Bethpage Federal Credit Union listens to its employees

When David Lay, a digital products support specialist at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, had a proposal that he thought would help Long Island's homeless dogs find a place to live, he sent the pitch to the credit union's "Bright Ideas" portal.

The portal is where Bethpage's 700 employees send in thoughts read by top executives.

His idea led to a visit by multiple animal shelters at headquarters in June, where every dog there was fostered or adopted by staffers and members, and 674 pounds of pet food was collected and donated to Island Harvest.

Lay said the portal shows the company listens to its employees, which drives engagement. Engagement with the workplace was a key reason why its rank-and-file workers, in an anonymous survey, ranked Bethpage the top workplace on Long Island with at least 500 employees.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for animals because they don’t have a voice,” Lay said. “So I sent a note, pitching the idea of having a food drive for animals, and helping dogs in shelters. It's great they go through the ideas.”

Lay said he motivated to come up with a pet-friendly version of Bethpage Federal Credit Union's popular turkey drive it has held each November for a decade. Next month it hopes to collect more than 2,000 turkeys at its headquarters on South Oyster Bay Road. The Bethpage-based company will also bring in $5,000 and another 9,000 pounds of nonperishable food, all of which will be donated through Island Harvest to help 2,300 families have a Thanksgiving meal. The credit union will publicize the drive in newspapers, websites, and television and radio stations.

All employees, including top executives, participate in the turkey drive, the pet adoption event and other company events, said Wayne Grosse, chief executive at Bethpage. 

“We try to set an example by listening and by being accessible, and that trickles down throughout the company," Grosse said. “I try to visit a branch each month, and sometimes I just sit there and talk to customers, because they have no idea who I am. And I like that they have no idea.”

The company’s high marks in engagement come from fostering clubs that bring together employees who otherwise wouldn’t know each other. The groups range from bowling, softball and basketball clubs — the basketball team won its league, and the trophy sits in the middle of the Bethpage office — to reading and running clubs. The running club takes a trip to Washington, D.C., annually to participate in the Cherry Blossom 10K.

The company’s benefits, and overall work environment, also rank high in why survey takers were bullish on working at Bethpage. The company’s employees repeatedly noted Bethpage’s ability to manage work-life balance.

“Depending on the job, we want people to work from home, and we don’t feel enough people take advantage of it,” Grosse said. “There was a day where my assistant was rapidly responding to emails all day, and I went over to talk to her, but her office was dark. I didn’t realize she was working from home. She was every bit as productive, maybe more so.”

The work-life balance focus rolls down to the branches too, said Maria Zahn, the branch manager for Bethpage in West Babylon.

“People have sick kids or parents, and when they do we don’t put pressure on them, we don’t ask questions,” Zahn said. “At a lot of places, calling in sick fills you with dread.”

Work-life balance benefits don’t always connect with employees, said Comila Shahani-Denning, professor of psychology at Hofstra University.

“It always depends on your employee pool, and that’s why it’s important to go to your employees and see what they value,” she said. “You want to be strategic about what you’re offering, or it’s not going to be effective.

Bethpage conducts two employee opinion surveys annually, and collects feedback through other surveys as well, said Melissa Feeney, vice president of human resources and learning at Bethpage.

The credit union’s benefits include a 401(k) plan in which an employee’s first 3 percent contribution earns a 200 percent match, and the next four percent gets a 100 percent match from Bethpage.

“The money adds up fast," said Linda Armyn, a senior vice president of corporate affairs at Bethpage. "You’re vested after one year, so it keeps people interested, as do the other benefits, and the engagement.”

“We have so many young people paying off college tuition or trying to start a family,” she added.

Bethpage also offers tuition, gym and weight-loss program reimbursement, as well as a free vacation day per year added on to whatever accrued time an employee has earned. The company's policies “help attract employees and help retain employees,” Armyn said.

Forty-five staffers — about 9 percent of the workforce — are celebrating five years with the company, despite its recent growth in size. Another 28 complete their 10th year in 2018. Bethpage is the largest credit union based on Long Island with $8 billion in assets and 35 branches. It's grown its assets in each of the last five years. It had $5.4 billion in assets in 2013 and $6.9 billion in 2016.

Organic growth has spurred most of Bethpage's asset increase, and the credit union also has made acquisitions in recent years.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union acquired Northwell Health's credit union last year. The Northwell credit union had 17,000 members and $100 million in assets.

Bethpage in March 2016 also took over Montauk Credit Union, a one-branch institution based in Manhattan. Montauk was a big lender to taxi-medallion owners.

- David Reich-Hale