Credit unions have always been hyper-focused on makingmeaningful improvements to the member experience. For years, creditunions have targeted millennials as the next generation offinancial service users. The result of this is that credit unionsare now faced with a new and potentially more challenging dilemma:How to engage not only millennials, but also an aging boomerpopulation and emerging Gen Z.

Credit unions have in the past relied primarily on their role ascollective, collaborative local organizations to drive engagement,and while this is still a powerful niche, credit unions stillstruggle to captivate members with their brand identity and buildtrust through digital channels.

Communicating a digital experience to members, however, requiresa credit union's internal operations to also be technologicallyadvanced and drive employee engagement at a high level. After all,before a credit union can project its digital fluency to itsmembers, it must first ensure its employees experience that aswell. If employees have not bought into the digital experience ofthe credit union, how can they be expected to convey one tomembers?

When it comes to employee engagement, web-based portals haveproven their effectiveness for quite some time. Board meetingsoftware, for example, provides a seamless experience for anycommittee in a credit union, not just the board of directors.Committees can utilize software such as this to simplify how theirmeetings are conducted, from approving minutes and annotatingdocuments to conducting voting engagements, and can even helpcredit unions create an entirely paperless meeting system – whichalso serves as a powerful corporate social responsibilityinitiative.

Likewise, an employee intranet is one of the most powerfulvehicles toward engaging employees with the credit union's brandand institutional goals. A well-managed intranet serves as thecornerstone for how employees start and finish their day. Whetherchecking for credit union announcements, reviewing trainingmaterials, policies or procedures, or reading blogs and articlesfrom co-workers, an intranet allows employees to engage with theethos of their organization and understand the role they play inits long-term goals.

When looking at technology, there are also generationaldifferences to take into consideration. The median age of a bankertoday is 40 years old, which is dead center between a soon-to-beretired boomer population and a millennial workforce. Technology isnecessary to engage both of these groups as boomers requiresolutions that are easy to use and seamless in their experience.Likewise, millennials demand technology that is versatile in natureand provides them with fresh content and knowledge weekly, or evendaily.

Keep in mind as well, that employees are no longer tied to theirdesk in the branch anymore. Credit union technology should bemobile in nature and responsive in design. For example, an employeeintranet should be easily utilized from not only the employee'scomputer, but their tablet and phone as well. Credit unionemployees should be free to move around the branch and interactwith members wherever they might be, and in the future, this mayeven require them to step outside the branch. Having thistechnology in place now, and employees trained on it as well, willprovide future flexibility as market conditions change.

Ultimately, in order to better engage credit union members,credit union executives should identify outdated and fragmentedprocesses as a major risk to their institution. With so much focuson the latest technologies to appeal to members, internal processesare often easy to overlook. But, by leveraging technology toimprove how their own employees work on a day-to-day basis, creditunions can help their staff better engage with members and create aconsistent experience across their organization.

Mark Anderson is CEO of Banc Intranets. He can be reached at423-926-8527 or [email protected].