Welcome to HSSCU’s Staff Focus!

We are delighted to introduce you to our Marketing Manager Pádraig Power – the face behind your member communications! You’ve probably seen Pádraig plenty of times as a Christmas Elf and Summer Sunflower so we thought it was time you got to meet the real him 🙂

Hi Pádraig, firstly tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Pádraig. I’m from Limerick, I lived in Cork for 9 years and I’m now in Dublin! I also lived in Paris for a year, which was fun. I’m a very warm person, love travelling and love meeting new people.

What path led you to working in the Credit Union Movement?

I initially studied Neuroscience and it was just a bit boring for me. With that in mind, I returned to UCC and did a masters in marketing. From there I worked in Hayfield Manor for a year and then I saw a Marketing & Business Development Officer role in The Lough Credit Union in Cork. I jumped at the opportunity to be the owner of a brand and help develop a company further!

What does your role and team look like?

For marketing, it’s just me! I work closely with our Business Development Manager Alan, however, and I work in different groups and on various projects with other teams. I work with suppliers daily for campaigns, etc. also. It’s great because I have a large sense of autonomy, but also get to work with different teams and departments 🙂

What is an example of your general day in HSSCU?

I always start my day with social media. It’s one of my favourite parts of the job so it gets me right in the swing of things. Then I’ll clear my emails. Once the emails are clear I work on different campaigns/products such as new loan campaigns, designing new aspects of our website, working on digital marketing, etc.

How have things changed since COVID-19?

Things have changed massively since COVID-19! Of course, I still need to market loans, but it’s more important than ever to make sure this is done responsibly and with our members’ best interests at heart. That is why we introduced recent products such at the ‘Stay at Home’ loan and ‘Elevate’ loan, which were really well received by members. Of course, I’m also working from home now and digital has become more important than ever! Luckily, I like working from home and digital is something that I find fascinating, so our marketing has been able to adapt well.

Do you have any guilty pleasures to help you through the pandemic?

Erm… YES! Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s have become my new best friends. I’m also loving baking at the minute. To balance out those, I have started walking a LOT more and drinking at least 2 – 3 litres of water a day though – surprisingly good for the mind 🙂

Do you find it difficult to keep in contact with the team working from home?

It certainly has its difficulties, but luckily we have a briefing from our CEO every Monday morning, myself and Alan are always on the phone to one another and our team is so chatty anyway! We all get on so well so there’s someone to be talking to each day.

What is your favourite thing about working in HSSCU?

I really appreciate that we hold the traditional credit union values, but that we are not a traditional credit union in how we operate. We have fantastic products and services that are always provided to our members with their interest at heart.

How is it sharing HSSCU with members on social media and more?

GREAT! I’m in the lucky position of receiving a lot of the positive messages and thanks via our social media accounts (of course I share them with the team). Members love to interact with us and see the soul behind HSSCU. Loans and savings can only get so exciting, so it’s lovely to show our members the core of HSSCU, what we do and the people we employ.

You said you’ve turned into a secret baker like some of your colleagues. What is your favourite thing to bake?

Hmmm… for ease it HAS to be Nutella brownies. They are so quick, easy and delicious! For a bit more of a challenge, I’m weak for a good lemon & raspberry cake with lemon frosting… yes please!

We know you love a good movie night and Netflix binge. What have you been watching to keep entertained during lockdown?

Ohhh, so many things to choose from. Loved season 2 of ‘Dead To Me’, am very excited for season 2 of ‘The Umbrella Academy’, ‘Bake Off: The Professionals’ is keeping my Tuesdays evenings alight at the minute too. I’m also loving Disney+ – so many childhood films to catch-up on and ‘Marvel: Agents of Shield’ is an easy, yet very interesting watch! To be honest, I could be listing shows for hours…

Lastly, what, in your opinion, makes credit unions different to other places you’ve worked?

Their heart. Credit unions operate for their members at all times. It is inspiring seeing just how much everyone in HSSCU cares about the member experience and will go above and beyond for a member in need.