Spotlight: Believing in the power of its people, FirstOntario invests in developing leadership talent from within.

Credit unions are being pressed like never before to attract and retain top talent. Facing a national wide talent shortage accelerated by the impact of the pandemic and a generational retirement shift, many organizations are redoubling efforts to build leadership bench strength from within. 

Believing that the strength of its leaders is the backbone for positive employee experience, innovation, and a high-performance culture, FirstOntario Credit Union made a significant investment in its future and is implementing an organization-wide employee development strategy that begins with leadership skills development.

 “Our leaders bring with them a vast set of skills and knowledge and are an integral part of our employee experience and the success of our credit union. We want to give them a common language for leadership and coaching and provide them with the tools to strengthen leadership skills and confidence.”

FirstOntario’s Tom Irvine, AVP, Employee Development and Engagement

Following a thorough market review, FirstOntario made the decision to enter a partnership with CCUA and eLeadership Academy to give all its people leaders the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Applied Leadership.  Today, after offering the program for one year, FirstOntario sees great value in the program because it provides online access to training and a unique opportunity for idea exchange through a community of credit union leaders. Irvine says, “Partnering with CCUA for our training was an important strategic decision and our shared cooperative principles were a central consideration in our decision-making process.”

Leadership training is just one of the many ways CCUA Education team is supporting the learning culture at FirstOntario. “From a strong focus on mentorship and credit union-focused university accreditations to ensuring employees have custom learning paths designed to support their career development, CCUA is proud to have a strategic partnership with FirstOntario to support their internal culture development work and to build their member-facing competencies,” said Mirren Harris, Vice-President, Education & Professional Development at CCUA.

Factors influencing the decision to choose the Certificate in Applied Leadership program from eLeadership Academy included the credit union expertise of the faculty, and the fact that every leader who is enrolled will receive over 100 hours of training and practice over two years through blended and cohort-based programs with other credit union leaders. Irvine adds, “Feedback on the program has been very positive. Many participants have asked us to enroll our developing leaders now, stating that many of the lessons in eLeadership Academy were things they wish they’d known earlier in their careers.  Based on this feedback, we’re already looking at how the Certificate in Applied Leadership can help us prepare emerging, future leaders.”

Sandra McDowell, a former credit union executive with roles including acting CEO and COO, launched eLeadership Academy over 10 years ago in response to the need for accessible leadership and coaching development system-wide. “A year into our work with FirstOntario, we are very pleased with the feedback and engagement from their leaders with 100% indicating they would recommend the programs to others. This investment in leadership at FirstOntario represents a best practice on so many levels. Not only are they making an investment in this training for all levels of leaders, the learning and development team is doing an impressive amount of work internally to support their leaders as well.”

By leading the way on leadership development, FirstOntario is modeling what it takes to be a learning organization—nourishing growth that will drive employee engagement and experience at every level.