Join with us as we celebrate our CEO, Ann Hickey being in the role for 5 years however what you may not know is that Ann has been involved with East Sussex Credit Union for over 21 years and was the first member of staff that joined the team to help out with registration. Here’s what Ann says about her well established career.
1. You have been involved with East Sussex Credit Union since it started 21 years ago, how has that been?
I first started with the credit union 21 years ago when I was brought in on a 3 month contract to help get it registered. It was an East Brighton credit union so only served people in the East side of town and my first office was a room over a health shop in James Street. It was a really grey room with an outside toilet and damp on the walls. I was there on my own so I started to bring in volunteers to help me out.
Later we then joined with the central Brighton credit union and became Brighton and Hove Credit Union. And then in 2008, we extended our common bond and became East Sussex Credit Union.
I never thought I would be here this long, as I had a very temporary contract but I did have (and still do) a determination to make it work as I could see the benefit of having a credit union and I really wanted it be a success as I’ve seen the positive impact it can have on people’s lives .
2. Over the 21 years that you’ve been working for a credit union, how do you think members’ needs have changed and how have you adapted in order to continue to meet them?
I have seen the need to keep up-to-date with modern technology and how our members have become more digital savvy. There was a time when members would have to visit the office to make a withdrawal and sign up but now most of them don’t need to come in or even make a phone call, as they can do it all online via our website or mobile app.
3. What other changes have you seen over the past 21 years?
When we were registered in 2000, there was a lot of funding going into East Brighton as decades worth of investment was going into poorer areas. However this has significantly decreased over the years.
In recent years, we have seen the rollout of Universal Credit and that has been extremely challenging for our members. The impact this had on people who didn’t have, or couldn’t get, bank accounts meant that they couldn’t receive their benefits. However due to the nature of the credit union, we are small and flexible enough to change the way we deliver our services and I am glad that we were able to provide a solution for the ‘unbanked’ which we were able to do in partnership with other agencies.
4. What’s the best and hardest things about working for a credit union?
The best thing is the credit union culture that we have created at East Sussex Credit Union. I, and every member of my team, are able to bring an idea to the table and regardless of what it is, people will listen and, if we can, we will change the way we deliver services. If I worked in a large corporate company, I don’t think there would be that much flexibility.
The hardest thing is the continuing challenge to become financially sustainable. Our board are keen for us to grow so we can reach this point and return a dividend to our members.
