermined goals. Generally, these goals relate to ROA/Return on Assets (financial performance) and member service. Employees are rewarded for the attainment of these company objectives. The purpose of the program is to improve both internal and external service -- employee supporting employee -- in order to serve the membership and maximize productivity and efficiency.

3. Flexible Work Environment. The importance of balancing work and family, has led to the implementation of several programs to assist employees. The use of flextime, compressed work weeks, jobsharing and telecommuting by departments and branches has increased in recent years. Currently, 60 percent of our employees take advantage of some form of flextime, which also includes 30- and 32-hour work schedules with full-time benefits.

The Results

What are the potential results for your company - no matter what its size - when exceptional values, processes and people are in place? A point of pride for myself and my organization, has not only been the bottom-line, but also an independent employee opinion survey commissioned every 12-18 months.

Each time; our programs have been deemed effective in many critical organizational areas. These include executive and managerial leadership, technology implementation (including the integration of Gateway products), work environment and human resources policy and procedures.

The survey reveals the possibilities of an entrepreneurial mindset (even for our 60 year old company). By continually reinventing your company, you develop an appropriate values based architecture to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Ultimately, through its proper implementation, the resulting commitment to excellence will lead to the business success and recognition your company desires.

About the author: Mike Maslak the President/CEO of North Island Federal Credit Union, one of the nation largest credit unions with assets of $858 million and 112,000 members through 10 branches in San Diego County.