Blue Federal Credit Union

Blue Federal Credit Union was created in 2016 through the merger of Warren Federal Credit Union and Community Financial Credit Union, both of which had over 50 years of history serving the Wyoming and Colorado areas. As of 2021, Blue has over 100,000 members, 18 physical locations, and $1.4 billion in assets under management. This year, Blue also moved into a state-of-the-art World Headquarters campus built on a revitalized piece of property in the heart of Cheyenne, WY. Blue Federal Credit Union is led by CEO and President, Stephanie Teubner, who has held the position since 2005.

Transformation at the Top
The ethical culture at Blue Federal Credit Union starts with the company's core values that it uses in all of its decision-making: boundless optimism, unwavering confidence, uniquely us, and over the top. The company's leaders are also willing to take criticism, as when Blue decided to open branches an hour later on Wednesdays to accommodate weekly training, the change was met with backlash from members. The CEO and executive team stood outside branches to greet members, explain why they were closed, and do what they could to help with the members' needs.

Reinforce and Build
Blue Federal Credit Union has many ways for employees to communicate with leadership and for leadership to continually reinforce ethical practices. Weekly training sessions often include training on ethics, character and trust. The Blue Intranet provides access not only to important company documents and policies but also employee birthdays, anniversaries, awards, and announcements. Blue's leadership team also participates in open mic sessions where employees ask questions that are addressed by the executive team or assigned to the appropriate team member to look into.

Unite the Team
Blue Federal Credit Union makes it a point to refer to the people who bank with the company as members rather than customers. Beyond the legal distinction in how credit unions are arranged vs. banks, it sets the tone for the type of relationship Blue wants to have and the type of service it wants to offer. An example is Blue's Fresh State Initiative, which allows a member to open an account despite having a chargeback on their record. This provides access to banking services to people who would otherwise be turned away at most financial institutions.

Steer Performance
Company-wide goals are set by the executive team and then filtered down through the organization to each branch and employee. All employees can track their goals and progress through Balanced Comp, a software program that shares performance information with both employees and their managers. Blue Federal Credit Union is also committed to ensuring its employees have all the necessary tools to succeed, such as making sure all employees who moved to remote work at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic had all the necessary equipment to still perform their job.

Treasure People
Blue Federal Credit Union uses a video interview process to ask applicants about culture and cultural fit. This helps Blue get an early read on whether someone will fit with Blue's ethical culture and character requirements even before an in-person interview. Blue also has several programs to help employees suffering hardship, including allowing employees to donate PTO to another employee who needs additional time off and the Angel's Program, an employee assistance program that can help with unexpected financial expenses.

Enthusiastically Reinvest!
Blue FCU matches donations to the Blue Foundation by up to 80% and has provided funding to numerous nonprofits in the communities it serves.  Wyoming students can apply for scholarships through the Blue Foundation. And through the foundation, employees can track their volunteer hours, which are converted into points that can be exchanged for rewards.