Nobody Notices Normal
05/24/2019
By: Jim Struble
This Tuesday, I had the pleasure of being part of my first Annual Meeting for Electro Savings! I have to admit that between the Blues game (Gloria!) and the severe weather rolling in at the exact wrong time, it concerned me as to whether we would have anyone show up! Luckily, I was wrong, and we had plenty of members, volunteers, and staff come to support us as we celebrated our 77th Annual Meeting.
I had a few favorite moments that night, one of them being the chance to introduce and recognize the staff of Electro. Instead of reading off their names, I took the opportunity to share some stories and highlights of what these talented people had done in the extraordinary last year.
There were plenty of stories to draw from this last year: more than I told, and more than could fit into a night’s worth of telling stories. Our staff has a knack for creating ‘not normal’ experiences for others, and the impact they have on our members and each other is extraordinary. I fully appreciate this, as nobody notices normal!
Our members could come into our branches, or call our Member Care Call Center and ‘get their order taken,’ but not a single member would be impacted in a way we truly want to impact people. Our staff could come to work put their heads down and do their jobs, so things work smoothly internally here at Electro, but not a single staff member would be impacted the way we truly want to impact people.
Nobody notices normal, and normal is not what you experience with the staff of Electro.
- Normal is not searching out a non-profit to cover copays for our members’ children to allow them to keep paying on their car so they don’t lose their ability to get to work. Our Electro family does this.
- Normal is not forming a brigade of people on a hot, humid summer day to bring a near semi-load of school supplies to stock up local classrooms and save local teachers from having to pay out of pocket for these supplies, then go back to work the rest of the day in gross sweaty clothes. Our Electro family does this.
- Normal is not volunteering weekends and nights to connect with locals on their turf, just in case, they don’t feel comfortable coming into a branch to ask questions because they have never had a banking account before. Our Electro family does this.
- Normal is not telling our own life stories to provide a level of vulnerability that translates to members feeling comfortable enough to tell us their own, so we can understand how best to help them. Our Electro family does this.
- Normal is not accepting change with open arms because you DESIRE to become the best financial institution option for our members on all levels. Our Electro family does this.
- Normal is not creating an ongoing narrative with a fake radio station to help other employees recognize the good that goes on behind the scenes at our organization. Our Electro family does this.
People don’t come to you for what you do. People come to you for who you are. Nobody notices normal, and normal is not what you experience with the staff members at Electro Savings.