My 15-year-old daughter Taylor is one-month into her new job. She's an umpire for the community softball league. To get this job, I had to tell the league's organizer that she was interested (it helped that she'd played for a few years too) and she had to pass a simple test after her full day of training.
The league supplied the training (by Softball BC professionals), uniform and gear, and rule book. When she got her gear home, she put it all on and walked around the house alternately calling strikes and checking her hair. When the schedule was posted online, she wrote every game down on the calendar - location and time. She always pushes me to get her to her games early, and during games (wonder!) she cleans home plate periodically without being asked.
Kidding aside, she respects softball in a way she didn't before. She works more and has more responsibility than she ever did as a player, but she likes it. It's a pretty cool first job for her, and I overhear her talking about it to her friends often.
This made me realize that you never have a more enthusiastic brand advocate than when a staff member first starts his or her job at your credit union. Could you imagine them trying on their name badge and checking it out in a mirror? Wouldn't it be great to maintain that first day flush of enthusiasm throughout their career? I suspect that if more people could keep in touch with the feeling, there would be less turnover and stronger brands.
What do you think?
Nala