RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.–Credit unions and CUSOs have long gathered member feedback, albeit often in a loose and anecdotal way. But CO-OP Financial Services believes it has turned its listening/feedback efforts into a science.
The company said client experience is at the “core” of everything it does for a reason, citing research showing companies that prioritize customer experience see higher revenue, happier customers and more engaged employees.
To that end, CO-OP said it stood up what it officially calls its Client Experience function based on the concept the company, which will turn 40 next year, was built by and for credit unions, and that it can’t serve those same CUs if it doesn’t know what they want and what they are experiencing.
According to CO-OP, components of its feedback processes include:
- Three Co-Creation Councils: Strategy, Operations & Experience, and Solutions Design. The Councils meet twice annually (virtually in 2020). In 2017, when CO-OP announced the Councils, it described the initiative as the “evolution of client advisory teams.”
- Ongoing client interaction via its relationship managers in onboarding, renewing and day-to-day management of its work with the credit unions.
- An Annual Client survey it describes as the “most holistic” of its efforts. With its 2020 survey underway this month, CO-OP said its 2019 survey provided it feedback on its product design and development process that resulted in a redesigned product beta program, as well as input into its cure programs that have resulted in “far fewer service interruptions” during 2020 versus prior years.
Some ‘Gravitas’
Chief Experience Officer Samantha Paxson said CO-OP had long had processes in place for listening to its client credit unions, but it was seeking to make stronger commitment to “delivering on an end-to-end journey.”
“We wanted to formalize the way we listen and put some gravitas behind it,” said Paxson. “We wanted to be able to listen to our clients not as shareholders but in the same way a credit union would listen to its members and not just the board.”
Paxson said the client feedback process is critical because CO-OP, like any large organization, has numerous options with the products and services it can deliver, and the company wants to “be really intentional about the way we go.”
‘Light-Bulb Moments’
Gail Tofil, vice-president of client experience with CO-OP, explained the objective has been to go beyond just listening to CUs and instead translate all the feedback into proof-points and then convert that information in ways that allows it to be scaled.
Tofil added the listening process is designed to ensure more people/CUs are heard from than just the “loudest person in the room.”
“It’s about what would have the most impact,” said Tofil. “It’s the ability to drive down into the data. That’s where the light bulb moments are. It’s about listening intentionally.”
Samantha Paxson
One challenge for all organizations in soliciting feedback is getting unvarnished input, especially from those who may have legitimate points but who don’t want to sound negative, agreed Tofil.
“That is human nature. People don’t like to deliver uncomfortable (feedback),” Tofil said, explaining feedback can be stymied by something as simple as who is doing the asking, such as an account rep with whom the credit union might have a good relationship.
“The way to get around that is to ask differently in a less personal way, using digital and having anonymity to it. That has been very effective. There are these protected touch points.”
Tofil said CO-OP has also been successful in getting “collaborative feedback” at the executive level by being very specific in the questions it asks.
Getting Specific
In addition to the specificity, Paxson said there is a “real science” around the company’s listening process, and there is a reason for the scientific approach.
“Based on what our clients say, it’s where we invest, where we go in the future,” said Paxson. “The clients love knowing that their feedback creates action and makes a difference in ways they don’t get at other larger processors and companies. We have been intentional about the design of our listening technology. We are able to show here’s what you said and here are the actions we have taken.”
As an example, Paxson said CO-OP’s 2021 Roadmap has come out of the Co-Creation Councils. Appropriately, that roadmap is about a ground-level approach to the new year.
“For instance, (the feedback) directly told us to work on the inner working of payments, the nuts and bolts, and not the shiny new objects,” said Paxson. “They told us what to do and we were able to deliver and that is really gratifying to clients. People see they authentically have a voice and they can authentically change things.”
Another key, added Tofil, is targeting the right people and then surveying those same people in real time about their experiences.
“Getting to the right people at the right time is critical,” she said.
Creating Hard Data
In speaking to CUToday.info, both CO-OP executives referenced the data the company has captured as part of its feedback process. But feedback is most often anecdotal and qualitative—how is that translated into data?
Tofil acknowledged the process brings with it “challenges,” but CO-OP’s approach is to use the Co-Creation sessions, for instance, to identify themes and pain points that fit into certain pillars. It is also able to combine the numeric analysis with use-cases involving specific clients and different products and services.
The qualitative feedback, noted Tofil, is captured “to the best of our ability.”
“At CO-OP, too, we capture a lot of data across credit unions and are able to develop usage trends,” added Paxson. “We are able to pair the quantitative with the qualitative to give us a more holistic picture about client wants. It creates a much richer picture. We have a pretty scientific backend; it’s not just reading responses to questions. We are able to crunch the words.”
The ‘Magic’
The “magic,” said Paxson, comes in not just listening to what the respective groups offer as input, but in acting on it.
As CO-OP has formalized its feedback processes, Paxson said it has been enjoyable to watch a cultural transition within the company in which leadership across the company is “hungry” to hear what is being learned.
Paxson said over the three years of the Co-Creation Councils there has been some evolution in each, but all have helped the company to “refine our end-to-end journey.” That has included specific user-experience functions.
The value client credit unions see in being a part of the Co-Creation Councils, said Paxson, is obvious.
“The Co-Creation Councils are a hot ticket,” she said. “We have had credit unions specifically write into their contracts that they will get to participate. There is a waiting list. They like being a catalyst.”
Participants in the Co-Creation Councils roll off after a two-year term.
No So Blue Sky
Tofil said the Councils have evolved from what were initially groups with somewhat of a blue sky strategic vision into groups specifically focused on providing guidance on the products/services being brought to market and on the best way to operationally support those offerings.
Does the direction provided by the Councils involve the sunsetting of certain offerings? Yes, according to both Tofil and Paxson, but not in the way that may be initially perceived.
“Some do get flushed out,” said Tofil. “The Operations and Experience Council has identified services that have been around since the beginning of time and sometimes we do away with those.”
But Paxson said the sunsetting is really a byproduct of a different process.
“A lot of what we get is from voice of the customer. We learn that this existing service is not as useful anymore and it allows us to free up resources,” Paxson said. “We don’t directly say we should end this product. What we get instead are insights on if we invest here it supersedes another product or service or process. It’s contextual.”
Looking Forward
Looking forward, Paxson said CO-OP would like to drive even more deeply into the processes it has put in place.
“It’s a sophisticated, well-oiled listening machine and now we are investing in resources to scale that,” she said. “CO-OP really respects client feedback. We hope to refine more and do even more on the activation side.”
A primary component of its effort has been the launch in 2019 of an Annual Client Survey, which it said is the most “holistic” of its listening initiatives. CO-OP has credited last year’s survey with helping it to improve in two areas:
- Client feedback has been incorporated into its product design and development process. The company said based on what it learned it has initiated a redesigned product beta program.
- The company has initiated “cure programs” it said have resulted in far fewer service interruptions in 2020 compared to prior years.
Two Main Goals
CO-OP said this year’s Annual Client Survey has two main goals:
Gail Tofil
- Identify where the business can continue to improve, with focus on areas that contribute to increasing client loyalty.
- Build a measurable, year-over-year trend to track CO-OP’s client experience in the eyes of its clients.
The survey also renders for CO-OP what it calls its “Client Loyalty Index,” which it describes as a hybrid of industry-standard client satisfaction measurement indicators that is more than just a Net Promoter Score.
According to CO-OP, it is seeking to measure the satisfaction of two key “personas” at a credit union: the decision maker and the influencer.
“We want to go deeper than the standard Net Promoter Score,” said Tofil.
The Client Loyalty Index focuses on identifying three key points:
- Overall satisfaction
- Intent to be a reference
- Intent to do business with us
On the latter point, said Tofil, the objective is to better understand which clients are most likely to be considering leaving the company.
Overall, the goal of the study and the Client Loyalty Index, CO-OP said, it to come away with a better picture of its overall business relationships with client credit unions.