NAVY FEDERAL’S ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 1

Analysis of Organizational Behavior in Navy Federal

COB 202

Meagan Berry, Sam Bixler, Patrick Fien, and Shaila Sadia

James Madison University

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Since the opening date in 1933, Navy Federal Credit Union has grown to be the largest

credit union based solely on assets (“Largest Credit Unions,” 2020). As credit unions and banks

often get misinterpreted, the main difference between the two is credit unions are nonprofits that

are governed by members, while banks are profit generating institutions. With that being said,

credit unions are typically half the size of an average bank (Williams, 2019). Navy Federal in

particular has nine million members and is currently the largest credit union across the United

States (“2020 Fact Sheet,” 2020). For reference, Wells Fargo, a popular bank, has roughly 70

million members (“Wells Fargo Today: 4th Quarter 2019,” 2019).

What makes Navy Federal different from other credit unions is their commitment to

the military community. In order to become a member of Navy Federal, there are three main

categories and a potential member must fit into at least one of the three. The first of which being,

you have to be considered either active duty, retired or a veteran of the Army, Marine Corps,

Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Air National Guard. The second category a potential member

must fit, is whether or not they have ties with the Department of Defense or the National Guard.

The final category is for all of the immediate family members of the first two categories.

Immediate family is defined as parents, grandparents, spouses, siblings, children, grandchildren

and household members (“Membership Eligibility”). As long as a potential member can fit into

one of these categories they are eligible to apply.

One of the main things that stood out about Navy Federal is their unwavering

commitment to their members. According to their mission statement:

As a member-owned and not-for-profit credit union, Navy Federal’s mission is to

always put members first. Each area of the credit union operates with the same

purpose in mind: making members’ financial goals the top priority. Navy Federal
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is honored to serve those who serve, with a field of membership comprising all

Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, veterans, civilian and

contractor personnel, and their families (“2020 Fact Sheet,” 2020).

If the mission statement alone does not validate Navy Federal’s dedication to their

members, the membership benefits will. Just to name a few: with Navy Federal you get to

avoid account monthly fees, reimbursement for out-of-network ATM fees, a 0.25% APY

for a basic savings account (competitor has a 0.15% APY), and a 0.05% APY for all

checking accounts (competitor has a 0.01% APY) (Perez, 2018). Navy Federal continues

to provide its members with first rate benefits compared to other credit unions and banks.

As previously stated, Navy Federal Credit Union is the largest credit union in the United

States. Being the largest credit union entails keeping happy employees to successfully keep the

establishment running smoothly from day to day. It is evident that Navy Federal does everything

they can to accommodate their customers, but is the same true for the employees?

Diversity and job satisfaction seem to be an area that holds great value for Navy Federal.

They are constantly striving for improvement in those fields but have come very far with their

efforts. These are two concepts in class that we have discussed as being factors that are important

in the workplace. Diversity is needed for increased innovation, while job satisfaction allows

employees to work more efficiently. When people feel a sense of community and belonging, they

work better.

Diversity means to have people from different backgrounds in the workplace. Navy

Federal believes in employing people who represent and embody the demographic they serve.

Navy Federal publishes their own articles where they share their views on values and what they

look for in future employees. They do not discriminate against factors such as age, race, or
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gender. As long as the potential employee can relate to clients and/or provide financial plans

better suited for them. Navy Federal encourages workplace diversity since it allows for creativity

and more variety in ideas. They consider it as a way to have insight into their market, customers’

needs and to overcome cultural and language barriers (Navy Federal Credit Union, 2016). They

have a good balance of employees from different age groups as well. With 14% being Baby

Boomers, 32% being Generation X, 54% being Millennials, and a rising 1% being Generation Z

(“Work”, 2020). The Baby Boomers are slowly retiring while Generation Z is still very young so

that would explain their lower percentages. Minorities make up about 40% of their workforce,

while 66.5% are women. They also have policies against discrimination due to sexual

orientation.

Job satisfaction measures how employees feel about all things related to their job. It

includes everything from their actual work, co-workers, and even the work environment. Navy

Federal shared their ideas of how they make their newcomers feel welcomed. By having

informal company get-togethers, it gives the opportunity for new and seasoned employees to

connect off the job. Navy Federal also accommodates employees by providing

training/certificate opportunities to improve job-related skills (Navy Federal Credit Union,

2019). This allows for employees to feel their own personal growth and encourages them to work

hard since they see a future with open opportunities. Navy Federal also participates in several

volunteering events and motivates their workers to partake. This makes employees feel proud to

help the community and be a part of the change. It also serves as a morale boost to do good

deeds for the community. They even have on-site health centers that care for minor health

concerns, headaches and therapy. Employees are also encouraged to work out and enroll in

classes for group exercise at their on-site fitness center. Navy Federal has taken steps to ensure
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their work environment can be a place where employees can thrive and their needs to keep up a

healthy mind, body, and lifestyle are met. In addition, the other employee benefits include

pension plans, discounts to outside events, financial assistance for education, paid absences, etc

(Navy Federal Credit Union, 2019). They have gender equal options for both mothers and fathers

who want paid parental absences. At typical jobs in the US, only 59% feel that their job has a

great place to work compared to the 94% of Navy Federal employees (“Work”, 2020). Navy

Federal works to create job satisfaction for their employees so that their work output is at its

optimum level. Their company articles do not shy away from sharing such tips with the rest of

the world, rather they encourage others to follow along.

Navy Federal has been on the Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For for 10 years as

well as other workplace lists that have recognized them as a company that looks after their

employees (Gencler, 2020). This year, they ranked 19th place out of 100. Navy Federal’s

employee benefits have allowed them to also be seen as a great place for working parents,

women, and the upcoming generations entering the workforce. In previous years, they were also

recognized as a great place to retire from. Of course, there is still room to improve, but they still

stand out as a company that cares about their treatment of workers.

Navy Federal Credit Union clearly holds itself to a high standard when it comes to taking

care of its employees but how do they measure up when compared to other financial institutions?

When taking a look at other top-ranking financial institutions it is evident that overall Navy

Federal is a competitive employer. JP Morgan Chase, the United States’ largest financial

institution, boasts a whopping 256,000 employees (JPMorgan Chase, 2006-2020), and is

growing, compared to Navy Federal’s mere 22,000 (Navy Federal Credit Union, 2020). Keeping

this in mind, it is impressive to note that Navy Federal provides similar compensation and
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benefits to their employees as those provided by the single largest multinational bank. The

comprehensive benefits provided by Navy Federal include a wide range of medical insurance,

paid and sick leave (including maternity leave), retirement plans, financial perks and more. As

previously mentioned, Navy Federal’s strong employee benefits also include multiple on sight

amenities such as fitness centers and health centers which is something not conventional at other

banking institutions (Navy Federal Credit Union, 2019). Similarly, these companies are also

relatively similar when it comes to general job satisfaction among its employees. According to

Indeed, an authority site that provides information on employers as well as job satisfaction, the

general “work happiness score” for Navy Federal and JP Morgan is 64 and 67 respectively

(Navy Federal Credit Union Careers and Employment; JPMorgan Chase Careers and

Employment). Something else notable about Navy Federal as an employer is that not only are

they diverse in a sense of their employees, they are also diverse when it comes to the wide array

of job positions, they offer. There are job opportunities in a wide variety of fields including

accounting, finance, customer service, management, IT and even modeling. This is a great

example of a company that utilizes the talents and proficiencies of a wide array of people to

build a strong, innovative and effective workforce.

While Navy Federal overall is a great employer with strong OB principals there are

always aspects of an organization that can be improved. In Navy Federal’s case it is undisputed

that they hold themselves to be an equal opportunity employer and employees also feel that they

are well compensated for their work. Comments of a fast paced and productive work

environment are common and the vast majority of comments on the work environment are

positive. However, it is a common complaint among Navy Federal employees, current and past,

that local branch management can be lacking in professionalism. Complaints relating to

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“favoritism” based upon connections as opposed to work ethic and dedication can be seen among

disgruntled ex-employees. Some employees comment that making advancements and earning

promotions can be hard or in some cases impossible (Navy Federal Credit Union Careers and

Employment). This is something very important for Navy Federal to work on because employees

do not want to feel as if they are not good enough to be promoted or as if they are an

inconvenience. This has effects on the workers self-esteem which ultimately affects their work

quality and general job satisfaction. Something Navy Federal could work on is giving their

employees more opportunities to show their dedication to the company and gain

benefits/advances in doing so. It may also help even more if Navy Federal directed attention to

making sure that local branch management is strong, accommodating and supportive of the

positive work environment they promote. Making these changes would take Navy Federal to the

next level of job satisfaction.

After analyzing our findings regarding how Navy Federal handles diversity in its

workplace, we have concluded that Navy Federal does in fact handle diversity very well in the

workplace. They do not merely “handle” diversity in the workplace either, they are proud of it

and believe that it furthers their ability to connect with customers. Differences in age, gender,

and race among employees allows for employees to be able to better connect themselves with

customers due to things like language or cultural barriers being a non-issue. This makes finding a

financial plan that best suits them a very smooth experience. When referenced in Fortune “100

Best Companies to Work For” in 2019, it was stated that “96 percent of employees say they were

made to feel welcome when they joined the team and consider the employee benefits offered to

be special and unique” (Navy Federal Achieves, 2019). As for a potential recommendation for

Navy Federal, although they have countless employees raving about how diverse and
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professional the workplace is, there are still some who believe they are treated unfairly at times.

Specifically, in the promoting process, there are many who believe it does not matter how hard

they work, but instead about networking yourself (Newport News, 2020). In the future, Navy

Federal should look to promote its workers based on their performance, not their networking

skills since promotions should be rewarded to those who have earned them through hard work in

the workplace.

As for the other organizational behavior we decided to look into, job satisfaction, we

found that it was in fact handled well. The training and certificate opportunities offered to the

employees is a large aspect of job satisfaction as employees are able to better themselves and

potentially their positions while on the job. Navy Federal also does a very good job of allowing

their employees to give back to the communities in which they serve through volunteering. In

Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2019, it was found that 95% of Navy Federal

employees are proud to tell others where they work and feel good about the ways the

organization contributes to the community (Navy Federal Achieves, 2019). All things

considered, we believe that Navy Federal has done a more than satisfactory job in regards to

diversity and job satisfaction among employees.

Job satisfaction and employee diversity are two vital organizational behaviors to the

overall image of Navy Federal in the eyes of its employees. Throughout our research of the

company and how it handles these behaviors, we have found that Navy Federal is exceptional in

the sense of how they accommodate for and maintain their employees. Through the availability

of training and volunteering opportunities, and other commodities such as a health and fitness

center, Navy Federal makes it plain to see that they want for all their employees to be satisfied

with working for the organization. On top of all the resources available to their employees, Navy
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Federal makes sure that all their employees work in an environment that respects and values

people from all different cultural backgrounds, and they pride themselves on employing the

demographic in which they serve. Through the implantations of cultural holiday vacation days

and allowing for employees to use their unique skill sets to best serve their customers, Navy

Federal accepts diversity with open arms.

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References

Gencler, D. (2020, February 18). Navy Federal Credit Union. Retrieved from

https://fortune.com/best-companies/2020/navy-federal-credit-union/

JPMorgan Chase: Careers and Employment. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2020, from

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/JPMorgan-Chase

JPMorgan Chase: Number of Employees 2006-2020: JPM. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/JPM/jpmorgan-chase/number-of-employees

Largest Credit Unions. (2020, March). Credit Unions Online.

https://money.usnews.com/banking/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-credit-union-versus-a-

bank

Membership Eligibility. (n.d.). Navy Federal Credit Union

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bank

Navy Federal Credit Union. (2016, September 20). How to Foster Diversity in the Workplace.

Retrieved from https://www.navyfederal.org/resources/articles/small-business/growing/

how-to-foster-diversity-in-the-workplace.php

Navy Federal Credit Union. (2019, December 18). Benefits. Retrieved from

https://www.navyfederal.org/about/careers/benefits.php

Navy Federal Credit Union Careers and Employment. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2020, from

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Navy-Federal-Credit-Union

Navy Federal Achieves 9th Year on FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for List. (2019,

February 14). Retrieved from

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https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190214005598/en/Navy-Federal-Achieves-

9th-Year-FORTUNE-100

Navy Federal Credit Union. (2020, February 20). 2020 Fact Sheet [PDF File].

https://www.navyfederal.org/pdf/publications/fact-sheet.pdf

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Perez, L. (2018, November 20). USAA vs. Navy Federal: Which is Better for You? SmartAsset.

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bank

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www.wellsfargo.com › assets › pdf › about › corporate

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