Much of my career has been spent within credit unions leading frontline teams, including branches. As with most good things, I stumbled into it. Wanting to make a move to Chicago, I suggested that I not only manage marketing, but also a remote branch in the Second City. I quickly fell in love. Not just with the city, but with the member experience and how it was delivered. Having spent my first year out of college behind the scenes as a member of the marketing team, it was extremely eye opening to watch our members interact with our frontline team.
The credit union was more than just a place where members came to deposit money, cash checks and finance loans. It was a place full of people they trusted. Members relied on those trusted advisors. They looked to them for help, guidance and oftentimes to share a smile and a story to brighten their day. As credit unions develop and grow their mobile strategies, I often hear frontline team members and leaders wondering, "What does this mean for our team?" Even more directly, "Does this mean I'm going to lose my job?" These are important questions. My opinion: Mobile technology can amplify and create even deeper engagement with your frontline staff. It isn't a question of either people or mobile technology. The answer is the powerful intersection of people and mobile technology.
Recommended For You
In a recent Filene report, "Mobile Banking: Trends in Technology, Innovation and Equity," we chronicled advice and guidance from experts on this important topic. David Fetherstonhaugh, a behavioral economist and designer with IDEO, shared an interesting thesis: "The hearts of customers are still up for grabs." This bears out especially when you look at millennials' perspectives on banking from the Millennial Disruption Index: They'd rather go to the dentist than their bank.
Beyond the typical tasks of transferring between accounts and checking balances, here are five additional ideas for making your mobile banking experience as powerful as what they've come to expect when members come to your branch:
Create advocates in your frontline team. Your frontline team should be the biggest users and thus proponents of your mobile technology. Create incentives and rewards for their usage. Encourage staff to demonstrate your mobile app. If a member asks their opinion of your mobile technology, you want it to be extremely positive.
Become a part of your members' routines, in a good way. Use geolocation technology to provide offers and opportunities unique to your members during their regular routine. This way, members don't have to change their behaviors but gain more value from you as a part of what they are already doing.
Make joining and applying for loans easier. In today's busy world, people are looking to engage with organizations that will save them time. Can potential members join from your mobile app? Can current members get all the way to loan funding? These important experiences should be simple, easy and mobile.
Observe members' needs and respond with unique solutions to solve their biggest problems. Often our technology investment is driven by a review of the competition or what we hear from our third-party providers is the "next new tool." The best innovation in technology will come from watching your members naturally using your mobile solutions. Solving their biggest problems will create the opportunity for you to truly differentiate.
Improve their financial well-being. According to Fetherstonhaugh, "no one has cracked the nut on financial well-being." The average American consumer is struggling with day-to-day financial wellness. How might your mobile app simply and easily assist with creating a better financial situation for your members? Digitally become that trusted advisor I observed in my branch in Chicago.
Tansley Stearns is chief impact officer for Filene Research Institute. She can be reached at 203-859-2666 or [email protected].
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
