What we know:
Baxter Credit Union is an employee‑first organization built on transparency, respect, and collaborative relationships. It’s closely aligned with HACU’s culture and values. In the interactions HACU leaders had with the BCU leadership team, one thing that stood out: BCU employees describe themselves as family in the same way HACU describes our team as family. That is comforting and reinforces why this merger makes sense.
HACU leaders often tell people it’s hard to describe HACU’s culture unless you’re “in” it. BCU’s leaders feel the same way. The BCU culture is grounded in Purpose & Shared Values. When employees embody them, they grow as individuals, they grow a team, and the whole organization grows. That’s the sign of a thriving, engaged workplace. In fact, BCU’s employee engagement score is 87% (this was measured using the annual Great Place to Work® engagement survey and represents a multi-year trend). Since you’re not yet “in” the combined organization, this may give you a better sense of BCU’s Shared Values:
- We foster an environment of INCLUSION. All individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization's success.
- We act with INTEGRITY. We follow the golden rule without exception. We say what we mean and mean what we say. We work to the best of our ability no matter who is or isn’t watching.
- We display COURAGE in our convictions. We drive innovation, reaching beyond boundaries and thoughtfully explore new horizons. We seek help from others who are strong in ways we are not. We challenge the status quo and believe that progress is better than perfection.
- We excel through COLLABORATION. By working as one, sharing information, and seeking solutions, we deliver exceptional outcomes. We appreciate one another’s skills and experiences and hold ourselves and each other accountable for the success of the team.
- We WOW our members. We focus intensely on putting the member first, delivering extraordinary experiences that create lasting relationships inside and outside the organization. Our authentic and passionate service to others sets us apart.
High-level, the organization can be described as follows: BCU has approximately 760 employees located across the US and Puerto Rico. 67% of the employees work a hybrid schedule (3 days in-office is BCU’s “Rock the Office" (RTO) guideline). Employees are considerate of remote employees with every meeting to ensure a Teams link and meeting room are included, and that remote participants feel included. BCU has a “dress for your day” dress code (this generally means business/business casual if meeting clients; casual when working alone or with colleagues). Most member-facing Branch employees wear brandwear to match their Branch’s respective endorsed brand. Branches inside Partner (aka SEG) locations operate five days/week; Branches in Community locations operate six days/week.
While BCU is larger than HACU, many of the leaders (managers and above) have a lot of tenure with the organization, so they remember when the organization was HACU's size and they wore a lot of hats to make sure the job got done. They still wear many hats; they just have a bigger impact through the development of others now. Growth and scale enable specialization and focus, but no one loses sight of the member-first, service priority. In addition to their daily assignments, employees say that being on Committees, Employee Resource Groups, Taskforces, and sometimes tackling challenges with good old-fashioned grit are ways they find satisfaction in their jobs.
We’ll go deeper into BCU’s benefits and workplace design in some of the other FAQs.
