Idaho Central Credit Union - Creating a Service Focused Culture

info@netpromoter.com — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:43:49 GMT

Idaho Central Credit Union boasts $1 Billion in assets, 107,000 members, 18 branches and 334 team members. They recognized that culture change is a journey. Start small and build on successes. Know that everyone in the company is responsible for the culture of your organization.“The way management treats their associates is exactly how their employees will treat their customers” - Sam Walton.

In 2008, while recognizing many positive attributes, there was a culture that lacked trust, high turnover and processes and procedures that were beneficial to the back office, but not the front line or customers. Employees were not empowered to make decisions. Only 35.5% of employees “Strongly Agreed” that they were satisfied with their work experience at ICCU, and 39.7% would recommend ICCU as an employer. A transition to new CEO proved a good opportunity for culture change. Senior management buy in would be critical. ICCU prioritized projects that had the most impact on customer service above all others. ICCU understands and believes in NPS and the value of excellent service. Their member experience analyst reports directly to a top level executive. Everything they do is tied back to service. When a new idea is proposed, always ask, “how does your proposed change or idea impact service and members?” Without a definitive answer the idea cannot be considered. Training, new employee orientation, goals and awards were implemented. Each and every team member must promote and be an example of trust and compassion. All negative wording was removed from their HR policies and handbook. Left out were rules that targeted specific employees. Show employees that you assume the best by how you approach problems. Hire the right people. Identify optimum talents for each position and make sure employees fit your culture. In some cases, ICCU had to transition people to different roles where they could be happy and successful. They now conduct annual culture surveys and share results. Individual and organization action plans, as well as periodic reports are critical. ICCU’s back office has a tremendous amount of influence on how the front line delivers service to members. If they catch the vision, service levels will significantly increase. Changing the mindset is key. Employees should ask, “Did I make a difference today?” Every team member must understand how they impact service and discussions should happen to help team members figure it out. Measurements are a part of the process. For example, to better understand the experience, IT members personally delivered new PCs personally to better understand the frustration of employees that get a new PC that doesn't work. Excuses for poor service are not acceptable. Learn to adapt and not let service levels drop. Be proactive instead of reactive – think ahead. ICCU modeled their VOC program after Experian’s. Identify problems in processes or products and analyze the issues. Be sure to rebuild the process from the members’ perspective. ICCU’s goal is for team members to naturally look at processes through their members’ eyes and make improvements on their own. There are a lot of good books out there as your resource: The Energy Bus, Knock Your Socks Off Service, the Simple Truths of Service, the No Complaining Rule, etc. Get the “energy vampires” off your bus. Make sure everyone is engaged - Daily HDLs to discuss NPS comments, service story of the week, performance reviews. Create detailed action plans for the bottom tier of service scores. Publish service scores and goals for all to see. Send recognitions to team members. Involve all team members in changes that have a big financial impact. Monthly NPS reports should be distributed to all managers. Annual service awards are given. The result? Satisfaction with the work experience increased and turnover dropped. Decisions are made in the best interest of the member and the company. It’s important to recognize that everyone impacts culture.

Blog Posts From San Francisco Conference Blog 2012 Tagged With iccu

Idaho Central Credit Union - Creating a Service Focused Culture