Credit unions have always been hyper-focused on making meaningful improvements to the member experience. For years, credit unions have targeted millennials as the next generation of financial service users. The result of this is that credit unions are now faced with a new and potentially more challenging dilemma: How to engage not only millennials, but also an aging boomer population and emerging Gen Z.
Credit unions have in the past relied primarily on their role as collective, collaborative local organizations to drive engagement, and while this is still a powerful niche, credit unions still struggle to captivate members with their brand identity and build trust through digital channels.
Communicating a digital experience to members, however, requires a credit union's internal operations to also be technologically advanced and drive employee engagement at a high level. After all, before a credit union can project its digital fluency to its members, it must first ensure its employees experience that as well. If employees have not bought into the digital experience of the credit union, how can they be expected to convey one to members?
When it comes to employee engagement, web-based portals have proven their effectiveness for quite some time. Board meeting software, for example, provides a seamless experience for any committee in a credit union, not just the board of directors. Committees can utilize software such as this to simplify how their meetings are conducted, from approving minutes and annotating documents to conducting voting engagements, and can even help credit unions create an entirely paperless meeting system – which also serves as a powerful corporate social responsibility initiative.
Likewise, an employee intranet is one of the most powerful vehicles toward engaging employees with the credit union's brand and institutional goals. A well-managed intranet serves as the cornerstone for how employees start and finish their day. Whether checking for credit union announcements, reviewing training materials, policies or procedures, or reading blogs and articles from co-workers, an intranet allows employees to engage with the ethos of their organization and understand the role they play in its long-term goals.
When looking at technology, there are also generational differences to take into consideration. The median age of a banker today is 40 years old, which is dead center between a soon-to-be retired boomer population and a millennial workforce. Technology is necessary to engage both of these groups as boomers require solutions that are easy to use and seamless in their experience. Likewise, millennials demand technology that is versatile in nature and provides them with fresh content and knowledge weekly, or even daily.
Keep in mind as well, that employees are no longer tied to their desk in the branch anymore. Credit union technology should be mobile in nature and responsive in design. For example, an employee intranet should be easily utilized from not only the employee's computer, but their tablet and phone as well. Credit union employees should be free to move around the branch and interact with members wherever they might be, and in the future, this may even require them to step outside the branch. Having this technology in place now, and employees trained on it as well, will provide future flexibility as market conditions change.
Ultimately, in order to better engage credit union members, credit union executives should identify outdated and fragmented processes as a major risk to their institution. With so much focus on the latest technologies to appeal to members, internal processes are often easy to overlook. But, by leveraging technology to improve how their own employees work on a day-to-day basis, credit unions can help their staff better engage with members and create a consistent experience across their organization.
Mark Anderson is CEO of Banc Intranets. He can be reached at 423-926-8527 or [email protected].
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