“Members are experiencing an increasing array of channel choices everywhere they interact, setting the bar ever higher for what the credit union must offer,” Lori Bocklund, founder and president of Strategic Contact, a consulting firm that assists organizations with optimizing the value of their contact center technology and operations, said, adding, “they want to use their mobile devices and the web, self-serve when it makes sense and easily get to knowledgeable, readily available assistance when needed.”

Further, Bocklund notes that “technology advances enable serving diverse channels – for both self-service and assisted service – and do so in a seamless, integrated (or omni-channel) fashion, with contact history and cross-channel information available to optimize the member experience” – one of the many reasons Bocklund's firm is conducting a survey to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of credit union contact centers. These advances, then, are crucial to a sustained, convenient and efficient member service platform for credit unions at large.

Amy Vigil, executive director of the Credit Union Call Center Conference, points out that today's credit union call centers must necessarily focus on “meeting the member's choice of access to their financial needs.” As such, unlike the technology born out of the 90s and the early days of the 21st century, the emerging technology adapts to humans, rather than forcing humans to adapt to it. In response to this technological sea-change, credit union call centers “now utilize chat, video chat, email, auto dial-back, mobile apps, websites and on-hold queues to manage member communications and 24/7 overflow coverage,” Vigil said.

Bocklund further noted that while members will still walk into a branch and use ATMs, the stage is set by an increasingly tech-heavy landscape, within which the contact center must play an increasingly important role in meeting member expectations and the ability to deliver timely and efficient member service.

As consumer and member needs continue to evolve, so too will the technology we utilize to take on the daily tasks and responsibilities we all bow to, and the ability to consistently examine the tech behavior of our credit union members gives us the power to evolve. And, in the end, isn't convenience and efficiency the name of the game when it comes to meeting member needs?

Michael Barrio is Director of Public Affairs, Leverage Point, Inc. He can be reached at 505-338-4228 or [email protected].