Redstone Federal Credit Union

Summer 2020 Newsletter

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W hen we published our spring Aspire, who would have ever dreamed how our world was about to be changed? Every year, our executive staff reviews and updates our disaster plans. We have plans that cover all types of disasters – including pandemics. In Alabama and Tennessee, we tend to think of weather-related disasters – tornadoes, power grid outages, those types of things. Still, we were as prepared as we could be for this pandemic – however, we could not have predicted it would shut the world down for a month or more. As part of an essential business, our employees remained on the front lines of serving our members. I know we all have heroes during this extraordinary time. Our employees are my heroes. I remember the phone call I received in late March on a ursday evening, when I learned that one of our employees had tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, we had limited direction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the State Department of Health on how to handle this situation. So, we relied on our corporate value of Respect, respect for our employees and their immediate families; we look out for each other. In response, we temporarily closed the off-site location where the employee had worked in order to initiate several deep cleanings in accordance with CDC cleaning guidelines. Employees who had come in close contact with the positive employee were placed on 14-day home quarantine. Realizing the immediate need to create separation with our employees, on March 27, we split our entire workforce into two teams and placed them on rotation, Monday – Saturday. Each team worked in the office three days each week, either Monday – Wednesday or ursday – Saturday. To maintain their income, employees were paid for the remaining two days each week. We implemented this drastic measure knowing that the first of the month – always our busiest time – was just a few days away. We made the decision to do what was in the best interest of our employees, knowing that our member service would suffer. I sincerely apologize for the long lines at the drive-thru teller stations and for the long wait times when calling us. I lost a lot of sleep over the fact that we could not provide the level of service that we expect of ourselves and that our members expect. During this time, we have continually had an enormous number of phone calls in the queue waiting to be answered. Even after pulling employees from many other areas to help, we still experienced extremely high call volumes. For those trying to reach us, we truly appreciate your patience. We hope that offering a call-back option, and having our Call Center team stay after hours to return those calls, was helpful to you. On April 27, we brought all employees back, under our "new norm." We wanted to ensure that, during the end of April and the first part of May, we would be well-prepared to provide the level of member service our members are accustomed to receiving. Our employees and members have adapted well. I am also very happy to report that our employee who tested positive has fully recovered, and no others have contracted the illness. (Continued on page 13) r e d f c u.o r g | 3 SPECIAL MESSAGE from the CEO

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