Each member holds a £1 share which gives them both rights and responsibilities as set out in the HEY Credit Union Rule Book. One of the rights is to attend and take part in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which takes place each December. Members are invited to their AGM by letter or by email. Posters are also displayed in branches.

At the AGM members can vote to elect members of the Board of Directors, declare dividends, appoint the external auditor and make changes to the Rule Book (subject to approval by the Regulators).

The Board of Directors

HEY Credit Union has a Board of Directors comprising twelve members who are voted into office by members at the AGM. Each director serves for a three year term, and may then seek re-election for further terms.

The role of the Board is to lead and govern HEY Credit Union so that it achieves its objectives in serving the interests of the membership. The directors provide strategic oversight but do not manage the Credit Union's day to day operations (that work is delegated to the Chief Officer and their team of staff).

However, the directors are accountable to the members for its effective governance. Their role therefore includes setting objectives; making plans and policies; reviewing risks; comparing performance against plans; evaluating the financial performance; constructively challenging and supporting management; and making sure HEY Credit Union upholds its values and social goals and operates within the law at all times.

At the first meeting after the AGM the directors elect the officers for the year, namely President, Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer. They also appoint the General Purposes Committee and Audit & Risk Committee, and nominate directors to oversee various policy areas such as:

• Equal Opportunities and Diversity
• Consumer Champion
• Complaints Review
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Children.

In the interests of good governance, the President may not normally serve for more than four consecutive annual terms.

Credit Union directors do not receive pay for their work, they are volunteers. They all subscribe to the HEY Credit Union Code of Conduct.

Directors also take part in training to fulfil their duties effectively. As well as induction training organised in-house, training is provided by the Association of British Credit Unions Academy.

The Board meets twelve times a year including a Strategic Planning Event when, working with the Chief Officer, they thoroughly review and update the 3-year Business Plan.

The Officers

The President chairs meetings of the Board of Directors and the AGM and any special meetings of members. He/she aims to be a good ambassador for HEY Credit Union and to provide leadership, working closely with the Chief Officer and fellow directors.

The Secretary plays a key role in overseeing the governance and compliance work of HEY Credit Union, making sure records are kept of meetings and all statutory returns are submitted accurately and on time.

The Treasurer ensures the Board is well advised on financial matters and that the books of account and other financial records are maintained correctly.

The General Purposes Committee

The Committee comprises five directors, appointed by the Board for a one year term. A Vice President normally chairs this committee, which meets at least four times a year.

Their role includes all matters relevant to HEY Credit Union’s status as an employer, such as updating employment policies, reviewing the staffing structure, staff pay, terms and conditions, and overseeing  training and development of staff and directors and making sure any changes to employment law are observed.

The Audit & Risk Committee

This Committee comprises five directors and is chaired by a director with an accounting qualification. Committee members serve for one year and there are at least four meetings.

The Committee is responsible for monitoring HEY Credit Union's internal and external audits and making recommendations to the Board on these matters.   It also reviews the key risks facing the business and considers reports from Management on how their probability and impact are managed. The Committee can, as required, call upon experts in areas such as health and safety, and IT, and advises the Board on relevant risks before deciding to proceed with any strategic transactions such as asset acquisitions, mergers and disposals.

The Chief Executive Officer

The Credit Union’s overall manager, the Chief Officer acts as a vital link between the elected directors and the staff team. The person occupying this role must provide sound leadership and professional skills and be able to represent the business at a range of external events.

The Chief Officer’s role is to lead the Senior Leadership Team; provide quality professional advice to the Board of Directors to help it to make good business decisions; implement the agreed Business Plan and make sure HEY Credit Union observes all relevant laws, regulations, rules and policies.

The Chief Officer provides the Board with regular monitoring information and communicates the Board’s decisions to the staff team, motivating and supporting them to carry out the agreed plans and policies for the benefit of our members.

Every year our Board of Directors approves an updated three-year Business Plan which sets out our long -term vision (what we are aiming to achieve as a credit union), and describes our strategic plans and objectives (how we intend to get there), and the resources we need (the people, premises and equipment we will deploy to help us). It also explains how will measure our success and check our progress.

How do we write our Business Plan?

Creating the Plan starts in the spring when the directors hold a Strategic Planning Event (sometimes called an Away day). The directors spend a day reviewing how things are going and what we’ve achieved already and looking at the prospects for future years.

They assess what is happening in the wider world - the local, regional and national economy, the financial services industry, the political scene - and how we are performing as an organisation. They learn about new ideas and developments, for example things that other credit unions in Britain and around the world are doing, such as launching new products and services or improving the way they serve their members. Results of any Member Surveys and the views of our staff and volunteers are also carefully studied.

Based on the outcome of the Planning Event, the Chief Officer then updates the Business Plan and rolls it forward a further year (each Plan covers three future years), for the Board to approve in July.

The next step is to prepare an Annual Budget setting out the money the credit union expects to spend to make the Plan happen. The Board approves the Budget in September, and it takes effect at the start of the next financial year - on 1st October.

How do we monitor our Plan?

After writing a Plan and Budget, it would be easy to say “job done” and file it neatly away on the office shelf. But any Plan, if it is to come to life, must be constantly referred to, and regularly used to check progress.

So, at each monthly Board meeting, an important task for the directors is to check how the Plan is going, examine with the Chief Officer any areas where progress is slipping, and decide what action to take. In this way, when the three years are up, there will be no surprises, and everything possible will have been done to achieve the Plan. Of course, sometimes unforeseen events do crop up that require the original plans to be revised, tweaked or even scrapped. But at least these changes are properly considered and their impact on the Plan understood.

The progress made with the first year’s plans and objectives then feeds into the next update, the following spring, when the whole planning process begins again!

What is in our current Business Plan 2023-26?

The overall vision of HEY Credit Union is:

“To enable everyone within our common bond to improve their financial well-being by becoming a member-owner of our organisation.”

We will achieve this by:

• providing a fair and responsible range of financial products that our member-owners continue to use and confidently recommend to others;
• helping our members to afford their lives and making them proud of our achievements;
• engaging co-operatively with local communities;
• supporting the ethics and values of the worldwide credit union family; and
• making HEY Credit Union sustainable for the benefit of future generations.

To fulfil this vision, we have devised four Strategic priorities - Sustainable Loan Growth, Deepen Member Relationships, Expand the Ethical Brand, Improve Member Service. Here they are in more detail:

Sustainable Loan Growth

Increase income that supports: Excellent member service, high member impacts, a quality work environment, strong capital reserves.

Expand the loan book with new relevant loan types; focus on net margin; higher loan to share ratios; a culture driven by providing affordable access to credit for members, high member referral and long-term sustainability.

Deepen Member Relationships

Better serve our members with products and services that are better than competitor alternatives;

Increase member loyalty to ensure members want to refer us to their friends and family.

Increase revenue per member account to better support our co-operative mission of serving under-served consumers and communities.

Expand the Ethical Brand

Increase communication of our ethics to existing and potential members, community partners and communities at large.

Consider expanding our Social Goals to increase impact and awareness (eg credit score improvement, job creation, first time account holder, first time homeowner, small business account access).

Establish community partnerships that are uniquely aligned with the credit union ethos.

Consistently and broadly share member impact stories to demonstrate ethical behaviour and impact.

Demonstrate our Green credentials as a key element of our ethical brand.

Improve Member Service

Continually find new and better ways to serve members.

Regular reviews of business systems and processes to identify inefficiencies that would limit service quality or create competitive disadvantage.

Surveys to measure member satisfaction scores for each branch and online access, and product satisfaction by product type.

HEY Credit Union’s business model is to manage its members’ shares and deposits, and loans to members, so that it earns income from the margin between interest and fees receivable and dividends payable, to cover its operating costs and strengthen its capital reserves. As with any business, HEY Credit Union is faced with a range of risks which must be managed carefully to ensure the future sustainability of the organisation.

HEY Credit Union has a Risk Management Strategy which:

• Identifies in a Risk Register the key risks of the business, our risk appetite and tolerance levels, internal controls and the risk score (based on likelihood and impact);
• Assigns each risk to a Risk Owner who implements the measures needed to manage it effectively and keep any loss to a minimum.

The Board’s Audit & Risk Committee regularly reviews the Risk Register and oversees policies and action plans to manage the top risks, which are as follows: