2023 Credit Union Trends to Watch

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Credit unions are a great resource for those looking to save money on banking services while also making a positive impact on the local community. As we move further into the decade, it’s important to stay up to date on the trends in credit unions that will shape the industry in 2023.

In this article, you’ll learn more about what’s expected in 2023, from how technology is transforming credit union services to how different segments of society are being targeted for membership.

Digital Banking Continues to Top the List of 2023 Credit Union Trends

Digital credit union trends are still going strong in 2023. As things tighten up and many people prepare for a forecasted recession, the need for cost-effective solutions and banking services will only continue to stay relevant.

In 2021, 41% of U.S. retail banking consumers were classified as “digital-only” – and that means making sure your credit union’s online presence is optimized will be the future of a significant portion of your business.

Credit unions have grown, in large part, due to their strategies of reaching out into the less connected regions and communities that big banks were neglecting. And as credit unions are often owned by their members, the statistic above shows us exactly how important it is to start meeting your members in the digital spaces they spend most of their time in today.

Credit union members are looking for digital touchpoints in all of their product and service offerings, from web loan applications to trial balance, online self-service forms, online courtesy pay, and online access to their banking statements.

This also includes customer service discussions and other person-to-person interactions – members are looking for digital-first communication as well. As you are working through

your 2023 goals and strategies, it’s important to take inventory of exactly how much of your services exist in an online or self-service capacity. These will be increasingly appealing to younger members and prospects.

Credit Union Industry Trends and Market Shifts

There are several 2023 credit union trends that stem from market conditions and other related industry expectations and their biggest concerns for this year. Some of those concerns include fraud, labor shortages, and collections. Let’s break these down.

Fraud is a threat that affects every industry and business right now. And since the financial industry is one of the most frequently affected, it’s important that your digital transformation strategy doesn’t invite in more opportunities for fraudsters to get to your members’ account information and finances.

One of the best things you can do to combat fraud attempts is to ensure that two-factor and multi-factor authentication are being used by all members, staff, and vendors your credit union does any work with.

Labor shortages are in effect for different industries in different ways – the unpredictable landscape has created more uncertainty about financial health for people and for businesses in the coming year. If your credit unions are being affected by these shortages, we would recommend reaching out to vendors and other third parties that are offering solutions for the digitization of services and remote work solutions.

These unstable conditions that may or may not contribute to a coming recession will also very likely have an effect on collections of late and other default payments. And since many of your members are already aware of the missed payment, only about 1 in 100 collections calls even gets answered.

Because of this, many CU experts recommend sharing collections notices via email or text, because it lowers the level of engagement for your member and it also saves them the embarrassment they’ll feel when they have to pick up the phone and talk to another staff member at their credit union who also now knows they’re behind on things at the moment.

And digital collections operations will also be crucial as times get tighter since this year is also likely to see continued labor shortages – with an increase in collections instances and decreased staff, your existing employees will be under a lot of stress trying to keep up with the influx.

Maintaining Relevance

Relevance is going to be another top entry in the list of 2023 credit union trends to watch. According to Fiserv, between $30 and 80 billion will be transferred from boomers and seniors to the younger Millennial and Gen Z generations in the next few decades.

And that means credit unions should start now if they are hoping to continue to attract younger members as more and more of this money becomes theirs. Right now, between 80 and 90% of these younger generations are currently banking with a major bank, rather than a large credit union or smaller local bank. Big banks have a tight hold on these demographics.

Since the pandemic, credit unions have seen what implementing good technology can do for their operations, and that trend isn’t likely to slow down as these digitally-native generations grow their market share.

This may also mean taking a good look at your credit union’s branch strategy. Transactions should not be the focus of branch staff work, but rather these teams should be trained and optimized to offer sales, service, and advice solutions for branch members.

Reducing the number of physical branches has been a hot topic over the last few years, and transforming operational costs by outsourcing certain storage and services to virtual platforms can create better momentum as we traverse these tumultuous economic times ahead.

Professional Services for your 2023 Credit Union Trends

One of the best ways to keep up with trends without changing your products or services is to lean heavily into your digital transformation.

That’s why IMSI offers professional services that include custom web development, UI scripting, batch scripting, and custom electronic forms. You can take advantage of this digital-first financial services trend that has been growing since 2020 and doesn’t look to slow any time soon.

Reach out to us today and let us know how we can help your credit union use custom digital solutions to create a better experience for your members and your employees.

Improve Credit Union Board Meetings: 4 Tips

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If you are a credit union leader or a member of a credit union board, chances are you’ve been to at least one board meeting and know how important it is for the board to have effective meetings. But how can you ensure that your board meetings are successful?

Effective board meetings are an important part of credit union management. They provide a forum for discussing important topics and making decisions that impact the entire organization. But in order to get the most out of these meetings, it’s important to make sure they’re organized and productive.

Let’s discuss some tips on how to have better credit union board meetings. We’ll look at things like setting clear agendas, encouraging participation, and more.

Tips for Improving Productivity to Facilitate Effective Board Meetings

Credit union board meetings are just as easily derailed as a daily or monthly project meeting, and Hales Property Management shared some great and targeted tips for staying on task:

  • Define the purpose of the meeting. This makes for more organized board meetings from the get-go.
  • Start and end your credit union board meetings on time – this helps keep your directors and attending staff engaged and on task so as not to waste their own – or anyone else’s – time.
  • Keep the discussion focused. Once a topic of discussion is brought forth, follow it through and keep notes on any other issues that come up within the conversation, rather than letting a tangential conversation derail your progress.
  • Encourage input from all attendees. It’s important that everyone feels heard.
  • Take breaks as needed. Sometimes a short break can help get you back on track faster than a lengthy (or heated) debate will.
  • Be mindful of body language. For those speaking and listening, it’s important to pay attention to your own body language as well as the body language of those around you.
  • Take notes. These meetings are often task-oriented, and keeping notes ensures that all of the issues that were discussed will find a successful conclusion.
  • Follow up after the meeting. Part of the note-taking should include the action items that each attendee (or committee) will be responsible for between now and the next board meeting.
  • Encourage feedback. Sometimes, sharing every opinion isn’t feasible, and certain ideas can get missed. It’s important to keep those lines of communication and trust open so that concerns and recommendations can be passed back and forth between meetings.

Meeting productivity also improves when you do a few things to help manage the attendees’ expectations. For example, you should always send out a credit union board agenda beforehand – and not just one day before the meeting. 

We’d recommend sending the meeting agenda at least one week in advance – this gives your board and guests time to include important items that may have been overlooked. It also creates expectations for the meeting topics – even if you have to include generic topic placeholders (like “Director A will discuss recent marketing efforts” or “Guest speaker will be Helen the CPA”).

Create Space for Questions and General Review

A board meeting shouldn’t feel like a punishment. While it’s not a party either, it’s important to create space for new and existing board members and meeting participants to share openly.

This means reserving time in the meeting for board members to share general news, interesting articles, personal achievements or events, and other non-discussion items.

This is a great way to keep your directors engaged without creating a feeling of having extra homework assigned. If a board member finds an interesting resource, they can simply share it with the room and those who are interested can follow up on the resource in their own time.

It also means creating space for questions. Every board is different, and each director has different skills and areas of expertise. It’s important to remember to always allow new members the opportunity to ask “beginner” questions, especially pertaining to things like budgets and financial information.

Be Clear about Renewal & Succession Planning

Choosing to simply wait until Directors on your board want to leave is not a strong succession plan. Credit unions are highly susceptible to changes in their CEO and directors lineup, and it’s important to prepare for these changes early.

It’s important to share guidelines that show exactly what the current board is responsible for when it comes to recruiting, developing, and retaining those in key positions. the credit union board agendas can shift as needed, but it’s easier to alter a plan than to go in without one.

In January 2022, the NCUA board approved a proposed rule on succession planning. The proposed rule requires the boards of directors at federal credit unions to “establish and adhere to processes for succession planning.” However, whether you are a federally-chartered or state-chartered credit union, it is wise to create these plans in order to maintain your board’s effectiveness during periods of transition.

Improve Board Meetings with Better Financial Conversations

An article entitled, “Better Board Financial Conversations” was featured in the fall 2022 issue of Credit Union Magazine.

In that article, writer Darla Dernovsek shared several ways to keep your next CU board meeting on track when it comes to tackling the hard financial discussions that will arise.

The first tip here is to keep past performance in mind, but don’t let it overtake the conversation – we can’t go back and fix things, we can only use the information we have to create better, more successful future initiatives.

The article also shares several poignant questions that may help to drive the conversation forward, rather than continuing to discuss things in a loop, creating identical conversations over the years and decades. Those questions include:

  • What do you want to get out of meetings?
  •  What type of discussion do you want to occur, and on which financial and strategic topics? (This one is important, as board meetings can often veer too far into the “big picture discussion” without making any incremental changes to help create and sustain some forward momentum.)
  • What engagement do you want to see in your meetings? You can help determine this by creating board meeting requirements for certain positions and attendees.
  • What problems are you trying to solve?

These questions are great for getting your CU leaders to think about the core purpose of each meeting and your board’s engagement as a whole.

The future isn’t as easily read as it once was – in a post-pandemic world, it’s important to look past the numbers and projections to continue to offer your members the best experience based on their current desires and needs.

Your Credit Union Board Meetings Get Easier When Your UX Improves

We’re in a world full of short tempers, quick answers, and customer service issues. Because of that, your website is a great place to start creating good momentum for your next credit union board meetings.

Boost member numbers with IMSI’s online account opening, increase loan stats with our Web Loan Applications and enhance your Keystone core with our Corelation solutions. IMSI is your partner in fine-tuning your website for great things, both for members and for CU staff.

Contact us today with questions, requests, and more. We’d love to chat with you about how IMSI can help your credit union reach its goals this year.

Tips to Optimize Member Experience in a Digital Banking World

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Happy 2023! Digital banking and open banking are big topics in the finance industry right now, and a lot of the innovations within them are spurred by the promise of better CX (customer experience).

Optimizing member experience at your credit union will be a pillar upon which your brand’s success is built over the next several years. And we wanted to offer some insights and tips to help you optimize member experiences in your branches and your CU technology like apps and other online offerings.

Here are some of our favorite tips you’ll want to embrace in the new year.

Meet Members Where They Are

There’s a common saying about meeting your members where they are in their own lives and member journeys, and we think it’s so common because it is always true. No matter what kind of economic, political, or generational climate your members are facing, you can’t help them if you don’t understand where they are and what they need.

For example, in the past few years, rising costs and industry issues stemming from the COVID shutdown days have created tricky situations in several different industries. But something that can optimize member experience for nearly every member you work with currently is the notion of financial education and money management.

On average, Americans are experiencing higher amounts of debt, higher loan amounts and interest rates, and other increasing expenses. Even your most savvy members may be struggling to see opportunities at a time like this.

But your credit union can be a calm port in the storm when you offer classes and resources that are aimed at truly and effectively helping your members make the most (or begin to dig themselves out) of their current financial situation.

Focus on Member Experience via the CXO

The CXO (chief experience officer) is a growing role in many credit unions and banks around the world. Adding a CXO to your staff can help create cohesion when it comes to implementing new member-facing technologies and initiatives.

You can also use the CXO role and supporting staff or team to get a clearer picture of what your members want. There are tons of studies and analyses happening in the world of banking and personal finance, but not all of the insights gleaned from these will resonate with your own member base. In order to truly optimize member experience at your locations, you have to know what will (and won’t) be helpful to your members.

Digital Membership Will Rule

There are tons of digital transformation initiatives happening right now across banks and credit unions. But, statistically, credit union leaders don’t always see the correlation between digitizing member services and an optimized member experience.

That traditional view of the customer service side of credit union member services is something that can be both preserved and expanded with the right digital tools. Through customization, personalization, and ease of access, you can all but replicate your member-first in-house practices in ways that offer more value and efficiency to your members.

We’ve also talked before about how you can boost member loyalty at your credit union using customized technologies, outreach, and other member-first initiatives.

There’s also been a lot of positive change being made by those credit unions that are embracing the omnichannel member experience – where your members are interacting on a variety of platforms including chat, phone, in-person, and other interactions with your brand.

Monitoring Member Touchpoints Is a Must

The omnichannel member experience approach that we mentioned above also requires you to know your end-to-end member journeys extremely well. This falls in line with many of the other insights we’ve shared in this article. Many of these tips and innovations help to bolster the member journey at different points along the way.

There are many ways to review and monitor your members’ journeys.

The first and most important is to conduct a thorough and regular review of your digital channels. IMSI has several Keystone solutions that work to improve these channels.

You also need to take a good look at the feedback you are receiving from members. Yes, all the feedback is important – if you are getting short messages from several members because they’re irritated about a new technology’s functionality, don’t brush them off as people who “just need time to adjust.” Optimize your member experience based on the feedback you’re getting from those who are in different stages of their member journey.

Adopt The Right Tech: IMSI’s Keystone Solutions Were Built for Credit Unions

We’re focusing a lot on how to optimize the member experience in the new year, and you have to have tailored, supportive technology behind those efforts to ensure the continuity and success of your latest engagement and retention programs.

One of the best ways to optimize member experience right now is to focus on your Online Account Opening. By streamlining this process using IMSI, you are not only able to piggyback on one of the biggest member experience trends of 2022 and 2023, but you can also boost brand trust and create forward momentum for other member-forward and self-service items to grow and succeed at your branches.

Businesses in all industries are struggling right now, and weathering the economic downturns gets easier with well-created solutions that keep your operations running smoothly, for you and your members.

You can use our Infuzion software to streamline complex functions without developing scripts, and Web Loan Applications software reach directly through your operations and allow your members to take their banking experience into their own hands.

Take a closer look at some of our IMSI Keystone Solutions today.

Harness the Power of Credit Union Transparency

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Credit unions are, in many ways, the antithesis of big bank operations. The goal of most credit unions is to integrate with the communities they operate in and help serve and educate their members in a bid to be more accessible than larger, corporate-feeling financial institutions.

At the heart of that differentiation is the transparency credit unions choose to have with their members. There’s no need to hide the “secret formula” from the world – a credit union’s job is to share the ins and outs of the financial industry with everyone who has a willingness to learn.

Here are some of our favorite ways you can harness the power of credit union transparency.

Why Credit Union Transparency Is So Important

Many professionals make the mistake of thinking that transparency within their business just means being overly honest – you share even the most mundane details about your operations with your members. But that’s not it.

When you think of credit union transparency, imagine showing your membership base all of your mission, vision, and values, as well as a demonstrable list of how your credit union is consistently working to meet those goals and embody those core tenants. So, how do you create that transparency and make it authentic and valuable for your members?

Share Your CU’s Unique Traits

Credit unions are far more transparent with their business practices than any big bank or other financial institution by virtue of the publication of your credit union’s general information. From business plans to quarterly performance and investment success or failure, credit unions are beholden to their members because the business is almost always owned by those members.

Since everyone is given a stake in the credit union and its success, you’ve already got a great framework for legitimate business transparency.

From there, you can share other unique aspects of your credit union. Do you serve a specific community or industry? Are there other programs that allow your credit union to stand out among the crowd? Lean into these aspects and use them to create a transparent communication line between you and your members.

Financial Education is Key

We are all intrigued when an expert in their field asks something like “Do you want to know my secret?”

Credit unions are the first ones to share their insider expertise with members, and that transparency is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal.

Cultivating a financial education program (or multiple programs) boost your business transparency while also showing member and non-members alike that you aren’t gatekeeping your financial planning knowledge, you are willing and able to share it.

Lending Trust is Waning

Because of predatory student loan practices and payday lending, many of today’s borrowers and potential borrowers are very skeptical about the loan process.

Because so many people have seen the negative effect a bad loan can have on someone’s livelihood for years or even decades, it’s more important than ever to focus your credit union transparency on sharing helpful information about the lending process.

There are many reputable credit unions sourcing and creating loan programs ethically and in a way that benefits both the credit union and the borrower. It’s your job to prove to your prospects and your members that you aren’t taking part in less-than-reputable lending practices.

Faster and Clearer Transactions

Big words and complicated programs aren’t what your members are looking for. They want helpful insights given to them in ways they can understand, and they want to be able to manage their finances quickly and easily.

Impressive technology isn’t about creating a complex and intricate solution – it’s about creating real change or momentum with as little effort and friction as possible. This is why your communication efforts with your members are so important.

You have hundreds or thousands of people using your services every day. Chances are, they can give you some great insight into what’s working and what’s not. Make sure those lines of communication are open and easy to access.

Boost Your Credit Union Transparency with Elegant, Member-Facing Solutions

The more you can show your members what you do, the easier it is for them to believe your statements about being transparent. IMS Integration has several member-facing solutions that can boost your credit union transparency, including Online Self Service Forms, Online Courtesy Pay, and Make a Statement.

Communication is a key component of transparency, and IMSI can help you share insights and offer vital resources to your members anytime, anywhere.

5 Autumn Banking Trends to Follow This Year

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Autumn is a season of change and preparation. The holidays are right around the corner, the summer vacations are all long since passed, and it’s time to start thinking about the new year.

For your credit union members, autumn banking trends can be cyclical – they happen every year around this time – or they can be singular: maybe some of them bought or sold a house this year since the housing market was so hot, or maybe that post-pandemic purchase they’ve been saving for finally happened.

No matter what the first big chunk of 2022 brought, we are now in that transition period from summer to winter, and it’s time to check out the latest autumn banking trends so you can inform and excite your members this season.

Prepping Holiday Finances

Typically, autumn banking trends start changing as the fervor surrounding the holidays begins to ramp up. Your members and their families start planning for their holiday expenses like those associated with gift giving, visiting family members who live out of town, and attending and preparing meals and drinks for parties and other gatherings, big and small.

7 in 10 Americans overspend during the holidays, and this trend is common among credit union members of all ages and socioeconomic statuses.

This is a great time for your credit union to offer quick tips and tricks for keeping these expenses down and creating helpful budgets for the holiday season. By helping to keep your members’ holiday finances in check, you can allow them to create positive momentum in the new year. This will also help you gain their trust as a worthy resource for sound financial advice throughout the rest of the year.

The changing seasons also mean holiday finances that include buying the necessities that come with cooler weather. Members First Credit Union shared some great insights in their fall newsletter about what to buy and what to skip this fall, steering members towards those items that will be on sale, sharing when to capitalize on the largest discounts for certain items, and much more.

Unseasonably Warm Loan Growth

Speaking of holiday finances, this year there’s an autumn banking trend that’s staying warm long after the weather has cooled and the leaves have started falling: loan growth.

According to a recent CUNA news article, the 2022 peak loan season is seeing a longer windfall than normal. Typically, loan growth tapers off heavily starting in early autumn (September, specifically). But the preliminary reports from Q2 of this year showed continued – and unseasonably extended – loan growth.

CUNA reported in September that total loans outstanding in federally insured credit unions increased by $194 billion over the year ending in the second quarter of 2022. That’s a 16.2% increase that, if the trend continues, could see credit unions hitting 20% loan growth this year. This is the fastest loan growth pace since 1985.

Increased Focus on ATM Safety

With crisp autumn days come dark autumn nights – as the days shrink and sunset comes earlier, many credit unions are urged to remind their members about key ATM safety tips.

Members should be reminded to do their transacting in the daylight whenever possible and to stick to well-lit parking areas and ATM offerings to keep themselves out of harm’s way. Sikorsky Credit Union shared a list of ATM best practices to follow, like “always bring a friend,” “Have your card ready,” and “be aware of your surroundings.” We think it’s a great autumn banking trend for your credit union to get into as well.

Autumn is also a great time to upgrade or advertise your online and mobile banking options to those members who may not be familiar with or aren’t yet using these credit union resources. Inclement weather and safety concerns are valid reasons to use these services, and they’re extra convenient for your members, too!

Discuss Your Members’ Financial Goals

Another great autumn banking trend is to offer to sit down with your members to discuss how their 2022 went financially and talk with them about what they’d like to achieve in 2023. As this year comes to a close, most adults are already aware of the financial situation they will be in when the new year starts – and they’re either content with that situation, or they will be hoping for a better start to 2023.

You can create valuable offerings and tout your latest resources and financial education services to help them start the new year off right.

Focusing on Employee-Member Relations

Because the holidays are often a time of reflection, it’s also a great time to focus on your staff and their relationships with your members. Customer service is often lacking in today’s business landscape because so much of the human experience of shopping and working through issues has been automated, it’s easy for your members to feel left out, and for your employees to feel disconnected from your member base.

Fall is a great time to reorient your employees toward your members. Focus more on building relationships and less on creating the quickest interactions possible, create avenues for member growth through this familiarity that will have them feeling like they are being cared for as more than just an account number in your computer system.

Help Your Members with Their Holiday Finances and Beyond

As you head into the holidays and the new year, your members are looking to the future and trying to figure out their holiday finances. You can help them with your expertise and your implementation of some elegant member-facing web solutions that put the power back in their hands.

IMS Integration Make a Statement software allows you to communicate with members, meet compliance requirements, and send custom credit union eStatements and eNotices to keep your members up to speed in the new year.

CXO: Why Your Credit Union Needs a Chief Experience Officer

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There are c-level positions that are popular over the decades like CEO, CFO, and COO – but there are also ones that evolve or even come and go as the market, economy, and workplace change.

One great example of this is the CXO – right now, the Chief Experience Officer is a role that is becoming more and more crucial to a business’s success.

A Chief Experience Officer, or CXO, whose primary job is to ensure a business is generating positive interactions with its customers. Credit unions and other organizations may have this same goal as a company, but not all of them have a c-level executive whose sole purpose is to keep their finger on the pulse of all member interactions.

So, what does that mean for your credit union? Here are our top reasons why your CU needs a CXO.

You Can Collect Data, But You Can’t Quantify Your Member Experience

Just as CFOs and CEOs are tasked with looking at the big picture, your CXO is looking at the whole of your members’ experiences and using data, tools, and member-facing conversations to create that picture.

Your credit union has a staff with varying degrees of experience with your member base. And your loan-specific roles will likely be experiencing something very different than your drive-thru or online banking associates are encountering.

The Chief Experience Officer is the aggregator of all of these experiences and many more. Your digital insights into your members and their banking habits are just the tip of the iceberg. There could be long-standing, institutional pain points that you have been missing with a more granular approach. A CXO offers a comprehensive review and strategy for the whole of the member experience, not just specific services or products.

The CXO Facilitates Internal Integration

By creating and hiring for a role that must talk to all departments and specialties within your credit union, the CXO is primed to create more opportunities for meaningful integration.

While it’s often easy to understand when an outside consultant tells you that you have a single high-level area that needs work, it’s hard to see that for yourself when you and each of your employees are a piece of a puzzle that you are trying to put together.

The CXO coordinates cumulatively with all areas of your credit union – both internally and externally. In fact, many CXOs have found that the same parts of a process that frustrates employees is also not working optimally for members. But if those frustrations aren’t being discussed because the employees with the issues and the unsatisfied members are never directly interacting or even aware of one another, that pain point sticks around.

But by implementing a CXO role into your operations, your credit union will see an uptick in cross-department collaboration.

CXO Has Oversight of the Entire Member Journey

No matter where you work in a credit union, your interaction with the member experience is tied to that specialty. From IT to customer service to marketing, your view of the member’s journey is truncated.

For a Chief Experience Officer, however, it’s truly about the entire journey. Your CXO can see the member’s journey from start to finish. There aren’t any blind spots that leave out the member’s experiences with online lending or account opening – this eagle-eye view can really highlight some of the biggest and most impactful member trends that are helping (and hurting) your business.

By monitoring member interactions as part of a whole member journey, CXOs aren’t just optimizing one product journey. They’re studying the complete life cycle of your members.

CXO Is the Member’s Highest Advocate

By working closely with the member’s experience, rather than using member data as a template to create marketing or revenue growth, your CXO becomes the person at the executive table who represents your members’ voices.

In a rapidly more personalized business world, your members don’t want c-suite executives pitting their needs against the bottom line – they need someone who truly understands how each member is using your credit union’s services.

The CXO is the role that is tailored to searching out members’ concerns, big and small, and finding solutions that quite often please the member and simultaneously satisfy other business operations-minded initiatives.

Strong member relationships will weather storms and disappointing experiences. But no matter how great your products and services are, you can’t out-tech or out-market a bad member experience. If there is no trust built throughout the onboarding and member experience, you can’t expect those members to rely on you when they are in need of financial counseling, loan options, or other banking services.

Enhance Your Member Experience with IMS Integration

The CXO position was created to help businesses meet their members and customers where they are. The same is true with IMS Integration.

We offer digital services and solutions that were curated by credit union experts. Whether you are a CXO liking for ways to digitize your loan application process, or you just want to expand your online self service forms offerings, IMS Integration shares your goals and wants to help you and your credit union achieve greatness.

Check out our elegant, member-facing web solutions today or request a consultation and let us answer your questions!

Credit Union Staff Engagement: How to Boost Your Work Environment

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We recently talked about how the Great Resignation is affecting credit unions, and though we’ve seen a slowdown in the number of people quitting as we move further into 2022, most predictions show we’re in for some more hard days before things go back to any “normal” employee turnover rates.

It’s important to note that for credit unions, your employee experience and your member experience are inextricably linked. If people like their work environment, the people who pay for and subscribe to that business will be consistently satisfied as well. And since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we wanted to share some of the ways you can boost your work environment and company culture through credit union staff engagement.

Start with Unbiased Data

No matter how amazing your credit union’s work environment is, your staff members may not always feel comfortable telling you the harsh truths – especially when those harsh truths could be seen as criticism.

To be able to create and improve credit union staff engagement, you need to have a way to collect honest (and typically anonymous) feedback about current and past efforts and issues.

Third-party engagement surveys can help you collect unbiased data. By putting the effort in to distance your management and executive leaders from the survey process, you will be able to collect more constructive feedback. Many survey providers even aggregate and sort your data and feedback.

This gives you a great place to start when you are considering which engagement strategies you want to implement.

Once you have received the data from your survey provider, you can include your staff in the discussion about how you want to move forward. Many employees around the country skip or disregard surveys sent out by their employers because they assume that nothing substantial will come of the feedback. Others are afraid they may say something that will get them in hot water with management later.

The collection of and discussion about how your staff feels about the engagement requirements and opportunities is a great way for you to show them you value their opinions and input. You can build trust by taking action when your employees come to you with concerns, rather than just dismissing issues with comments like “The management team is discussing how to best move forward” or “If you have questions or concerns, talk to your supervisor.”

That transparency needs to come from both the CU leaders and the employees. Engagement goes up when your employees feel like they’re part of a work environment that encourages feedback and does something to address the common problems people are facing.

Mix Up Your Engagement Efforts

If your idea of engagement is to have a pizza party or ice cream social every month or quarter, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Your staff has spent the past few years living and working in COVID’s America – people are tired, stressed, and restless – and it’s not enough to just add a few more “Casual Dress Fridays” to the calendar and call it a day.

CreditUnions.com shared an article including some of the ways different US branches have been spicing up their engagement strategies and events.

Here are a few of our favorites mentioned in the article:

  • Employee awards and recognition boards (both branch-specific and credit union-wide): you can create polls or solicit feedback about employee efforts. Did someone jump in to assist another staff member when things were hectic? Is there a go-to person who is always willing to help plan events or engage more with your members? Employees love to be recognized, but it has to be genuine.
  • Sponsor yoga or other fitness sessions or stress-relief classes
  • Using technology to reward your employees – using a corporate DoorDash account to deliver free lunches to remote teams, paying for Instacart groceries. There was even a credit union that bought the ingredients for a meal that the staff then cooked together via Zoom.

Another great way to mix things up is to use your community outreach to help your employees’ favorite causes. Charitable efforts that go to national organizations are great, but what fundraisers and philanthropic groups are based in the towns your branches do business in? Every month, you could let your employees choose a cause that is dear to them, and then extend some outreach efforts or pledge donations to these smaller, but more meaningful, charities.

Foster Credit Union Staff Engagement with the “Build, Buzz, Bake” Method

Another recent article, this one from CU Management, shared a unique perspective on company culture and how to create change that sticks in your credit union work environment.

Employee engagement and your credit union’s culture are two sides of the same coin. The “build, buzz, bake” framework is perfect for credit unions because your staff is already more invested in your business than other employees in the financial and banking industries. Many employees are stakeholders, and your credit union’s success is also their personal and professional success.

According to the article, the build phase is all about the prep work. To engage your employees, you have to give them a vision or inspiration that gets them excited. This inspiring idea can be specific or broad, but it must be unifying. For example, maybe sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives are gaining popularity, and this can be the theme that drives your engagement efforts. Or it can be something small or temporary, like creating a Community Discovery summer program where you partner with local businesses to boost engagement for members, staff, and the community.

Next is the buzz phase. A quick email outlining the new company culture or engagement project isn’t enough. You have to generate some excitement and momentum.

Set aside time to converse with your staff about the new initiative. What inspires them to want to participate? What stops them from wanting to participate? This can help you tailor events and meetings that increase credit union staff engagement.

And the final phase is to bake. Credit unions are primed for creating and sustaining great and powerful company culture, you just have to allow your employees the space to explore and interact. Whatever your new or improved direction is, once you’ve gotten some buzz going, you need to continue feeding into that culture so the positive aspects of it grow and become second nature.

Streamline Complex Functions with Infuzion – IMSI’s Powerful New Tool

Another tip for staff engagement involves leveraging technology to keep menial tasks to a minimum. IMSI’s Infuzion tool allows you to streamline complex functions without developing scripts or building Java.

You can run rapid file search queries, batch file inputs, and script modifications, which can free up your staff members to work with members, develop new product lines or marketing campaigns, and do other strategic work that fosters growth for your credit union.

Contact us today to learn more about how Infuzion and Keystone solutions can help increase productivity and credit union staff engagement.

3 Credit Union Website Design and Development Tips

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As much as your credit union website design should be visually appealing, it should do more than just look good. Your web development should be focused on creating a functional, engaging, and intuitive layout that helps your members and prospects find exactly what they need.

The experience you want your members to have in your credit union should be featured in your website design. Hubspot recently shared some eye-opening statistics about modern web design.

For example, almost 90% of visitors leave a website due to slow loading, 73% due to non-responsive websites, and just over 60% leave due to bad navigation. Since many credit unions are historically slow to update their digital assets, this is a big problem. We are increasingly seeing business, finances, personal shopping, medical care, and so much more being done online. Your credit union website design needs to reflect that you understand the importance of digital banking and accessibility, while also addressing concerns about slow loading times and mobile device browsing.

Here’s another impactful statistic from Hubspot: 60% of consumers rate usability as an important design characteristic for their online experience.

Your credit union may have previously been built on the connections in your community, but if you want to continue growing, it’s time to review and update your web development strategies. Here are some of the most recommended tips we could find for improving credit union website design.

Define Your Purpose

Credit union website design is a tricky thing. To continue appealing to younger demographics and gain loyal members from these groups, your website’s purpose must be well-defined.

That doesn’t mean your website should only have one function, but it does mean that you’ll have to look at where you are and where you want to be, then decide the best way to get there.

For example, your credit union website’s purpose can be to create a satisfying and personalized experience for all members. This positions your web development projects in a way that can help guide your developers to create an easily navigable experience that can inform your members and even help them carry out financial tasks – tasks which can include account balance checking, online web loan applications, and using online educational content to help guide their financial decisions.

Listen to Your Users

Member feedback is a great way to find out exactly what your members need that you aren’t already providing. All the best tips and practices on the Internet won’t help you connect with your members in a meaningful way through your website if you aren’t giving them the tools and paths they are looking for.

For example, chatbots and mobile device usage continue to be popular website tools that help credit union professionals connect with members. And when you have a website design that supports their needs, you will often find that your members are more than happy to do the “grunt work” themselves, like applying for loans, enrolling in Skip a Pay programs, opening bank accounts, and more.

Not only does the website then start doing some of the data entry heavy lifting, but it also frees up your credit union associates to explore other ways to engage and assist members with more complex problems or ideas.

And since most Internet browsing comes from mobile devices, your web development strategy has to include those functions as you create or upgrade your credit union website design.

Your members know what they want and are often most vocal about how your credit union is keeping them from being able to have their preferred experience. It’s a great opportunity to not only gain insight into how you can better serve your members, it can also give you more chances to increase member engagement by offering polls, comment sections, and more ways to collect feedback on your website design and future plans.

Keep Your Design Ideas Simple

Your credit union web design should be unique and eye-catching, but you can’t trade function for flash. Lots of banners, long content, and colorful visuals can be great tools to use, but they can also overwhelm your visitors.

Your web development should be done with a “pare down” mentality – you can’t possibly describe every service you offer, so you should just focus on highlighting your high-level items and creating a navigation system that allows your site visitors to home in on what they’re looking for.

A few well-placed and stunning visuals are perfect, but pages of long paragraphs and high-resolution images aren’t necessary, and they only increase your load times.

You can communicate effectively through simple icons (outlines of credit cards or checks, pens, and more) and short, powerful phrases to help lead your members to the website features and information they’re looking for.

Custom Web Development Is Easy with IMSI

IMSI is uniquely equipped to maximize our expertise in the web development world as well as our knowledge of the specific digital needs credit unions benefit from the most.

With our Custom Web Development services, we work with you to address your credit union’s needs with tailored web design and UX strategies. We can even work with you to find inexpensive solutions that enhance your current website’s benefits and fixes your current problem areas.

The goal is to create the best experience for your members, and we’ve got the tools and expertise to do it quickly and cost-effectively.

Credit Unions & the Great Resignation

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The Great Resignation has not been easy for credit unions. And much like the rest of the country, your credit union must be looking for some explanations and solutions to the problems caused by the Great Resignation.

Your credit union staff is quite often part of the “face” of your CU’s brand. And as the Great Resignation and its effects linger, it can reflect poorly on that brand if you are unable to keep your branches staffed well. As inflation and cost of living expenses rise, it is less likely that your credit union is a “bad employer” and more likely that you aren’t marketing your positions in an optimal way, among other things.

Let’s talk about what the Great Resignation is and how to create targeted solutions to keep credit union staff issues to a minimum.

The Great Resignation: What It Is and What It Taught Us

In 2021, nearly 50 million people left their jobs voluntarily. This number is 12 million higher than the previous year.

What caused this mass exodus? Here are some of the top reasons cited by those who quit:

  • Burnout (40%)
  • Organizational changes (34%)
  • Lack of flexibility (20%)
  • Instances of discrimination (20%)
  • Contributions and ideas not being valued (20%)
  • Insufficient benefits (19%)

The stress from the pandemic – including many companies calling their staff back from remote work to in-office, loss of employees due to COVID, increased responsibilities, etc. – are all contributors to the burnout that many people are feeling in their workplace.

And credit unions are not exempt from these things. Like many businesses, most CUs can’t support 100% of their workforce going full-time remote, and it’s up to individual institutions to decide how to handle cost of living hikes and inflation issues.

However, when you look at the list of reasons why people are leaving in droves, a lot of it comes down to employees not feeling supported by the businesses they work for and support.

And while this information may seem negative, it’s also worth noting that the financial services sector actually experienced the Great Resignation less significantly than other industries. However, the number of resignations is still outweighing the number of new hires, even now, though that trend seems to be slowing the further we get into 2022.

Hiring & Recruiting: Jumpstart Your CU’s Search

If you are looking to increase your credit union staff numbers, or you have vacant positions to fill, we’ve got some tips.

Right now, posting your open positions on your website and your favorite job boards isn’t enough to attract the candidates you’ll want. Your hiring approach has to be more active.

You can use those same job boards to seek out specific people or to search for individuals who may be gainfully employed but looking for other opportunities. For example, LinkedIn lets people note on their profile if they are open to other job opportunities, even if they aren’t actively looking to change jobs.

You also need to expand your search. Though each position may have preferred skills, it’s important to seek out and evaluate potential candidates who don’t fit all the criteria on your list.

When you think about the ideal person you’d like to fill a specific position, what sort of attributes are most important? Do they need to be personable? Should they have high problem-solving capabilities or be great at written communication? Many of these attributes are tantamount to, say, their experience working in the financial sector, but they are often overlooked until after the interview process has already begun.

Offering sign-on bonuses or other perks including higher wages that are consistent with or better than your area competitors is helpful, too. But these things are only so important to prospects, especially for businesses with staffing issues based on workload, company culture, or other more systemic problems.

Evaluate Your Expenses

Much of the effect of the Great Resignation for credit union staff was seen in the resignation of frontline workers including tellers and other employees who work directly with your members. And while this can be frustrating, it also offers a great opportunity for your credit union to see what improvements can be made to ease the burden on front-facing roles by implementing new processes or investing in new technology.

The Great Resignation is also a great opportunity for your branches to evaluate other expenses. There are likely ways to reduce costs without reducing your staff. For example, IMSI has a host of credit union solutions that take some of the more repetitive or preliminary member-facing tasks and creates online solutions that you can build directly into your CU’s website or app offerings.

Web Solutions for Busy CU Leaders

When you are having staffing issues, the last thing you want to do is make things harder for yourself or your current credit union staff. That’s why IMSI concentrates on bringing you customized, high-quality solutions for your online forms.

Our online self-service forms can collect information for you and even enable member-led self-service request fulfillment. IMSI can build dozens of forms that can ease the burden on your staff and place some of the power back into your member’s hands.

Are you interested in learning more about IMSI’s self-service forms? Reach out to us today and request a consultation.

Which Credit Union Concerns Deserve Your Attention in 2022?

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Like many industries right now, it seems like the top credit union concerns are changing rapidly. But many of them boil down to accessibility, security, and improving member experience.

As we move through 2022 trending topics, it’s good to compare these new trends with the mission and vision of your organization, as well as the member demographics that your specific credit union(s) will be serving.

We are all being affected by change fatigue lately, so choosing the best credit union concerns to address in the last months of 2022 means taking a good look at the industry as a whole but remembering that you still have a job to do, and your credit union has a niche to fill in your communities.

By focusing on these areas and staying informed with insights from prominent CU news sources and the IMSI blog, you can quickly figure out which credit union concerns and 2022 trending topics deserve your attention.

Cashless & Contactless Are Kings

By 2030, Gen Z’s economic power is expected to increase fivefold, and when combined with millennials, they’ll make up 72% of the workforce just before that.

Catering to your younger members (and growing that base) is essential to the success of any business that hopes to continue serving clients in the next several decades.

Top-tier payment experience is a must-have for credit unions and businesses as a whole. Cashless and contactless payments are no longer considered a fresh, new luxury – they are a requirement for your member’s experience. In fact, more than half of global millennials are likely to avoid patronizing and partnering with businesses (and credit unions) that don’t offer cashless and contactless payments

The popularity of ACH payments and digital wallets will mark a heavy difference in the way the world’s economy operates in the coming years. Because of this, creating contactless payment options should be at the top of your list of credit union concerns for 2022.

Protect Data Privacy through Cybersecurity

Growing concerns for cybersecurity threats and best practices continue to be among the top 2022 trending topics, regardless of which industry you work in.

Recently, CUNA reported a strong show of support from credit unions on the subject of data privacy and cybersecurity.

Your credit union members are not satisfied with empty comments and promises that their data is safe if you can’t share what plans and protocols you have put in place recently to protect their data and financial privacy.

The credit union concerns that stem from extra data protection and cybersecurity are online and remote user experience. Your members want secure financial transactions and bank accounts through your credit union, but they also don’t want to struggle to access them.

As we navigate that fine line, it’s important to remember that user error is the most common cause of most global security breaches.

Credit vs. Debit Card Use

Credit unions are financial institutions that are built on the premise that banking should be done through a business that doesn’t just care about the financial health of its members, but also strives to promote financial education and community outreach.

Because of these roots, more and more banking experts are being called upon to help their members figure out whether a debit card or credit card is right for them. Because fraud and identity theft are on the rise, it’s wise to let members know that with a credit card, the card issuer will have to fight to get the money back, and with a debit card, the member is the one who will have to fight.

Your credit union is uniquely positioned to be able to solicit feedback from your members on what their payment preferences are, and what types of rewards or features they want their credit and debit cards to have.

For example, many Gen Z and millennial members across the US are more likely to use debit cards, having grown up in times of prolonged financial and economic crisis. These generations are also more concerned about debt mitigation – this should be an important focus area for addressing credit union concerns this year.

There has also been an uptick in credit card product creation – this includes how the cards work, what rewards or benefits certain cards can offer, and more. Catering to your members of all ages through credit card features is another 2022 trending topic that could gain you some members and increase current member satisfaction as well.

IMSI: Comprehensive Solutions for Credit Union Concerns

IMSI was built by credit union industry experts. We offer a host of Keystone solutions as well as credit union and customizable and professional services to ensure your credit union has the greatest chances of digital success.

You know your members best, and IMSI is here to help you continue to serve them with optimized processes and online solutions.

Are you interested in exploring IMSI’s offerings? Reach out to us today and request a consultation.