SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — Northwest Community Credit Union sent a member and a staffer on cruises for their part in helping to ensure smooth sailing for the credit union's core processing platform conversion.
The prizes were part of a year-long project that culminated on Dec. 1 with the switch to the new system from Open Solutions Inc.
The conversion caused some inconveniences but will result in the credit union able to offer more new products and services and enhanced security, the CU says.
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The $588 million CU made its 65,000 members aware of the coming switch in April.
"We needed to make as many credit union members as possible active partners in our conversion, "says Marne Dunder, NWCU's manager of member communication. "We knew that slick postcards and posters wouldn't have the impact we needed."
Instead, the credit union encouraged members to learn about 10 critical conversion issues though a quiz called "Voyage Forward." Members who correctly answered the questions were entered into a drawing to win a $2,000 cruise, which was won by a member from North Bend.
Internally, NWCU employees spent 2007 themselves in the classroom, learning about the conversion and competing for a cruise — the contest winner coming from the group of employees who completed all 34 exams.
"Converting to a new core processor is a monumental challenge, but with the extraordinary efforts by the staff we're confident that this investment will provide real returns for Northwest Community Credit Union members," said Helen Byrnes, the credit union's CEO.
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