IGNITING FINANCIAL FUTURES OUR STORy OUR VALUES OUR BRAND
1 Culture Guide
CULTURE GUIDE This culture guide tells our story, defines the cultural values we share, solidifies the brand behaviors that we exemplify, and tells the story of our people. It’s a guide that reveals how we live our values day in and day out. In these pages, we celebrate who we are as an organization, and the experiences we create for our employees, members, and the communities we serve.
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Our approach
THE CREATION STORY Our story began in 1933 when ham operator Arthur Collins founded The Collins Radio Company. Collins was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma in 1909 and moved to Cedar Rapids as a child when his father established Collins Farms Company. When he was nine years old, Arthur became fascinated with the new marvel of radio which led him to establish Collins Radio Company in 1933 in Delaware. On May 13, 1937, the company reorganized as an Iowa corporation. Today, Collins Radio Company is known as Rockwell Collins. Collins Radio Company not only was a leader in innovation and technology but also in the credit union movement. In 1940, ten Collins Radio Employees were looking for an alternative to
banking so they established Collins Employees Credit Union. They believed in the “People Helping People� philosophy of the credit union movement, so they took a risk. What started in 1940 as a small employee credit union has ignited financial success for thousands of Collins Community Credit Union members across the state of Iowa. Today, due to regulatory changes and increased product offerings, it might be hard to explain the difference between a credit union and bank, but at one time there was a very real difference between the philosophies of each institution. Historically, banks focused on providing services to commercial and business customers. Their goal was to make a profit, not to take care of the little guy.
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Our approach
However, credit unions were founded on the “people helping people” philosophy. The credit union movement began in the mid-19th century when desperate German farmers banded together (Picture: Credit Union Little Guy) to address their financial needs. The idea was simple: farmers purchased a share in the cooperative and the cooperative used the money to make loans to the farmers at reasonable rates. Traditionally, the goal of a credit union is to help the little guy and protect them from loan (Picture: Edward Filene) sharks and predatory lenders. Boston department store owner, and father of the U.S. credit union movement,
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Edward Filene, took the position that credit unions benefited employers as well as employees. After more than 75 years of service, we have outgrown our affiliation with Rockwell Collins and pride ourselves on being a community credit union that offers financial products and services to members throughout the state while staying true to the “people helping people” spirit of the movement. We work hard each and every day to help our members dream, imagine, innovate, and ignite their financial future. What ten Collins Radio Employees started in 1940 has grown to become one of the largest credit unions in the state with over $1 billion in assets and over 300 employees. At Collins Community Credit Union we are committed to igniting the financial futures of our employees, our members, and the communities we serve.
5 Photo courtesy of AndyJanning.com
AS A MEMBER, YOU’RE AN OWNER As an employee at Collins Community Credit Union, you, and your family have the unique opportunity to become owners of our organization. Like a bank, a credit union offers many of the same financial products and services including checking and savings accounts, auto loans, mortgage loans, and investment services. Additionally, credit unions are federally insured by the NCUA up to $250,000. So, how is a credit union different than a bank? A credit union is a not-forprofit financial cooperative, which means we’re owned by our members, not shareholders. And, excess earnings are returned to members in the form of more affordable products and services. Historically, credit unions were founded by people who shared a workplace affiliation, neighborhood, or house of worship, but today many are open to the community. Another difference in the credit union industry is that we are led by a volunteer board of directors who are elected by our members each year at the annual membership meeting. Our members have the opportunity to be elected onto our board & influence change.
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Our Sacred Words
Igniting Financial Futures Our mission is to ignite the financial futures of our employees, our members, our organization, and the communities we serve through empathy, education, products and services. This simple phrase reflects our cultural values, provides our organization with purpose, and influences every single decision we make. At Collins Community Credit Union, we value people, wellness, growth, community, and fun. We believe that purpose and value are more credible when brought to life through behavior and action; so we practice specific behaviors that tie directly to our cultural values to ignite the financial futures of our employees, members, and the community.
CULTURE VALUES • People – People are our priority. We value results, relationships, communication, and leadership. We encourage our staff to build human connections and practice empathy with one another. • Wellness – At Collins Community Credit Union we value wellness because we know your mental, physical, and emotional well-being is essential to your success at work and at home. • Growth – At Collins Community Credit Union we give our employees opportunities to learn and grow because when we better ourselves, we better our team, which allows us to be better for our members. Be brave, take risks, and ignite growth. • Community – Our goal is to foster community within our workplace so it transcends into the communities where we live, work, play, and serve. At Collins Community Credit Union we believe that creating a sense of belonging helps foster our community and the communities we serve.
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• Fun – Let’s face it, we spend more time at the credit union than we do at home, so why not have a little fun?
It's Your turn
BLANK SPACE Create your own Collins Culture Value! Write down a word or phrase that best describes you.
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CONNECT WITH COLLINS One way we foster community within the credit union is by providing opportunities for our team to actively participate in credit union initiatives. We have three peer lead programs that facilitate programming and activities that support our overall mission and values and demonstrate our brand behaviors. These programs include the Community Action Committee, the Wellness Committee, and the Brand Champions. The credit union also has an in-house mentoring program, and learning and development opportunities. Additional learning and development opportunities are provided through the Iowa Credit Union League. Visit the intranet for more information, or ask your manager how you can get involved.
Talk the Talk
HOW WE COMMUNICATE At Collins Community Credit Union effective communication is a key to our success. Our members and co-workers rely on us to communicate effectively, efficiently, and in a timely manner. We have a variety of communication tools available including an internal chat system, email, phone, and an intranet.
To ensure smooth sailing, it is expected that all phone calls, voicemails, and emails are acknowledged within 24 hours. Emails must include the standard corporate email signature, be clear of backgrounds, hard to read fonts and colors, and must be checked for grammar and spelling. We also expect all employees to use the credit union's standard voicemail greetings. These can be found on the Intranet.
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PEOPLE When selecting people to join our team, we want to make sure that they’re the right fit for our organization. We look beyond qualities that were traditionally sought after in applicants such as G.P.A. or whether or not someone went to college, and look at the applicant’s soft skills – things like leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability, and the desire for growth, because our goal is to select candidates who share our organization’s vision and cultural values. This process starts directly with interviewing. The Human Resources team has developed a series of culture questions designed to facilitate conversation with potential employees to ensure they’re a good fit for our organization.
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Where to Find Us
OUR PLACES
Cedar Falls
Dubuque
Marion Cedar Rapids Des Moines
Throughout the years, we have welcomed the chance to grow in our communities, and in doing so have been able to grow throughout the state of Iowa.
North Liberty Iowa City
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Our History
1932 The Collins Radio Company was founded by ham operator Arthur Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is now known as Rockwell Collins and produces government/ commercial communications equipment with an emphasis on aviation.
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1940
1982
June 21 1940, Collins Employees Credit Union was established by 10 of the 275 employees of the Collins Radio Company. The state-chartered credit union was to serve the employees of Collins Radio Company and members of their immediate family.
August 15 1982, Special Membership Meeting: Voted to amend Certificate of Organization to change name from Collins Employees Credit Union to Collins Credit Union. With the addition of several select employee groups over the years, it was necessary since the Credit Union no longer served just employees of Collins Radio Company.
1974 1954 Assets exceed $1 million
August 29 1974, A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new building at 1150 42nd Street NE, Cedar Rapids.
1990 The Credit Union celebrated its 50th anniversary.
50 YEARS
Our History
1998
2015
To protect the Credit Union’s current and future field of membership, an application for a community charter was submitted to the state. On August 3, 1998, Collins Credit Union was renamed Collins Community Credit Union serving persons who live or work in any of eight contiguous counties in Eastern Iowa (Linn, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Delaware, Iowa, Johnson, and Jones).
Collins Community Credit Union expanded into the Dubuque community.
2014 2008 December 2008, Collins Community Credit Union opens its first branch in Johnson County with the opening of its North Liberty branch. Grand opening week took place in January 2009.
2013 March 2013, The Credit Union expanded its field of membership to include: Scott, Clinton, Jackson, Dubuque, Clayton, Fayette, Bremer, Black Hawk, Tama, Poweshiek, Mahaska, Wapello, Jefferson, Henry, and Des Moines.
July 2014, Collins Community Credit Union expanded into the Des Moines Metro area.
Collins Community Credit Union also celebrated its 75th anniversary.
2016 Collins Community Credit Union expanded into the Cedar Falls community. Collins Community Credit Union also reached $1 billion in assets.
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BENEFITS At Collins Community Credit Union we offer a variety of benefits to help our employees ignite their financial futures. Our benefits include traditional benefits such as medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, long and short term disability, and life insurance. As well as, flexible spending accounts for both dependent care and medical expenses, and a health savings account (HSA) that may be used in conjunction with a high deductible health plan. Additional wellness benefits include annual wellness hours to be used for things like medical appointments, workout classes, and family time, along with a formalized wellness program to provide our team with tools and resources to help them live a healthy lifestyle. We also invest in our employees by offering an enhanced 401(k) plan and tuition reimbursement.
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Our Human Resources team is continually evaluating our benefits and making adjustments to ensure we’re meeting our employee’s needs and making our organization the best place to work!
Days of Old and New
1969-1976
1962-1969
1982-1988
1976-1981
1998-2004
1988-1998
2004-Today
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Conclusion
This book tells our story, and you are a main character in our next chapter. These words define our purpose and inspire our success. They are a testament to where we come from and where we want to go. Use this guide as the framework to find ways to contribute your unique talents and skills to enhance the Collins experience. Be brave. Take risks. Ignite change.
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Sources: https://hbr.org/2013/05/six-components-of-culture // The Fool Rules! – Motley Fool Culture Guide // A Brief History of Credit Unions – National Credit Union Administration How to Get a Job at Google – Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times and Laszlo Bock, Senior Vice President of People Operations for Google
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