Consumers Credit Union Honored with Multiple Prestigious Employer Recognitions

Business News |Oct 10, 2022|4 min read

Kalamazoo, MICH — Consumers Credit Union recently received three employer recognitions, including the esteemed Corp! Magazine Salute to Diversity award, Best and Brightest in Wellness and ranked sixth on the list of American Banker’s Best Credit Unions to Work For.

“Consumers understands that supporting its employees’ physical, emotional and financial well-being is not only an investment in the credit union, but it’s ultimately the right thing to do,” said Consumers Chief Human Resources Officer Shawn Premer.

Corp! Magazine’s Salute to Diversity For more than a decade, Corp! Magazine has recognized businesses, organizations and leaders who champion diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and achievements. The Salute to Diversity Award honors organizations for such efforts.

Over the years, Consumers’ commitment to fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion has only strengthened. Since 2019, the credit union’s diversity and inclusion council, Uncovering New Ideas and Together Educating (UNITE), has sought to build and uplift a more diverse and inclusive workforce to better understand and serve each other and its membership.
In addition to the initiatives Consumers has launched internally, we have also partnered with several other organizations to bring new perspective and professional experience to our efforts, including:
• Training for all recruiters/interviewers on Removing Bias from the Interview Process, hosted by Stacey Ledbetter from Black and Blue Networking & Consulting, LLC.
• Two years of education for employees provided by diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging experts
• 5-week Race Equity Challenge hosted by the Greater Ottawa County United Way
• And much more
“We understand that confronting and resolving inequities is not a destination, but rather it is a journey,” said newly appointed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator Fatimah Gilani. “Consumers is fully committed to creating a respectful, inclusive and empathetic culture where our members and employees feel welcome to be their most authentic selves.”

Best and Brightest in Wellness
Once again Consumers was recognized with the 2022 Best and Brightest in Wellness award, a program that honors companies that promote employee well-being, worksite health and wellness.
Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Consumers Credit Union is a full-service financial institution and a leader in digital banking
technology, mortgages and business lending. Consumers has more than $2 billion in assets and has averaged 18 percent annual
growth for more than 35 years. Locally owned since 1951, Consumers serves more than 131,000 individuals and businesses through
24 offices located in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, Coldwater, and up the Lakeshore, with member access to 30,000+ free
CO-OP Network ATMs nationwide. For details, visit www.consumerscu.org. Editors, please refer to Consumers Credit Union in short as
Consumers, rather than CCU. Thank you!

The Best and Brightest in Wellness award celebrates excellence in health awareness at organizations that promote a
culture of wellness. Recipients of the award plan, implement and evaluate efforts in employee wellness to make their
business and the community a healthier place to live and work.

Consumers supports employee well-being by encouraging engagement in a fitness app, gym reimbursement, a TEAM
Consumers program that supports movement and covers registration for wellness events, an annual health survey and
biometric screenings, access to mental health resources and more.

Best Credit Union to Work For
As the highest-ranking Michigan-based credit union, Consumers placed sixth on American Banker’s list of Best Credit
Unions to Work For 2022.

According to the article that announced the recognition, “The Great Resignation has made it difficult for businesses to
retain and attract talent, but the institutions on this year’s Best Credit Unions to Work For list have figured out what it takes
to be a great employer.”

This year, Consumers President & CEO Scott Sylvester announced several new employee benefits to go into effect in
2023, including extra paid parental leave, additional paid time off and more widely usable fitness and health
reimbursements.

“Expanding our employee benefits has been one of my top priorities this year,” said Sylvester. “The Consumers
commitment to our employees is not new, but it is invigorating to be able to offer more incentives to our incredible
employees who make this such a great place to work and bank.”