Tellers aren't the only people unsettled by the changing face of credit union branches – an upheaval is coming soon for branch managers too, according to a new white paper published by the CUNA Operations Sales & Service Council.

Just as significant design changes are rapidly making credit union branches less about transactions and more about sales, so too will the branch manager's job become less about cash management and more about interacting with people, the study reported. And that shift means a whole new set of expectations.

"For branch managers who have been successful in a traditional branch, they will need to learn and deploy new technological, sales and service skill sets to make the branch of the future successful," wrote Laurie Tyler, vice president of sales and member service at Financial Partners Credit Union, who authored the white paper. Financial Partners CU, based in Downey, Calif., has $1 billion in assets and about 74,000 members.