People Helping People: Benchmarking Member and Employee Well-Being

Executive Summary

Based on responses from 124 leaders across 101 U.S. credit unions, this report benchmarks efforts across three dimensions: member financial well-being, overall member well-being, and employee well-being. The findings reveal a strong commitment alongside opportunities to strengthen how these efforts are organized, delivered, and evaluated.

Credit unions are putting the cooperative principle of people helping people into practice through financial well-being products and programs. They are also exploring ways to support members more holistically, with efforts beyond financial well-being centered primarily on social connection and community. Employee well-being efforts address a broader range of needs, including career development, mental and physical health, and financial well-being.  

The next opportunity for credit unions is to strengthen the organizational capabilities behind this work. Clear leadership accountability, better-connected data, and stronger measurement and evaluation practices can help credit unions understand whether their efforts are improving well-being. Across the industry, shared measurement frameworks and evaluation approaches can build on the work of individual credit unions to guide investment decisions, demonstrate value for members and the organization, and help effective practices scale.

Credit Union Implications

• Credit unions can strengthen their well-being efforts by designating a senior leader or point person accountable for well-being initiatives. Pairing this accountability with a clear plan, budget, and approach to assessing progress can make these efforts more deliberate and coordinated across the organization.
• Members' immediate financial pressures are growing, and credit unions can help by strengthening support for emergency savings and debt management. Test approaches that build on existing offerings, such as automatic savings, behavioral prompts, affordable small-dollar credit, and targeted financial counseling.
• Support beyond financial well-being can be achieved through partnerships. Connect members to public benefits, community resources, and health services through trusted referral relationships. These partnerships can extend the credit union's contribution to overall well-being without requiring expertise in every area.
• Support employees' well-being at work and beyond by pairing help managing financial emergencies with workplace practices that strengthen autonomy, employee voice, and supportive leadership. Pilot promising financial well-being initiatives with employees before extending them to members.
• Measure changes in well-being by considering both its objective and subjective aspects. Combining account and transaction data with members' reported financial security, stress, and sense of control can help credit unions better understand their members and provide the support they need.
• There is a significant opportunity for the industry to demonstrate impact and business value by using common outcome measures and sharing evaluation findings. Credit unions can examine how well-being initiatives also advance organizational goals to guide investment and identify practices worth scaling.