AUSTIN, Texas – If Friday's announcements at the CU Water Cooler Symposium were any indication, credit unions will have a few more resources available to further efforts to engage staff and take social media to the next level.
CU Water Cooler and 6th Story Co-founder Matt Davis kicked off the second day of the symposium with the launch of gameFI, a way for credit unions to deliver fun, engaging and real-time performance feedback to front-line staffers.
"We've heard it over and over again that what gets measured gets managed, but it's not enough if we're not telling people what they should be doing and how they are doing once a year during an annual review," Davis said.
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Developed as a feedback mechanism, gameFI is the first gamefication platform for financial services. Geared toward helping frontline staff stay focused on strategic priorities while having fun and furthering their professional development and training.
gameFI features leaderboards with customizable metrics and a "cheering section" that recognizes and rewards top performers and allows staff access to real-time qualitative performance feedback on themselves and others. In addition, a training section delivers short 60-second knowledge assessments as a way to ensure frontline staffers are continuously learning while gauging the effectiveness of training programs. There's even a feature for competitive staffers to challenge each other to a duel.
"There's nothing worse than busting your hump and not getting recognition," Davis said. "With the training quizzes, employees can take two per day and like Candy Crush, you get points or congrats for getting it right. When you get it wrong you find out why. Our job as managers is to match peoples' skill sets and talents with the challenge. What's been happening is everyone gets the same challenges that never change."
CUNA Mutual Group's digital media dynamic duo Michael Ogden and Holly Fearing dropped a few truth bombs on attendees before their announcement.
"The banks' view of social media is how to take topics that are stressors for people and make bite-sized content that's helpful," Ogden said. "The credit union view is to highlight products and services and fun promotions through our social media channels. While Wells Fargo has it figured out, after all these years credit unions still don't get it."
Enter The Social Build community group on Google+, where Fearing and Ogden plan to take their exploration of the social media landscape and its possibilities to the next level.
"Your social media channel is not about you but your content, your view. If you do it well enough, if it's interesting and entertaining, then yes, others will see the value you add to lives," Fearing said.
The Social Build was created as part of Fearing and Ogden's personal mission to collaboratively work to help the credit union industry become leaders in the digital and social worlds for members, the public and each other. The community group on Google+ will be a gathering place where credit union professionals discuss social media, digital marketing platforms, updates, trends, successes and failures. In addition to community discussions, monthly Google+ Hangouts On Air will be held.
"We have 100 million members as an industry and we need to get our stuff together now on how to approach this audience and its needs," Ogden said.
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