Delivering great member experiences—it’s all about consistency.
A guest blog by KIVA Group Inc.
Likely, many of you are now offering up to five different ways for your members to obtain account balances. Yet amazingly, for most credit unions, balance inquiry is still the #1 transaction for call center agents and it still ranks high as a primary reason for many branch visits.
Why is this? Why aren’t members taking greater advantage of self-service options? I believe that they have the perception that it is easier, and they are more likely to get accurate information, if they speak with a live representative.
Is this an accurate view of your organization’s delivery channels? Do channels exist in their own silos of data and processes?
Whether member perception is accurate, or not, the key to changing perceptions is consistency. Consistency in the content of a response and consistency in the delivery of information builds confidence in your institution in the eyes of members and your staff (yes, your staff); and, we all know that confidence and trust is the foundation of any good relationship.
So, how do you achieve consistency?
One, employ a single “system of record” approach to organizing data. If there is only one data source used by all channels – self-service as well as live agents – then the information will truly be consistent across the enterprise. When staff can count on the fact that they can easily pull up accurate, up-to-date information (member and product data, transaction histories, etc.) from your system every time they assist a member, they are confident in the service they provide—and that confidence will then be conveyed to members. Not to mention, training staff to use a single system of record is significantly faster and easier.
Two, establish a single process flow for the delivery of information. Regardless of channel, a single process flow can be designed and executed which always moves the interaction through a predefined set of steps (facilitated by the single platform/system of record). This results in a sense of familiarity and comfort with how the information is retrieved and delivered. For example:
- Step 1. Member is greeted in a personalized way
- Step 2. Member is always identified
- Step 3. The reason for the interaction is determined (How can we help you?). And so forth, through fulfillment or determining the next steps that will bring a satisfying close.
The bottom line…the key to achieving consistency is to breakdown the information silos created by disparate technologies and infrastructures and establish uniformity of processes across all of your delivery channels.
Consistency builds comfort and confidence. We all feel better when our expectations are based on experience—and delivering great member experiences with every interaction (face-to-face and self-service) is the name of the game.
