Taylor Nelms, senior director of research for Filene, followed up by noting a couple examples of when friction can be positive in credit unions: During creative processes, such as determining who is in your market and how to create for them; and during risk management processes, when it's often very important to slow down.

Ryon Packer, SVP of strategy and marketing for Fiserv, explained the difference between good friction and bad friction as it relates to new member account openings. To avoid bad friction, credit unions have to fulfill new members' expectations that opening a new account should be quick and not feel difficult or challenging. However, credit union employees should create some good friction during the process by working slowly enough; if they work too quickly, the member may wonder if they're really taking the time to review their information. "Know what the member views as valuable," Packer said.

Defining Member Journey Archetypes

When it comes to designing product and service offerings, and marketing them to reach their targeted audiences, credit unions must first determine their members' journey archetypes. That's according to Utpal Dholakia, George R. Brown professor of marketing for Rice University. There are 12 different archetypes (described as "shopper journey archetypes" in a report co-authored by Dholakia, "From Browsing to Buying and Beyond: The Needs-Adaptive Shopper Journey Model"), which can be determined through surveys of core members/segments, Dholakia said. After the credit union has determined members' key archetypes, and gains an understanding of their motivations and behaviors, it can execute a matching business strategy, he said.

Two common archetypes for financial services customers/credit union members are based on learning (someone who wants to become more educated on money management, for example), and organized habit (someone who follows a set financial behavior, such as budgeting). Credit unions should consider reevaluating their member journey archetypes every three to five years, he noted.

Leveraging People Analytics

How can credit unions ensure they have the right people in place to drive success? According to Sekou Bermiss, associate professor of management for the University of Texas in Austin, credit union HR departments must have a bigger footing in data analytics.

"If people are your best assets, you have to measure and analyze them the same way you measure your capital reserves," he said.

To become successful at "people analytics," Bermiss said, credit unions must integrate together three mindsets: Data sense (extracting knowledge and insights from data), people sense (interpreting data as it relates to human beings) and business sense (positioning insights within the constraints of the organization to change policy).

In one example of how data can be used to improve hiring practices, Bermiss said one credit union discovered when new employees were brought in from a very large applicant pool, turnover rates were higher, leading the credit union to investigate whether it needed to do a better job of selecting the right candidates from a big group.

Bermiss also left the audience with advice on how to handle candidates who changed job frequently in the past:

"Lean into the fact that people are not around for long," he argued. "Don't look at [employees leaving] as a failure, but as a way to impact someone on the course of their career. Recognize your alumni – the people who left but truly enjoyed their time there."

He added credit unions should ensure they offer a career path and variety of work for people who do stay at the organization a long time, and recognize that some employees who leave may return at a later point in time.