Good post Robbie. I have always marveled at your complexion. Now I know your secret. :)
Kirk Letourneau
· 6 months ago
Great post Robbie! This really resonates with me. I would love to have more time in my schedule to have a lot more personal interaction with our members and really find-out what really irks them about our full-range of services. I just know there are members out there saying things like, "That's stupid. You mean that system doesn't talk to that other system?"
By the way...I just unboxed a 52" LCD earlier in the week and couldn't help but think how cool it was the way the box slid right off the top of the bottom box that held the TV. Hmmmm...are you stalking me outside my house?
Morriss Partee
· 6 months ago
Focus groups, too, can often uncover little things that a CU does (or has stopped doing) that members really care about. Sometimes small changes can have a large positive impact. But everything I've heard about ethnographic research is excellent, and I'd love to learn more about it.
Rebecca
· 6 months ago
I came across your blog and was really intrigued by this. I can completely understand what you are talking about. It seems that whenever something doesn't work as well, we tend to try and find a solution around it. Hence the turning the face wipes upside down. In my credit union, we really struggle with finding a way for marketing and our MSR's to communicate better with one another. The MSRs do not seem to be motivated, and are always wanting more incentives- but isn't that what they get paid to do?
Maybe if management will sit at the teller stand, and make transactions, for a few hours a week, management will provide an example for their staff. We also have a hard time getting our staff to hand out a receipt flier when they do a transaction.
Instead of butting heads with management and tellers, maybe we should flip the situation upside down, and put ourselves in their shoes. Or, provide an 'employee of the month' program where they push each other to provide better service. Having someone rely on you is more promising than having management tell you what to do.
Robbie Wright
· 6 months ago
@Morriss - Personally, I think focus groups are overrated and useless. Just because a member tells you what they want doesn't really mean that's what they need. They may think they need something, but they could be way off. The only way to figure it out is to actually watch them use the product.
@Rebecca - That's always a tough situation to be in. If you have any ability, hands down the best way to accomplish this kind of thing is to make your executives be a teller a day a month, 4 hours a week, or something. It shows the tellers/MSR's that they really care about the branches and what's going on with the members, and it really gets the executives in touch with what's going on in a way that no member survey or suggestion box ever would. Amazon and Zappos are two tremendous examples were the CEO regularly spends more time on the "front line" then in his office.
All Comments
By the way...I just unboxed a 52" LCD earlier in the week and couldn't help but think how cool it was the way the box slid right off the top of the bottom box that held the TV. Hmmmm...are you stalking me outside my house?
Maybe if management will sit at the teller stand, and make transactions, for a few hours a week, management will provide an example for their staff. We also have a hard time getting our staff to hand out a receipt flier when they do a transaction.
Instead of butting heads with management and tellers, maybe we should flip the situation upside down, and put ourselves in their shoes. Or, provide an 'employee of the month' program where they push each other to provide better service. Having someone rely on you is more promising than having management tell you what to do.
@Rebecca - That's always a tough situation to be in. If you have any ability, hands down the best way to accomplish this kind of thing is to make your executives be a teller a day a month, 4 hours a week, or something. It shows the tellers/MSR's that they really care about the branches and what's going on with the members, and it really gets the executives in touch with what's going on in a way that no member survey or suggestion box ever would. Amazon and Zappos are two tremendous examples were the CEO regularly spends more time on the "front line" then in his office.