When we think of the benefits of an intranet, our mind usually goes to things such as employee engagement and experience, document management, and making work processes a little simpler for your employees. And while all that is true, your credit union intranet directly impacts your members’ experience as well. Credit union challenges seem to be piling up, and while we can’t promise that all of them can be solved, here are the top 3 challenges facing credit unions, and how an intranet can offer a solution.
1. A credit union intranet can make member requests more efficient
While customer satisfaction when it comes to courtesy and helpfulness of staff has consistently remained higher for credit unions than for banks (more on that in a minute); many consumers are switching to providers who are more speedy when it comes to opening new accounts or applying for new loans. While many fintech startups rely on automation to speed up these processes, credit unions can combine man and machine to create a more efficient member experience while also providing members with that personal touch they love and expect.
With a robust intranet solution, you can use workflows and automated forms to speed up the processes for approving a loan and new account, as many of our credit union customers have done with our software. Additionally, your intranet becomes a single source of truth that is quickly and easily auditable should that moment ever come.
2. Customer satisfaction is falling, a credit union intranet can help
The ACSI satisfaction survey found that “credit union ratings of the courtesy and helpfulness of staff declined from 90 points in 2015 to 84 points in 2020 and call center satisfaction declined from 85 points to 79 points.” While, as previously mentioned, credit unions still rank higher than banks overall, the decline is worrying—especially when competitors may be offering lower service fees that could help justify the trade-off of lesser satisfaction for greater cost savings.
By investing in an intranet, you are investing in keeping member satisfaction ratings high. Most know that investing in an intranet can lead to an improved employee experience, but research shows that companies with strong employee experience also have higher levels of customer satisfaction. When your employees are happier and enjoying a working environment with less stress and higher productivity, it is reflected in the care and service provided by customer-facing staff, particularly in high-touch sectors like credit union call centers and frontline staff.
3. Build your community on your intranet, from the inside out
Younger financial customers are no longer seeing the value that credit unions provide, with market share for CUs dropping from 21% in 2018 to just 12% in 2020. While there are a multitude of reasons for this (including those outlined above), a case could be made that newer generations are not understanding how banking with a local credit union supports their local community.
Many of our credit union customers at IC use their intranet as a hub for community engagement, and find that highlighting upcoming events incentivizes employees to get out there and give back to their community through local initiatives. When members of your community see you out on the field, giving back, they are more likely to realize that trusting your credit union for their financial needs also means supporting local organizations. Learn about how Hickam FCU uses their intranet as a space to promote local volunteer events.
To find out how an intranet can address your unique credit union challenges, book a demo
Of course, these are just a few modern challenges credit unions face today. Still, when you use a robust software solution, you not only make your credit union a better place to work but also a better place for your community to bank. Book a demo with our expert team to find out how our solution can solve your problems.
