1. Employee culture and processes. Building an IDA is like hiring a new employee, so take a look at your employee culture and onboarding process.

Values. What does your credit union stand for? Is it singular and unique? A quick poll of a dozen credit unions of various sizes and geographies shows a fair amount of similarities: Integrity, teamwork, community, etc. There's nothing wrong with that, but the challenge is making sure your IDA embodies and reflects them. For example, if one of your credit union values is respect, then make sure your IDA is respectful in its language with members and finds ways to demonstrate how much it values them.
Onboarding. Examine your onboarding process: Teammate introductions, process orientation, integration, etc. Are there potential hurdles to overcome, like organization siloes and misalignment? Are there teams that traditionally might not embrace, or possibly even feel threatened by, the launch of new digital solutions? A digital assistant can actually help you overcome these issues. If you view your intelligent digital assistant as a new employee with a personality and the ability to converse, then your team is more likely to "welcome" it to your organization.
Employee interactions. How do your employees interact and work together? Apply this understanding to set expectations for how the IDA will interact and integrate with the rest of your team. By directly engaging all your employees – from the back office to the branch and call channels – in the process of "hiring and training" your digital assistant, you build critical buy-in and support for introducing it to your members.

2. Map members' digital dispositions. A memorable scene in the Julie Andrews-led "Mary Poppins" featured the two Banks children singing a list of exactly the type of disposition they want in a new nanny. Naturally, Mary Poppins fit the bill. Like Jane and Michael, it's important to develop an IDA that accurately reflects your members' "digital dispositions." Audience segmentation and identification are essential here; identify demographic data points like age, credit score, income and assets with your financial institution. These should be overlaid with an understanding of where your members fit into the three primary types of digital audiences and digital adoption characteristics:

Digital Natives, or those who are innately comfortable with technology usage. They may even struggle with anything that isn't digital banking-focused.
Digital Savvy, which describes those who use banking technology, but occasionally prefer the convenience of physical banking.
Digital Skeptic, who are extremely tech-wary. They may have an adversarial approach to any new technology.

According to a Chase study of 1,500 Chase and non-Chase customers 18 to 65, Americans have largely adjusted to a primarily digital banking environment, with four out of five customers preferring to manage their finances digitally vs. in person. An Ipsos-Forbes Advisor survey found that "76% of Americans used their bank's mobile app to conduct everyday banking tasks within the past year." Clearly, most credit union members are aware of their digital options and are likely the Digital Savvy.

Instant Insights /

3 Ways to Build an IDA With Personality

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