How do I know any of these people are qualified?

I get a lot of comments from people who tell me that they don’t vote because they don’t know if the person they are voting for would do a good job. That’s a fair worry, but let me tell you a secret:

Every on of the candidates would be great!

How do I know? Well, the board is just as worried about having a bad director in their midst as you are. Probably more so. And so we’ve put a rigorous process in place to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Once all the nominations come in, the board gathers a group of people together to make sure those that go on the ballot are the best possible. This group consists of 4 board members, an external HR consultant and 2 representatives from our Community Councils.

This small group, the nomination committee, goes through the questionnaire that all nominees have to answer, their statement of intent, their resume and their history with the credit union (e.g. have they worked here, have they been nominated before, have they run in the election before, etc).

The incumbents, or existing board members who are up for re-election, have to go through the exact same process.

Every one of the nominees goes through a detailed interview with the nomination committee. We get to know them in person, we ask them hard questions about why they want to serve the membership and observe how they respond. We probe their understanding of credit unions, the current market, and their understanding of our role as directors.

After all that, we rank each of the candidates and at least the top 8 are put on the ballot.

So, if you see a name on the ballot, you can be sure that they will be an excellent candidate for the board of directors.

And that’s where you come in. You need to tell us who you feel would best represent your opinion when we make decisions about the future of our credit union. It could be the person whose answers to the questions are closest to your own. It could be the person who comes from your community. It could be the person who best shows their passion for the credit union.

However you choose to vote, know that these people are qualified. And know that we need you to tell us who is right for the future of the credit union.

‘Till next time, up up and away!

This article is part of a series. You can read the whole series at http://twentyfivetwenty.ca.