This is the first edition of a new Credit Union Timesfeature, Vox Populi. We pose a question, and industry executivessound off on a timely topic.

The current question: “With all the current financialand regulatory challenges facing your credit union, how do youensure that you are delivering first-rate memberservice?”

Everything we do has to come second to delivering greatmember service, so the idea that any challenge is going to changethat is nonsense. We can't control the economy or regulatoryenvironment so all we can do and the one thing we can alwayscontrol is the service we deliver to members. So you take all thosechallenges and figure a way to make it fit into your member servicemodel. It may sound old fashioned, but that service has to comefirst, and you can't let anything negatively impact that.

Congress has had a big appetite for consumer protectionlegislation, and the opt-in requirement for overdrafts is just oneexample of something in spirit being good but wasn't thoroughlyvetted and researched and because of the actions of greedy bankers,credit unions got dragged into the quagmire. For the averageconsumer who's a credit union member, overdraft protection can be asafety net that can prevent inadvertently bouncing a mortgage orcar payment. What we did before it went into effect was launch anaggressive awareness campaign that basically educated our memberson what the new law meant for them and the benefits of optingin. 

Steven Sobotta
Director of Marketing
Actors FCU
New York City

We divided the management team–one-third to deal with trialsof regulatory burden, NCUA assessments and the effects of thedownright nothing short of awful economy. The othertwo-thirds–business as usual: grow, expand, deliver new products,start new credit union services and don't worry about the rest. Ifmanagers were left to tackle both, I am not sure we would have beensuccessful. As a management team, we became very focused ondelivering superior products through the lowest cost methods. I amquite confident that a survey of our members would conclude thatthey not only believe our service levels have improved but so hasour convenience.

Wishing to reduce costs, the managers dedicated to operationalefficiency sought to increase electronic statement penetration. Theother two-thirds teams focused on the future, which includeddeveloping a complete suite of electronic services increasingconvenience of delivery for members while saving the credit uniontens of thousands of dollars. Unemployment levels in Michigan havecaused us to focus on delivering member education products thatprovide them with opportunities to save their homes, finance theirchild's education, or simply keep food on the kitchen table.

Our mission has always been to provide an environment thatdelivers high-quality products and services. We now have a heightedawareness that at any time and without much warning, an act ofCongress may change our existence, and we must be prepared andready to transform to survive. 

Patty Campbell
President/CEO
Christian Financial Credit Union
Roseville, Mich.

We track what members want very closely, and we allocateresources accordingly. We know our members want more online andmobile services, and we are delivering. But we also know that aprimary touch point is the telephone. We keep close tabs on that.If the phone queue gets too long–for us, that's around two minuteswait time–we shift staff from other functions over to answeringcalls. That means supervisors, managers, senior managers, evenme.

In the branches we also realized that members would befrustrated when they saw a long line to make a deposit but no lineto talk to a mortgage loan officer. So now our message is thatevery employee on the floor in a branch can do anything. Themortgage officer can take your deposit.

Basically, what we try to do is listen to our members. My e-mailaddress is on the website and members know they can contact me andI will respond. Our philosophy is: If it lands on your desk, it'syours to resolve and that includes me.

I also answer my own phone and, yes, calls do come in. I work togive that member what he or she needs.

We regularly hold focus groups to get more member feedback aboutwhat they want from us.

We could do less of this and add more to our net income. But ournet income is healthy. What is better for our future is focusing onwhat we can do to keep member satisfaction high. 

Ken Dyer
CEO
Liberty Bay Credit Union
Boston