SAN ANTONIO–As credit unions strive to provide more of an omnichannel experience for members, many credit union reps lack access to the insights needed to best do their jobs, according to a new survey of CU execs responsible for contact centers and member experience management.
The 6th Annual Credit Union Call Center Survey conducted and released by KIVA Group found that while speed of service delivery has an enormous impact on the member experience, most agents lack access to SSO and pop member profiles immediately upon contact.
The survey is based on responses from 131 credit union professionals responsible for member contact centers as well senior operations executives and C-level officers from 131 different credit unions across the U.S. The institutions polled have assets ranging from $64 million to $9.38 billion; the median asset size is approximately $784 million, the company said.
Among the key findings:
Agents are still bogged down with toggling. According to KIVA Group, for the past two years, credit union professionals reported inbound calling, email inbound, email outbound, IVR/telebanking and outbound calling to be the top five channels supported by their call centers; followed by U.S. mail, web chat, social media, IVR opt-out, mobile chat, automated calling, mobile call back, secure messaging, interactive video and online inquiry, respectively. The most noteworthy change from 2016 to 2017 was increased support for mobile and social media channels as well as web chat, the company said.
Noting the data most agents lack, KIVA said, “Popping a profile while also bringing forth interaction history integrated from various data sources eliminates the need for members to repeat information previously provided – a factor widely accepted as one of the greatest sources of member dissatisfaction.”
The call center may be the “front line,” but not for CRM. KIVA Group noted a loyal member relationship is the result of many successful interactions. At most institutions, agents are the front line in providing a satisfying and memorable experience (across voice, web chat, email, etc.), but they don’t have a 360-degree view of the member. For agents to “know the member,” serve them in a personalized way and nurture the relationship, credit unions must unify technology, applications, processes and workflows. As most CRM systems are database centric, simply integrating call center platforms to those systems isn’t enough, the company said.
In its analysis of the finding, KIVA Group stated, “FCR is widely recognized as a top measure of contact center effectiveness across industries and a key driver of member satisfaction, which ultimately breeds loyalty, but it can be difficult to measure. Some institutions may not track FCR rates because they believe they are adequately equipping agents to resolve a high percentage of inquiries/requests on first contact – whether through agent training or providing access to websites, detailed knowledge bases and data from the core processor.”
KIVA Group added that others may be limited by the capabilities of their call center systems; they are simply unable to track interactions, performance and issue resolution across multiple channels.
“Some progress is being made in the credit union call center—more institutions than in previous years are popping member profiles and offering agents easier access to information,” said Tina Baker, CEO, KIVA Group, in a statement. “However, the findings of this survey show that credit unions still have a long way to go in optimizing the agent desktop and engaging the contact center in CRM. The persistent, underlying problem is lack of systems integration. Once that is addressed, credit unions will be able to make big strides in productivity, sales and service in the contact center, creating an exceptional experience for agents and members with every interaction.”
There’s a need for needs-based selling. KIVA Group noted that most institutions provide sales and service incentives for call center agents, but based on the other findings of this survey, credit unions could be doing more to enable needs-based selling.
“For example, presenting member profiles on agents’ desktops in one easy-to- navigate screen that includes interaction history and personalized offers gives agents the tools to have a meaningful conversation with members about products and services relevant to their needs,” the company said. “Popping appropriate and timely offers via the member’s self-service device(s) of choice also shows that the credit union knows them as an individual; not only can this generate valuable leads, but also enhance the overall member experience.”