In early December I experienced something that I have never experienced before. I went somewhere where my name had preceded me. As I walked around the TDECU campus I was greeted with smiles and congratulations on my losing Y&F campaign. People talked to me like they knew me and then I would have to remember that I had just been part of a big online competition that was put on by my new employer. I had come down to Lake Jackson for my NEO training and was looking forward to learning about both credit unions in general and TDECU.
I do not come from a financial background and there was a lot for me to learn. Having just graduated from college I have lived the past four years of my life with many acronyms. In Huntsville I went to the HKC after class in the SHB and then probably would go to the LSC to kill time, but what were these FSR’s everyone was talking about. A whole new set of acronyms to learn and live by.
Mary Jo in HR had been clear to me the week before that class began promptly at 9 and not to be late, and so I made sure to be ten minutes early. It was here that I met the ladies that I would spend the next three days with. Lani led me, Lisa, and Mary Kay on a cruise to every port of call that would tell us about where we were.
Seeing the time they put into planning their training course as well as the space given to it I knew I was somewhere special. The first day I learned about the differences between banks and credit unions and also about our history. It is impressive that an organization that started 50 years ago in an office with 50 dollars has grown to deal with 1.5 billion in financial assets. Surely something worth bragging about and that all my friends have now heard about from me.
Lani led us around the campus and was sure to introduce us to everyone in each department. In case someone missed us we were assured that they could see our pictures on the content manager. It was great to see so many smiling faces busy working to ensure that our members received the best possible service, but how would I ever remember all of those names! I would like to take this opportunity to apologize if I don’t remember everyone’s names but I am committed to learning them all as I continue to work here.
And so we continued on our three day cruise and learned about all the services that we offer. I am not sure I remember them all, but my rule of thumb for now will be if I can think of it we probably have it. The best part of the training is that it really prepared me for dealing with the public at large. In the evenings while out to eat I had forgotten to take my name tag off and found myself answering questions that my waiter had about our services. I am not sure that I provided the most informed answers ever but she did know that there were people just down the street who would also be more than willing to help.
What surprised you the most when you joined TDECU? Share your thoughts in the comments.
