NAFCU...OPEN!!; NCUA Board Agenda; Lessons from the Snow

Posted by Anthony Demangone

NAFCU is open for business today, with a 2 hour delayed start.  As I write this Thursday evening, I'm a bit sad.  I'll have to part ways with my snow beard Friday morning.  

***

NCUA has released its agenda for next week's NCUA Board meeting.  It isn't a crowded agenda.

TIME AND DATE: 10:00 a.m., Thursday, February 18, 2010

PLACE: Board Room, 7th Floor, Room 7047
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3428

STATUS: Open

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Board Briefing. Interim Final Rule – Section 701.34 of NCUA’s Rules and Regulations, Secondary Capital Accounts for Low-Income Credit Unions.
2. Insurance Fund Report.

RECESS:  11:00 a.m.

TIME AND DATE: 11:15 a.m., Thursday, February 18, 2010

PLACE:  Board Room, 7th Floor, Room 7047
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3428

STATUS: Closed

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Consideration of Supervisory Activities. Closed pursuant to Exemptions (8), (9)(A)(ii) and 9(B).

***

More than a few of you asked how we were able to deliver our compliance services as well as we did during the snow event.  While a trade association has a different business model than a credit union, I thought I would share how we went about it.  Perhaps some of this might be useful from a business continuity point of view.

• You need to plan.   When the weather report began to line up last week, I met with the compliance team and others to discuss what would happen if NAFCU was closed on Monday.  We hammered that out, not even remotely considering that we'd be closed four days in a row.  From there, we simply adjusted on the fly.
• You need good people.  Steve and Sarah didn't hesitate to pitch in, even though NAFCU's offices were officially closed.
• You need technology.  Blackberries really go a long way.  We knew our operating status immediately, which allowed us to make necessary adjustments to man the "compliance desk."  Blackberries also allowed us to communicate with each other seamlessly.  In addition, each one of us has a program installed on our home computer that allows us to tap into our work computer to access emails, files, and programs. In addition, our phone system allows us to set up notifications.  When a voice-mail is left on my phone at NAFCU, I get an email notification about the voice-mail on my Blackberry.
• You need to communicate to your "users." Our NAFCU Today news service remained up and running, which notified members about our operating status.  In addition, I updated the Compliance Blog each day to let you know how best to reach us.  That set expectations, and helped route compliance requests the best way.

Again, I know our compliance services are relatively simple when compared with opening a branch or maintaining an on-line banking system during an "event."  But I thought I'd take a moment to share what we did.  Perhaps it might give you some ideas.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Oh, and I  hear we are supposed to get snow on Monday.  Ugh.

Comments

[Joyce]

Your service was seamless and you could barely tell that you were working remotely. That proves you have a good BC plan and a great team on which we can all rely. Non-NAFCU members don’t know what they’re missing! Good luck if you get more snow.

[Jake Whistle]

That’s a great outcome & thanks for sharing your experience. We’re proud business continuity software providers to many NAFCU members, and we encourage all of your members to share the valuable knowledge gained from actual continuity events; and of course don’t forget to review & test your BC plan often!

www.expressbcp.com

[hosted pbx provider]

All businesses can learn a thing or two from this post. Regrettably, there are companies that fail to deliver during bad weather, which is not acceptable. All businesses should be equipped with coping mechanisms that will let them continue providing their services to their clients despite tough times. One good tip here is the one where you mentioned technology. Communication is a crucial part of any company's operations, so phone systems should be reliable 24/7.