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"What are the current rates on an auto loan?"
"What's the name of the person in accounting responsible for accounts payable and what's his/her phone number?"
"What's the credit union policy on PTO usage?"
"What's the holiday schedule this year?"
The answers to these and myriad other questionssimple and complex-can be found, more and more, on the credit union intranet. The intranet has changed the nature of information sharing and transfer within organizations, providing one convenient point of access to (theoretically) ensure that information is up to date, accurate and immediately accessible by anyone who needs it.
"I can't remember what it was like to not have an intranet," says CUES member Kim T. Wall, VP/marketing for $375 million/75,000-member Georgia Federal Credit Union (www.gfcuonline.org] with 183 full-time equivalents in Duluth, Ga.
Wall, who is sold on the value of Georgia FCU's intranet site-GFC Today-says the site started out as a way of sharing information between departments. Then, "the next thing you know we have forms and manuals, schedules, staff directories, phone listings. Every month we put the employee newsletter out there so the branches can get it even before the hard copy arrives."
The big benefit, she says, is "allowing every employee to see a constant, consistent message." And, in addition to the standard information you might expect, Georgia FCU also offers some special features-like a logo-wear area where employees can purchase "corporate-wear," daily birthday and service anniversary notices, and a staff directory that includes photos.
But for all the benefits, an intranet requires workand lots of it. Often, says Mauricio Cordoba, Web developer at OSU Federal Credit Union (www.osufederal. com] in Corvallis, Ore., those responsible for that work underestimate the impact. OSU FCU has had its intranet since November 2004-it's replaced the use of a shared computer drive for accessing and storing information. Establishing and maintaining an intranet site, says Cordoba, requires more effort than you might initially think. "It's a whole area in itself-it needs to be updated. It needs to be monitored."
Mike Budahn, Webmaster/application programmer for $1.1 billion/137,000-member Langley Federal Credit Union (www.langleyfcu.org) with 362 FTEs in Hampton, Va., agrees. In fact, says Budahn as he looks back to contemplate the "lessons learned" through his intranet experience, the biggest one,"that...