HONOLULU - A constant pulse check of its members has helped HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union become more in tune with their needs.

While member surveys are nothing new for the credit union, a little over a year ago, in a move to deliver more surveys to members and simplify the tracking process, HawaiiUSA FCU made the switch from paper to electronic and hasn't looked back.

"We get about 1,000 new members each month so we survey members when a new account is opened, a loan is approved and when a transaction is completed by our tellers to help us measure service quality on an ongoing basis," said HawaiiUSA Senior Vice President Communications Excellence Group Scott Kaulukukui. "The data we receive is very eye-opening. It not only shows us where we are doing well, but it lays out opportunities to improve."

The $769 million credit union partners with DigitalMailer, Inc. to provide its eSurvey program, which, Kaulukukui says, has allowed the credit union to "deliver more surveys without a lot more money." In addition to saving printing expenses, staff resources and two-way postage costs, the credit union receives a monthly analysis of the survey results from DigitalMailer and help with challenges associated with electronic communications such as avoiding spam blockers and managing e-mail lists.

Kaulukukui says since they already had surveys and member e-mail addresses on hand the transition from paper to electronic was fairly simple. Surveys are sent out the first of the month without any specific reply by date. The credit union surveys all new account holders and samples activities from teller transactions to loans at each of its 10 branches.

"This is not without its challenges. Not only do people change their e-mail addresses but with recent phishing scams people have spam blocks and are somewhat leery of the surveys so they do e-mail us back to see if the survey is legitimate," said Kaulukukui. "People are more vocal via e-mail than on paper and we know we can't accommodate every single one of their requests, but we still prefer to know what they are thinking. Without member feedback, how do you know you're doing things right?"

The credit union offers members no incentives to participate yet the average response rate has been 9% to 10% compared to the typical 3% to 4% response rate for paper surveys.

Results are compiled in a monthly report that is shared with senior management, branch managers and department directors.

"By receiving member feedback on a regular basis we can respond quickly to comments that call for immediate attention or a member's request for a needed product or service," said Kaulukukui. For example, when members complained about long lines at the branches, it prompted HawaiiUSA to pilot a single transaction line, which has helped. In addition, one of the branches offers remote teller services and shared branching transactions can be processed there, further alleviating the long lines. When surveys revealed members want the brick and mortar branches to be open more hours seven days a week, Kaulukukui says it provided an opportunity to build more member awareness of HawaiiUSA's online banking services. The result, online service use has increased 36% and continues to grow.

"We get a lot of positive feedback and some complaints, which no one likes to hear but those negative comments are really opportunities to expose areas that we can improve upon," said Kaulukukui. "On a daily basis we can keep tabs and track exactly what people are asking for. There are even some things we can take action on right away like putting a change of address form online-and members have commented that they like how we respond quickly to their comments and requests for products and services."

Questions are continually refined and plans are under consideration to expand the eSurvey program further and incorporate member satisfaction measures into the credit union's goals.

"Every credit union is individual and unique, but we should all be interested in hearing what our members have to say so whether it is via a paper or e-mail survey or just asking questions at the front line it is important to understand what members are feeling or experiencing no matter how you collect it," said Kaulukukui. "For us, our eSurveys are helping us live our promise of creating valued relationships that's with our members, staff, vendors and community." [email protected]