Cardwell Flexes Its Versatility Muscle with Three Credit Unions of Various Sizes to Use Its Connections Online Solution
— New Cardwell clients experience increased workflow efficiencies after implementing the company’s web-based management automation solution, Connections Online. —
Westlake, OHIO — February 22, 2006 — Able to handle credit unions of any size, the Cardwell Group, an operations streamlining consultancy for financial institutions and developer of the web-based management automation tool, Connections Online, has helped three credit unions enhance their communication channels by using its versatile Connections Online solution. Cardwell has implemented or is currently implementing Connections Online at Nations Heritage Federal Credit Union ($89 million, 9,942 members), Pan Am Horizons Federal Credit Union ($127 million, 22,092 members), and Quorum Credit Union ($548 million, 39,888 members). As a result, each credit union will leverage the power of Connections Online’s web-based management automation capabilities to streamline their in-house operations and workflow processes.
Cardwell’s versatile Connections Online software solution makes project management easier and builds teamwork and trust within a financial institution’s executive team by better aligning employees with their strategic goals, keeping projects on track through accountability. Integration with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word and Project allows for seamless integration into workflow.
“Our credit union experienced a lot of changes last year,” says Bruno Sementilli, CEO for Quorum Credit Union, which has nearly completed the four Connections Online training sessions. “Because of these changes, there have been some communication challenges in-house regarding the direction of the credit union. We believe Connections Online will help us get our entire staff on the same page so we can continue moving forward and enhancing the value of our credit union to our members.”
“For our credit union, we needed a single focal point to monitor the progress and results of projects,” says Maureen Tebo, president of Nations Heritage Federal Credit Union. “Numerous projects and priorities have pulled our managers in multiple directions. It became cumbersome to report to the board.” Since Tebo implemented Connections Online early last summer, managers now can view and track each project’s steps, which promotes accountability among their peers. This newfound accountability has helped in three ways at the credit union: each manager knows their specific role within a project, individual dialogs help facilitate meetings, and the credit union’s board sees critical measures in one, easy-to-read place. “Overall, this technology has helped us become more efficient,” Tebo adds. “We don’t waste time in meetings reviewing what happened in the past because we’ve already seen the workflow in the interface. And each manager knows the strategic nature of their job, which helps them become clear on how to spend their project time more efficiently.”
According to Allan Prindle, CEO of Pan Am Horizons Federal Credit Union, he believes Connections Online allows his staff to work on the “right things,” which translates to the members receiving maximum “value-added” services for the staffing expense and overhead. Now that he’s had the technology on board for a few months, Prindle hopes for maximizing his staff’s time as well as increasing accountability, providing recognition opportunities, and allowing for a challenging, motivating, and satisfying work environment.
“We have a limited budget and our strategic objectives often change quickly, so aligning the management and organization quickly and efficiently is critical,” Prindle says. “Cardwell’s software, combined with the training and development of a management philosophy that accompanies it, will keep our team focused and flexible.”
Prindle, who’s been involved with Cardwell’s services for about 12 years and implemented the Connections Online software upgrade this year, adds that he’s already used the online solution on a couple of recent successful projects. As a result, he believes he recouped his investment within about four months.
“Connections Online’s primary task is to provide enhanced project communications throughout the executive chain,” says Jim Cardwell, CEO of The Cardwell Group. “We designed it to give credit unions of any size a tool that will allow them to create a high performance organization with little wasted time. Everybody is on the same page with the same focus. In the end, your credit union will produce top-quality products and services more efficiently — so your members are the ultimate beneficiaries. That’s what’s occurring with our latest credit union clients right now.”
About The Cardwell Group and Connections Online
Based in
In response to strong client demand, Cardwell set out in the mid 1990s to transfer its extensive knowledge in these fields into a stand-alone software product. In 1998, the company launched Connections Online™, one of the first organization-wide software solutions designed to address executives' challenges to leading companies towards their strategic goals.
Currently installed in more than 60 organizations across various industries, Connections Online consistently improves profitability and leadership effectiveness. Connections Online users report projects being completed 30 percent faster with a 31 percent improvement in the quality of project results, according to a recent Cardwell survey.
For more information about Connections Online, call (800) 395-1410 or visit www.connectionsonline.net.
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