Bartholomewtown is an independent news and interview podcast exploring Rhode Island through conversations with the people driving politics, culture, business, and public life. Hosted by journalist Bill Bartholomew, the show delivers insightful interviews, original reporting, and clear-eyed analysis from New England's smallest state—with stories that often resonate far beyond it.
In this episode, Kathy Orovitz shares how Navigant Credit Union is reinforcing its role as a trusted community partner through a people-first approach. We explore strategies for cultivating a strong organizational culture, maintaining employee engagement, and balancing technology with human connection in financial services.
Key Topics:
The importance of community-centric banking during times of uncertainty
Navigant’s heritage and core values rooted in local involvement and culture
How intentional leadership fosters employee satisfaction and member trust
The role of recognition programs and company events in reinforcing culture
Balancing remote work with in-person connection for a resilient workplace
Diversity of talent sourcing and ongoing learning initiatives
Navigant’s commitment to supporting local businesses through sponsorship and showcase programs
The evolving landscape of hybrid work models and their impact on productivity and culture
Strategies for attracting and retaining talent amid a competitive job market
Timestamps: 00:00 - Introducing Kathy Orovitz and Navigant’s community focus
00:27 - Navigant’s response to current economic noise and community involvement
01:03 - Building trusted relationships with members over decades
01:20 - The significance of community-based banking in uncertain times
02:04 - Navigant’s heritage rooted in local service and community need
02:46 - Cultivating culture through intentional leadership and employee-first values
04:11 - Impact of employee-centered culture on member experience
04:45 - Differentiating through trusted relationships and value-added services
05:13 - Keeping a disciplined focus on member needs and technological growth
05:44 - Empowering employees through learning, cross-training, and feedback
06:28 - Navigant’s cultural approach during company-wide events and recognition
07:04 - Leadership recognition and employee engagement strategies
09:27 - The importance of culture in a hybrid work environment
10:05 - Finding a successful balance between remote and in-office work
11:25 - Strategies for attracting and retaining talent in a competitive landscape
12:17 - Continuous learning and industry engagement for staff development
13:15 - Infusing talent and AI with a strong emphasis on member experience
14:26 - Supporting local businesses through sponsorships and community programs
16:56 - Final thoughts on building community and fostering a resilient organizational culture
Navigant Credit Union President and CEO Kathy Orowitz joins us today on the podcast. Welcome back to Bartholomew Town. And as always, great to see you.
Kathy Orovitz
It's great to see you again, Bill. Thanks so much for having me.
Bill Bartholomew
We're kind of talking offline. A lot of things happening in your world, a lot of things happening in our world as well, uh, in everyone's world. But what are you seeing right now in terms of the impact that Navigant is having statewide? What are you hearing from people?
Kathy Orovitz
Yeah, I I feel like we're back to basics. Um, you know, there's a lot of noise, there's a lot of uncertainty. We certainly know that in terms of consumer sentiment, but we're leaning into it and we're just much more involved for the right reasons, and it's just feeling like we're a community again. That is what has been emerging. And it's not anything different than what what we've been doing in our history. Um, but at a time, I think this is at a time when people need to know they've got a trusted partner. So it's been feeling pretty good as we're out and about in the uh in the business community.
Bill Bartholomew
Yeah, a trusted partner in any aspect of someone's life right now, it's something that I took for granted in a lot of areas, and today it feels a bit scarce. So are you feeling that from people, a sense of relief when you build these relationships that are now in some cases decades long?
Kathy Orovitz
Yeah, I think that's that's exactly what it is. Is is you uh when you have things going on in the global economy or even the local economy that are unsettling, it's nice to sit down and have a conversation and say, hey, we're here for you. We've always been here. How can we help? And it goes beyond, I think, just the basic banking. You know, we become consultative and advisors and many other things. We can do that as a network, you know, 450 of us, because we're these are our neighbors. We live and work in our state, and so we're involved very much in organizations and in the community. And so they see us around. We're a known commodity. And so I think that is what bridges that. And it feels good.
Bill Bartholomew
Let's talk about navigant on an internal basis, because look, there's a lot of organizations in Rhode Island right now that are, you know, they try to position themselves in why they have a that their presence here is a good investment for the state from a financial standpoint. But from a broader well-being standpoint, strong employers are so fundamental to the state on a psychological level, and then in turn on a public health level, and then in turn on ultimately an economic level. So Navigant is is a is reputationally a place with strong company culture. What frames the Navigant philosophy?
Kathy Orovitz
Yeah, I think part of it is it was daunting when I came in, um, and that was in 2022 because I had big shoes to fill. But I think part of it is is our heritage and and never forgetting where we come from. So 111 years ago, we were formed for a community need, you know, neighbors coming together, putting their own money together to give access to people who otherwise wouldn't have access, and then staying connected as a community. You know, now you kind of take it and fast forward. And we have the same philosophy. It's deeply rooted in people. And so you talk about an organizational culture, um, where I see, if maybe we take a step back, the trend being you get caught up in everybody is trying to scale operations because costs are through the roof and focused on AI and technology advancements. And I'm not saying we're not focused on that growth. We are, you have to be. But everything we do is intentional and it's related to, well, what's the impact to our employee? What's the impact to the member or the consumer? And I think because we lead with that first, we've been able to really harness and protect, if you will, way, or if you will, or insulate the culture. Um, everything we do is for our employees first and foremost. And uh and that has been something that I hope to continue for years to come.
Bill Bartholomew
How does that in turn impact member experience?
Kathy Orovitz
Yeah, I think in a very positive way, because you know, part of it is, you know, how do you differentiate yourself? I always say it's like the sea of sameness sometimes when you look out into the banking community. But part of it is that we have trusted relationships. So if we we bank local as much as we can, and these aren't just vendors, these are partners, these are people that we have built, we build relationships with, we do that with them with the member experience in mind. So anybody we bring to the table has to add value sort of incrementally to that extraordinary service experience. Otherwise, um it's not just the shiny new tool or AI engine that we should just buckle on. It has to have a purpose and it has to meet a need. And top part of how we keep ourselves disciplined for that is we have member focus groups all the time. We're not gonna fix something unless we have a need, right? Or enhance something. So part of it is keeping that discipline, I think, uh, as we build and grow.
Bill Bartholomew
Yeah, it's so organic and it really feels like with some of those very same problems or or not even problems, but realities that we face, AI and technology changes, that we're gonna have to take that mindset to a much broader basis, like possibly all of humanity as we decide how to move forward. So sensibly navigating based on what is needed in real time and what the pulse of your organization and your members um is reading. That's that's on the gr that's true on the ground leadership, so to speak.
Kathy Orovitz
Yes, exactly. And it served, it served us well. And I think um it's very empowering going back to it's a people culture. Uh I had a big breakfast with my whole operations team this morning. Uh I spent a couple of hours just learning about so what are the pain points? You know, how are you adopting uh new technologies? How has it freed you up? And part of it was I get to learn new skills, I'm able to be cross-trained, you know. Uh that feels good because the investment we're making in our employees is paying off, but they're empowered too to do things a little bit differently. And so I think that combination um with them at the center is is really important.
Bill Bartholomew
Kind of back to the culture of Navigan on a company level, so to speak. One thing I've noticed as, and and certainly listeners to Bartholomew Town know that we've had a lot of voices from Navigan on over the years, experts in different aspects of banking, financial well-being, broadly speaking, homeownership, all this first-time homeownership, all that stuff. But as I research the guests and start to prepare, I always see a lot of um recognition and a lot of employee engagement, and that includes on social media, or I've been out to some events. So, how do you approach that as a CEO? How do you approach your leadership and recognition of it?
Kathy Orovitz
Yeah, uh I think it's uh it's part of it is just rooted in um sort of the the family values. We have a culture of care. We talk about our vision and our mission, but we never talk about those without the employees being at the center of it. Because at the end of the day, if you make the right investment and your employees are happy, and and part of it is a career approach. We it's not transactional. Oh, I came in for a teller job. What we're doing is we're meeting with you and showing you how that career can kind of flourish. And it's a very deliberate uh investment in learning and development. And so I think part of that is is powerful. And then we're able to wrap around that recognition for living the core values, right? It's uh our core values are called Lucy, uh, and that was homegrown by our employees, leadership, unity, caring, and integrity. So anytime a peer sees somebody else exhibit one of those, we're giving a Lucy award. That gets funneled up, we blast it out across the credit union. Um, they get nominated into what's called a president's club. Um, I'm hosting monthly breakfasts for those who were hired on a particular in a particular month, bringing groups together who are sharing their success stories about wellness or about what they've done in learning and uh development. And I just think that is what's keeping the culture. But we do absolutely recognize the small things matter, the connections in the hallway. Uh yeah, we're a remote shop, but we also three days a week have everybody come in. And I think that is keeping us grounded and connected in an environment where I think it's kind of it can be all virtual. You lose a little bit there. That's my philosophy anyway. Um and then we just recently had a big signature event. We have it once a year, and it's always about the employees. And we closed every location at 12 o'clock to have everybody in one spot. We did a big tailgate party. Um, we did a ton of recognition for employees around years of service, uh, above and beyond awards. And and it people are still talking about it. That was two weeks ago, and there's just a buzz around that. Um, so we don't just say it. I think, you know, we put it into action in various ways.
Bill Bartholomew
Aaron Powell Yeah, that's so interesting because I think of Jamie Diamond and you know his comments on this, on the idea of the work-for-home, work-from-home company culture exercise, and obviously very different scale of organization, uh, organizations that we're talking here. But it's a fascinating thing where he really wants everybody in the office five, if not more, days a week. In fact, talks about how he works seven days a week in the office. And then you look at uh you could listen a whole bunch of other firms that have gone fully remote and their productivity and their even some of their individual metrics, especially in in the AI sector, you know, they're they're through the roof in terms of productivity. So there's no formula. But what does count, uh what it sounds like you're saying, is that culture is a must. And in order to achieve that, there's a there's a balance that you you find successful and sort of this hybrid approach with your employees.
Kathy Orovitz
It absolutely is, because you have to that ship has sailed sort of post-COVID, right? We're all trying to figure it out and get back. But one of the things that we're grounded in is being connected to one another, sharing values. I also, there's a tremendous amount of learning through each other and mentors. We've got programs like a leadership academy where our our faculty are staff and we're really lifting people up and developing them in ways you've got to be present in order to hear those little nuances and conversations and things. But at the same time, family matters and we put them first. So you need flexibility in life. And I don't think you can have a hard and fast. I think it is an absolute balance and of empowering and allowing uh giving those employees what they need. Um, and then they just want to show up. It doesn't, you know, it's not even something they feel disgruntled about, right? They look forward to coming in uh on those other days.
Bill Bartholomew
Aaron Powell Yeah. It's a completely different mindset that institutions are figuring out for themselves, but it sounds like Navigant has it uh at least in a way that you're satisfied with right now.
Kathy Orovitz
Aaron Powell Yeah, and it and it's working. You know, we we continually ask for feedback and and uh enhance programs when we can. And that is something I think um is important. They have a voice in anything that we do.
Bill Bartholomew
It's an unusual job market right now. That's an understatement. Tremendous uncertainty about the future of industries and specifically positions within it. The dichotomy is, well, things are gonna get a lot bleak more bleak for certain white-collar workers in the near future. Others say, actually, no, it's just gonna be you're gonna be able to be more productive because of the tools that are available and they're coming. Whatever the case is, it's becoming a very competitive job market right now. So as a CEO and as a president of a community financial institution, how do you retain talent? How do you attract talent? And how much of that is culture and how much of that is something else?
Kathy Orovitz
I think part of it is, you know, as I said, even though we're people first, uh, you have to uh consult with experts, right? So we're continually scanning the industry and even outside our own banking sector. Some of the best learnings come from uh different types of organizations and industries. And so our um our staff, they're very much involved. Like we have uh employees involved in over 50 organizations on boards, associations, not necessarily banking sector. The learnings that get infused back into the credit union is just incredible. And so part of it is that, um, so that's like almost like a learning organization, a ton of investment in talent. We're doing our homegrown programs, but we also just uh ran for several, I would say maybe 80 of our officers, a program called Unreasonable Hospitality, right? I don't know if you've heard of it, but part of it is our differentiator is on extraordinary experience. And so we do that through focus groups, but we also do that through consistent training and making sure that we won't, as we grow and we're learning new things, that we don't lose sight of, well, what was that experience to the end user? It's great that it's flashy and it's AI and nobody had to underwrite that loan. But what was the unintended consequence? So we think through talent we need for maybe new AI, but then at the same time, you can't lose sight of what's important. And that's me that's the story about the the household or the business that you may know. Um, there's a situation that AI won't be able to read. So we're retooling and retraining our teams to look at things a little bit differently while protecting the experience for that consumer. And so they get excited about it instead of being afraid of it. Yes, you have to infuse with talent, but it's a balance of the folks that have the institutional knowledge that says there's a member at the other end of that, whether it's a collections or underwriting alone. Um, and so we do a lot of use cases and we do it with our employees, and I think that's the balance.
Bill Bartholomew
Yeah. Really interesting. Last question. Navigant as a as an institution is certainly well known for your support of local businesses. How does that play in beyond just one sometimes it's it's business, it's your business involved there, or in in the sense of the activities of of your banking activities, but it's also sometimes sponsorship. There's obviously a lot of things that happen, but there's something else there. I know we have a partnership.
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Yeah.
Bill Bartholomew
And it's m it it's a it's a good thing. It's a it's just it's just a good feeling to have these connections happen. How much of that is is is a part of your overall sort of ethos?
Kathy Orovitz
Aaron Powell I think it's a major part because again, I always go back to the mission that we've been able to protect and deliver on, and it's well-being for families, businesses, and community. Uh, you know our story in terms of philanthropy and our impact, right? Over $2 million, 500 organizations. We're proud of that. But we volunteer, so we had over 4,000 hours volunteered at various organizations last year in Rhode Island. But more than that, we spotlight and showcase all of the businesses that we can in Rhode Island that um that we have relationships with, because essentially they're the backbone. They're our neighbors. And this is how we thrive economically and locally. We know that. So we're investing back and sponsoring our businesses. Every month we have 25 branches, we showcase a different business and do a spotlight at each one of our branches. And so we rotate it once a month. That I would tell you the response that we've gotten is just thank you. It's a different way of promoting us. And we don't have to do that, but that's something that I think is so important. Um, and so, you know, and then we they have a voice. Part of it is we just um launched a major new cash management uh commercial line of products. And uh to do that, you can just promote them and hope hopefully you have people walk in the door. What we're doing is going to existing businesses and talk about here's a new cash management line. We can optimize your cash in your business through and help you protect from a fraud perspective. Um, you know, pilot this with us and tell me how we go to market. So I think it's that relationship and and they become partners in what we're doing. It's absolutely woven into everything that we do. And and and so that has kind of been the recipe for success for us.
Bill Bartholomew
Kathy Orwitz, Navigant Credit Union, NavigantCU.org. Thanks so much for your time as always.
Kathy Orovitz
Thank you, Bill, for having us and being such a great partner. Appreciate you.
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