MADISON, Wis. (10/3/14)--Six credit unions were honored as part of the 10th annual CUNA Operations, Sales and Service (OpSS) Council's Excellence Awards, which recognize innovative solutions optimizing credit union performance.

The award winners, recognized during the council's 17th annual conference last month in Las Vegas, are:

• URW Community FCU, Danville, Va., with $116 million in assets, was honored in the branch design category for credit unions with assets less than $150 million for its "Build It and They Will Come" entry. URW replaced the teller line with pods, creating a more inviting atmosphere for serving members. The branch reached profitability in one year, two years ahead of schedule;
• Oregon Community CU, Springfield, Ore., with $1.2 billion in assets, was recognized in the branch design category for credit unions with assets of more than $500 million for its "Salem Service Center: Branch Relocation with Non-Traditional Branch Design" entry. The credit union moved to a permanent, more modern branch from a leased space with a traditional offering. To provide 24/7 access, the credit union has employed NextGen ATMs. The teller line was replaced with pods, and all staff are universal employees, now called service center representatives. This approach streamlined staffing while improving member service;
• Point Breeze CU, Hunt Valley, Md., with $737 million in assets, walked away with an Excellence Award in the miscellaneous category for credit unions with assets of more than $500 million for its "Centralization of Lending and Changes to Improve Efficiency" entry. Point Breeze achieved record loan growth by centralizing its lending function. By bringing several functions under one roof, the credit union created staffing efficiency and improved employee schedules, which ultimately improved morale;
• Nymeo FCU, Frederick, Md., with $252 million in assets, was honored in the sales and service management category for credit unions with assets between $150 million and $500 million for its "Sales and Service Culture Transformation at Nymeo FCU" entry. A name change from ComStar to Nymeo FCU started a cultural revolution for staff and membership. The three-year, three-phased approach has helped the credit union improve in its five areas of measured success: return on assets, member retention, organic growth, delinquency and investment services growth;
• Red Canoe CU, Longview, Wash., with $599 million in assets, won in the sales and service management category for credit unions with assets of more $500 million for its "Award-Winning Referrals and Rock of Stages" entry. Red Canoe reinforced its referral process by breaking down and documenting the process, then coaching its staff. The process improved employee skills by creating eight categories to train and monitor. A yearlong program was designed to increase referrals to the credit union's investment services team. Both cleverly branded campaigns had contests that engaged the front line and led to improved results; and
• Travis CU, Vacaville, Calif., with $2.2 billion in assets, received Best of Show for its "Sales and Service Superheroes" entry. Training is the foundation of a program aimed at giving employees the power to improve members' financial lives. Once in the field, the training is supported through internal campaigns and quarterly sales awards. Success stories are shared throughout the organization. An onboarding process is supported by a data warehouse. All of this is reinforced through performance management. This comprehensive approach has allowed Travis to nearly triple its gross loan production in a little more than 2 1/2 years.

The OpSS Council Excellence Awards were created to identify, recognize, and share new approaches and solutions with universal application in the credit union movement. Winners were chosen based on strategy, process, application and results.