MADISON, Wis.–The Filene Research Institute has offered additional details about its new Center for Member Well-Being.
As the CU Daily was the first to report here https://thecudaily.com/filene-announces-its-newest-and-16th-center-for-excellence/, Filene introduced the new Center during its Filene Chair Breakfast during the Governmental Affairs Conference. The Center, Filene’s 16th such center, will be led by Dr. Ella F. Washington, an organizational psychologist with the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
The Center will officially launch in July 2025 with early sponsors including United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) in New York and Wright-Patt Credit Union (WPCU) in Ohio.
‘Peace of Mind’
Filene said the new research center will provide credit unions with evidence-based strategies to enhance the financial, physical and emotional well-being of their members and employees.
“Providing financial peace of mind has been a part of our strategy and is integral to our service to our members,” UNFCU President and CEO John Lewis said in a statement. “Evidence-based research through Filene’s Center of Excellence for Member Well-Being strengthens our collective abilities to ensure our members’ financial health and resilience, as well as our employees’ skills and knowledge. UNFCU is thrilled to sponsor Filene Research Institute’s critical work that gets to the core of every member’s decision to put their trust in us.”
The Focus
According to Filene, through cutting-edge research and actionable insights, the Center for Member Well-Being will focus on:
- Identifying evidence-based practices and solutions for improving financial well-being
- Determining pathways to better use member data to improve financial well-being
- Exploring key drivers of well-being and the connections between financial well-being and other aspects of well-being
- Discover new outcome-based products and services that can help improve overall well-being
- Examine approaches to creating workplaces that drive or contribute to overall employee well-being
- Identifying strategies for equipping employees with the skills and knowledge that they need so that they can best help credit union members improve their own well-being
What CUs Understand
“Credit unions understand that highly satisfied and engaged employees leads to highly satisfied and engaged members, through the ability to deliver better service,” Filene said. “Since the pandemic employee engagement continues to struggle across all industries, forcing workplaces to rethink solutions to enhance their employee well-being. According to Gallup Data, employee engagement in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged.
“Also, stress levels are at an all-time high, with 41% of employees experiencing significant daily stress. Institutions like UNFCU and WPCU recognize the crucial importance of this issue as well as the transformative impact this research will have on the credit union industry,” Filene added.
‘Everyday Stories’
According to Tim Mislansky, president & CEO of Wright-Patt Credit Union, “Every day we hear stories from members about their financial struggles and challenges in making ends meet. The need for holistic well-being strategies has never been greater and credit unions are needed now more than ever. We are in a unique position to support our members and employees not just financially, but in ways that improve their overall quality of life. We’re excited to contribute to research that will provide actionable solutions for credit unions to enhance member and employee well-being during these challenging times.”
