NEW YORK--PSCU has introduced a “Playbook” for its member-owner credit unions designed to prepare them for the demands of the “digital shift.”
Unveiled during the CUSO’s MoPRO meeting here, the Playbook is the culmination of a year of work by 16 credit union executives who were called “Possibility Makers,” and by PSCU itself.
In the process team members said they made “eye-opening” discoveries along with developing a newfound appreciation for what credit unions can accomplish when collaborating.
Divided into five chapters, the Playbook is, fittingly, being distributed via digital media and is designed to be a living document, with Playbook 1.0 to be constantly updated for further releases as new work is done. It contains various tools, resources, and templates all aimed at helping a credit union advance its digital strategy.
Kristin Scharf, right, leading a discussion with the 'Possibility Makers' during MoPRO meeting.
Kristin Scharf, SVP-innovation for PSCU, told CUToday.info that overall goal is to create a framework to guide a credit union as the evolution in product and service delivery continues and as consumer expectations change.
Scharf led introduction of the Playbook during a session at MoPro at which five of the Possibility Makers also appeared on stage and discussed the project. She said the 16 people on the team drove the content of the Playbook as they met over a one-year period, including meetings in St. Petersburg, Fla., Dallas, Phoenix and Washington. Those meetings included “brainfood” sessions at which the team traveled to non-credit union environments, such as the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, the IBM Innovation Center in Dallas, and the Smithsonian in Washington, for inspiration.
Avoiding the Trial & Error Process
“Many of you told us you understood what the future could be, you just needed some help on the steps to get there, including learnings from each other to avoid the trial and error. We set out to develop the tactics,” Scharf said. “This effort is for credit unions, by credit unions. The vision is to build the industry’s first playbook to get to higher engagement across every experience and touch-point.”
Scharf added the Playbook fits into the broader theme of “Future Forward,” the tagline that PSCU has been using, as it seeks to help credit unions become that trusted advisor while also continuing to grow and remain relevant in digital channels.
Developing the Playbook was a five-step process, according to Scharf:
- Innovation immersion (with leadership from the Filene Institute)
- Brain food activity
- Market research
- Discussion of Solutions
- Creation of a Playbook
Joel Richard, VP of Operations with Interra CU and one of the Possibility Makers, said that Playbook has continued to evolve even as the announcement of its availability was approaching. Applicability of its contents, he said, was a key objective.
“You aren’t going to use every piece of the playbook, but there are pieces that everyone will be able to use,” Richard said.
Talking Millennials
Not surprisingly, the Millennial market was a large part of the discussion, and the team conducted focus groups with Millennials. The project included a GEMagination Study of Millennials and a “deep dive discussion around the optimal financial services experience,” Scharf said. Some 150 stories were collected during the research that are being shared as part of the Playbook project.
“I’m a Millennial and I thought I knew this generation and I don’t,” observed Richard.
Another one of the Possibility Makers told the audience that her “a-ha” moment came in hearing how concerned Millennials are over data breaches, and in dispelling a few other preconceived notions.
“I really thought going into this that (Millennials) really want access to everything on their phone,” she said. “But they actually want access to traditional brick and mortar, not that they would go to it frequently, but they liked to know it was there if they needed it. They said they wanted to be able to talk to people about making wise financial decisions.”
Another of the Possibility Makers found another surprise during a discussion with Millennials.
“Of the five Millennials at our table, two of them were completely unbanked,” she said. “They had no financial institution that they called home. This is our future. Where are they doing their financial services? After we met with (Millennials), PSCU did a fantastic job of gathering all the insights and came up with this list, prioritized by what Millennials said. The number-one thing on the list, and I was shocked to hear, was they want a place that they can trust. They felt like going into a financial institution was like going into a car dealership. That’s not at all what credit unions are all about. So that was really eye-opening.”
Challenging the 'No's'
Bonny Thomas, Visa Director with Consumers CU and a Possibility Maker, said one of her takeaways from the effort was the realization the “biggest roadblock” to thinking differently has to with data analytics and the statement “No, we can’t do that. ‘ We really need to challenge the ‘no’s.’ That’s what will take us to next level.”
Another team member said she has learned that what she has always been taught, that when it comes to analytics there are left-brain and right-brain thinkers, it’s not true and that anyone can perform analytics, they just may get at the answer in a different way.
The Playbook is now being distributed to member-owner CUs of PSCU. The company is also planning to put together another group of Possibility Makers, who are selected after being identified by their CEOs as future leaders.
The Possibility Makers
Besides those listed above, this inaugural group of Possibility Makers included:
Ken Ackerman, SVP of Consumer Lending, Founders FCU; Norb Adrian, Chief Systems Officer, Centra Credit Union; Ashley Baldeon, Marketing Manager, CommonWealth One FCU; Jim Block, Vice President of Consumer Lending & Small Business, BCU; Sharon Burris, AVP of Payment Services, ORNL FCU; Michele DeBuhr, Vice President, Consumer Credit Administration, OnPoint Community CU; Lori Greene, Director, Member Channel Operations, Arizona State CU; Michelle James, Director of Alternative Channels, Pen Air FCU; Alisha Johnson, SVP of Marketing, Sales & Service, Ideal CU; Jane Kennedy, e-Services Manager, USF FCU; Nicole Malcolm, Branch Operations Support Specialist, Mid-Hudson Valley FCU; Jennifer Pace, eServices Manager, Andrews FCU; Lauren Terrone, AVP, Card Services/eCommerce, Christian Community Credit Union; and Jill Thomas-Aviles, VP of Payments & Deposits, Jax FCU.