After COVID Ends: How Credit Unions Can Utilize People-Focused Innovation

Posted by Colleen Cormier on December 17th, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the vast majority of the U.S. population, and unfortunately, the effects have been overwhelmingly negative. As the needs of credit union members change, credit unions themselves must turn toward people-focused innovation to keep their members happy.

As soon as the pandemic hit, many people’s entire lives came to a screeching halt. Between soaring unemployment rates and the closure of all non-essential businesses, the pandemic has put us all in a state of economic uncertainty. For credit unions, this meant the increased importance of remote banking and loan repayment flexibilities.

Credit Unions Must Innovate to Survive

According to a study done by the 2020 Credit Union Innovation Index and PSCU, nearly 20% of all credit union members said they would leave their credit union over a lack of innovation. Smaller credit unions have the burden of competing with larger national banks, and these findings show that they must work harder to keep their current members happy and draw in new members.

How Credit Unions Can Utilize People-Focused Innovation

People-focused innovation prioritizes the needs of employees and members rather than economic needs. One way to do this is by giving your employees and members a safe way to challenge the status quo by encouraging constructive feedback. This lets people know that their suggestions are, in fact, being taken seriously.

Although you should welcome all employee and consumer suggestions, there are a couple of areas you should be sure to focus on, given the changing needs of credit union members.

The first thing to prioritize is creating a mobile banking app or improving your current one. Your app should be easy to use and offer nearly every service you provide in-branch, including:

  • Check deposits
  • Bill pay
  • Funds transfers

On a branch level, employees should focus on building strong, trustworthy relationships with members. Many people’s employment situations have changed, so tellers should be sympathetic to each member’s situation. This includes things like:

  • Waiving overdraft charges
  • Being more flexible with payment dates
  • Offering 0% interest rates on payday loans

As we move closer and closer to a COVID vaccine, credit unions must turn to people-focused innovation to not only survive but grow as companies. The financial well-being of members should be your first and foremost priority, and employees should be encouraged to try to connect with their members even more.

About Author

On The Mark Strategies is a team of trailblazers guiding financial institutions in the areas of speaking, branding, strategic planning and marketing services. Technically, they are a consulting firm, but their clients prefer to think of them as trail guides. Their experience as former credit union employees, combined with the customized programs they create in-house, enable them to lead financial institutions through the great unknown. On The Mark Strategies stands ready to guide financial institutions looking to chart a new course or navigating their current path.

Like it? Share it!


Colleen Cormier

About the Author

Colleen Cormier
Joined: January 12th, 2020
Articles Posted: 11

More by this author