Credit unions have scrambled to stimulate in-person traffic throughout the pandemic to shore up revenue and avert branch closings, but they may need to rethink how they train and recruit tellers if they really want to sustain growth over the long-term.
Advancements in digital technology have for years eroded retail branch visits, forcing credit unions to identify new ways of engaging members. COVID, of course, accelerated that trend. While they continue to reduce staff in line with declines in visits, there is little hope of reversing that digital momentum to reclaim pre-pandemic levels of consumer visits.
Credit unions, however, could operate on a different premise – accepting the shift in consumer behavior, and transforming the way in which team members engage with members, both in approach and content. A new culture centered around proactive outreach with a focus on financial guidance and advice is needed.
The shift coincides with a growing demand for more financial guidance and advice among consumers, many of whom felt let down by financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis.
Credit unions, like other organizations, have also struggled to fill vacancies in the wake of the so-called Great Resignation, coined after job dissatisfaction levels rose nationwide, culminating in a 20-year high “quit rate” in November last year. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, people cited a lack of respect and opportunities for advancement, as well as low pay, as reasons for quitting.
The movement is a further indication that credit unions can’t take their employees’ happiness for granted and need to offer more than transaction-based roles if they want to grow. This is particularly true with younger workers, who’ve been defined by their need for a sense of purpose at the office and who comprise the largest percentage of the group.
The landscape has left credit unions to generate sales from a more digitally-disposed member base – but with tellers who’ve been trained to build relationships through branch visits. That leaves them with a choice. They could direct tellers to intensify their focus on increasingly sluggish branch traffic or they could lead a rebranding effort to redefine these roles.
That effort entails prioritizing expanding skill sets – and broadening perspectives – to position tellers as “financial guides” defined less by transactions and more by an ability to improve the financial lives of their members – on their members’ terms.
Credit unions need candidates who can go beyond a reactive sales strategy, serving branch visitors, to a proactive strategy, contacting members by phone, to initiate face-to-face or even video meetings. The goal is to cultivate deeper relationships with members, including those who joined the credit union through a digital channel, attaining the higher balances and longer retentions associated with in-person relationships.
The idea is not to sell more products but to “sell the appointment,” persuading members to commit to a branch visit to discuss additional products and services. It also puts tellers who’ve been trained to serve branch visitors back in their comfort zone of face-to-face engagement.
This requires adopting a new business model where growth hinges on an ability to quickly engage people on calls they perhaps didn’t want to answer. It means equipping tellers, who’ve only interacted with branch visitors across the counter, with the skills needed to initiate those conversations.
It also means recruiters need to screen for interpersonal skills, identifying candidates who can engage members remotely, quickly gain insights into their financial lives and pitch products that resonate with them.
Recruiting should involve rethinking job descriptions for these openings. Instead of focusing on a litany of traditional teller duties unlikely to resonate with younger, potentially more restless, generations, they can showcase an opportunity to serve as a “pathfinder” for a pandemic-weary population facing soaring inflation rates and consuming levels of debt.
To be effective, the descriptions need to inspire candidates with a chance to connect with people and serve a more critical function. They need to address the void employees have felt with previous jobs, pitching roles that allow for more strategic input while appealing to a need to find purpose. They should communicate the hybrid nature of the position, encompassing traditional teller functions while meeting the demands of a more comprehensive “financial guide.”
Credit unions also need metrics to gauge this progress, identifying which calls result in sales and which conversations resonate with which members. They’ll need to monitor the number of calls that result in larger commitments and expanded relationships. They may only secure four appointments out of 20 weekly calls, for example, and only generate sales from two or three of those meetings.
Credit unions have an opening to reposition themselves in the marketplace, attracting the talent of younger generations with branch associate positions that seek to improve society. Tellers who evolve beyond their role as order takers can serve as better growth engines, with a newfound freedom to customize advice and improve the lives of their members.
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