Melissa Baddeley, CLO and vice president of learning for Coast Capital Savings, the second-largest credit union in Canada, has held that title since September 2004, when the C-level position was created to stress the importance of learning’s role within the organization. Baddeley and her team developed Coast U to ensure that all Coast Capital Savings’ employees have the tools they need to successfully execute their jobs within the enterprise.
Essential to the successful launch and implementation of Coast U, Baddeley utilized her available marketing resources to their fullest capacity. Perhaps the most significant outcome of this effort was the strong brand building that resulted. To compliment Coast Capital Savings’ brand message of “How Can We Help You?” Coast U was assigned the tag lines, “How Can We Help You Succeed?” and “How Can We Help You Learn?” Also, three Coast U commercials were filmed and shown to employees at the company’s annual gala, highlighting the benefits and features of the university, and building brand recognition.
To officially launch Coast U, Coast Capital Savings held a pep rally—complete with cheerleaders, sporty music, lunch and activities. In addition, all managers at the pep rally were given a Learning To Go “launch box,” which contained Coast U-branded materials and information. Also, Gist magazine, Coast Capital Savings’ quarterly employee magazine, featured a piece on Coast U and the opening of its 8,000-square-foot facility.
Coast U aligned the credit union’s members with a common vision and mission. It increased individual employees’ commitment to objectives, which, in turn, resulted in employees providing optimal customer service and focus—and therefore, increasing Coast Capital Savings’ financial success.
Coast U was Baddeley’s vision, and she translated that vision to her team where it was actualized. In her short tenure as chief learning officer, Baddeley revamped the role of training from a necessary evil, and established learning as a strategic advantage to Coast Capital Savings.
