Citysave Charter

Our Mission

Citysave is a credit union, a co-operative enterprise. We aim to provide financial services for all our members, through a range of good value and ethical financial products.

Our Vision

This vision is our heart. It will be evidenced in our strategic plan, operational structure, office environment, communication, people development and reward structure, our daily behaviours and our relationships.

Aleading credit union: We want to be recognised as a leading credit union based on our performance and our reputation for how we do business. We will achieve this by working closely with all our stakeholders.

Building our Community

These behaviours matter to us most. They characterise the type of people we want to work with. They are how we want to be seen by each other and how we appear to others. They are chosen by us and are a strong source of our differentiation.

Partnership: We will actively seek strategic relationships with key organisations based in the Birmingham area. We will develop these partnerships to deliver as widely as possible to those who most require our services.

Investment: Our involvement in regional communities is an integral part of our work. We seek to contribute to the community through a broad range of activities supporting efforts to make an improvement in the lives of those less fortunate.

Celebration: Each of us should be ourselves. We recognise that by bringing together diverse experiences, perspectives and skills, we can create the best environment for intellectual and creative contribution. We all have demanding jobs, based on hard work and we should enjoy our achievements and constantly strive to make others feel appreciated.

Development: Our team is our greatest asset. We must invest in ourselves to realise our full potential. Developing our staff, directors and volunteers and bringing out the best in each other is essential. It is the responsibility of each of us to get on with others and demonstrate our support of our colleagues. The power and potential benefit of our collective improvement is immense and key to our future.

Expectation: We have high expectation of ourselves and of each other. We should strive to exceed these expectations and surprise our colleagues by our performance. Our behaviours, commitments and choices are centred on what is best for our members. We want the freedom to perform within clear boundaries. We have the opportunity to transform our potential and it is our personal responsibility to give our best every day.

Experimentation: We embrace experimentation to achieve change and push the boundaries of our performance. We must have the confidence to try new ideas, but accept that things will not always go as planned. We are free to admit mistakes and share them with others. We will never knowingly let a colleague fail. We must strive at all times to create innovative and better ways of running our business.

Our Business Philosophy

This is the essence of Citysave. At its core are relationships and professional integrity. Our business philosophy is clearly articulated and simple to understand. It embodies:

Partnership: All of our stakeholders must be our partners and our ambassadors. We will build enduring relationships that stand the test of time and go beyond just economic results. We will work as peers, advisors, mentors and friends and will provide constant support through good times and bad.

Trust: We strive to maintain a spirit of openness, trust and co-operation at all times. Our communication will be frequent, our approach will be consistent and we will seek to be constructive and value adding. We value loyalty, dedication and commitment.

Fairness: We want to be known as an organisation that is easy to work with, which combines a commercial approach with professional integrity and a sense of fairness at all times.

Integrity: We encourage honesty and transparency and value everyone’s opinions and ideas with a focus on making informed decisions and identifying the best solutions. We recognise that we have to earn each other’s respect every day. We understand the significant demands on each other’s time and energy and commit to work together wisely.

Candour: Whilst challenging the status quo is expected, there will be no tolerance of politics, spin or hidden agendas. We must all take responsibility for tackling and resolving issues, directly and considerately, and adopting a consistently positive attitude.

Team: Our commitment to attracting and retaining the best people (staff, directors and volunteers) is critical to our future. Our success is based on team and collective responsibility. We must always look and act like a team and go the extra mile to deliver our desired outcomes. Being a team confers on each of us greater individual responsibility and an attitude that places a high priority on supporting each other.

The way we do business

These attributes are the key capabilities that our team should possess and will govern how we operate:

Governance: We will never waiver from our responsibility to our members. We will maintain effective business systems and controls and will constantly aspire to best practice whilst always seeking to minimise bureaucracy. We will regularly review our process of governance, reporting, audit and oversight to ensure regulatory compliance and appropriate risk management.

Profit: We will be a sustainable credit union and seek at all times to return appropriate dividends to our members, and creating value through efficient operation and delivery of a strong range of products.

Leadership: we must all practice leadership and the will to be led. As leaders we must demonstrate enthusiasm, drive and commitment towards achieving our ambitions. It is the responsibility of our senior managers and directors to act as role models at all times.

Learning and development: We must constantly drive to do things better. We include all our members and other stakeholders as partners in our improvement efforts. We are not interested in blame, but in driving best practice.

Operational discipline: We are constantly seeking to improve our service, in a sector which can often be difficult and where good judgement is required. This must be based on a disciplined approach to all that we do and characterised by attention to detail and a focus on the little things that matter.

Personal commitment

The Directors, staff and volunteers are committed to playing our full part in building an enduring successful organisation. In short, we aspire to deliver success by working together for the benefit of the membership.

We shall hold ourselves accountable, both as individuals and as an organisation for our results. We will measure our internal and external business activities by benchmarking based on a broad range of both financial and non financial measures including:

Citysave Charter