With a mission to serve members, it’s no surprise credit unions are focusing on how to improve the member experience. From digital channels to contact centers and in-branch services, every touchpoint on the member journey represents an opportunity to deepen relationships or miss the mark by not meeting expectations.
To view experiences through the lens of members, Langley Federal Credit Union ($5.2B, Newport News, VA) created a member experience department in 2019. Initially a team of one, the department has grown substantially in just a few years.
Here, Deb Vollmer, chief experience officer for Langley FCU, shares more about the critical role of the member experience analyst and what credit unions who aren’t investing in member experience could be missing.
Why is the member experience analyst such an important role?
Deb Vollmer: The role has become critical to our understanding of the trends in member feedback. An analyst provides insights from survey, behavioral, and service data to create impactful recurring and ad-hoc reporting. They synthesize data from multiple sources and communicate it in a way that provides insight and understanding.
The MX analyst reports on trends and root causes and offers recommendations to drive conversations and initiatives that lead to improvements in the overall member experience. Most of the feedback is received from Medallia surveys, which we obtain through a partnership with Member Loyalty Group, and our CRM platform, which is Salesforce.
Our Salesforce platform houses all our member interactions, both service and sales related, which we use to track leads, referrals, compliments, complaints, cases, service level agreements, and just about anything else you can imagine.
Check out the MX Analyst job description at Langley FCU. Then browse hundreds of other policies, strategy statements, job descriptions, and more in the Callahan Policy Exchange.
Who has filled this role for Langley so far?
DV: We’ve been fortunate to have two individuals. Both had previous experience as seasoned branch managers, which gave them insight into our operations as well as experience coaching teams. They have used that experience to take the member feedback and coach our teams on how to respond.
Often, the analyst will identify trends in the member feedback and then work with other members of the member experience team to conduct journey mapping exercises to identify where we can improve processes or procedures. As part of that process, they use focus groups and conduct usability testing.
In terms of training and experience, what is necessary for member experience roles?
DV: Branch management experience has been key. Although I believe someone could succeed without having that specific background, some operational experience is necessary to understand the feedback. It helps if you’ve sat in member-facing chairs so you fully understand operations, members, and products and services. In addition, college degrees have proved helpful.
Our first member experience department hire, Erling Amundson, came to us with a background in user experience design. We hired him as a member experience researcher, and he is now the vice president of member experience.
Our first member experience analyst, Kelly Wright, is now the director of member experience. As an analyst, she became a certified Salesforce administrator and certified business analyst. Although those designations aren’t necessary, this role does need to be well-versed in the system to build reports and dashboards. Her Salesforce training has been quite helpful.
Please talk more about the structure of Langley’s member experience department and potential career path for an analyst.
DV: We’ve already changed the structure since we began in 2019 with a single individual. There is clearly a strong career path with the potential for professional growth. As chief experience officer, I report to the CEO.
We also have a vice president of member experience, Erling. His scope of responsibility now includes both our contact center and the member experience department, which includes a director of member experience, our member experience analyst, a conversation service designer, and a knowledge management specialist. Our conversation service designer oversees artificial intelligence, so she works closely with our voice and web chat vendor and the contact center. Our knowledge management specialist ensures internal and external resources are consistent and accurate so we can provide the best information to our members and our employees.
How else does the department work with others in the credit union?
DV: We formed a member experience action team that includes team members from across the organization. This group, which rotates each quarter, learns key processes associated with user experience and design to further analyze trends and create and implement solution-based projects. Participants then take these design techniques back to their departments to help their areas view things through the lens of a member.
We have also formed a Member Experience Council. The analyst’s role within this group of key stakeholders — including senior vice presidents, vice presidents, and directors — is to provide insights and case studies that trace a member’s experience to show us where opportunities for improvement exist. The goal is for these leaders to think about changes that can be made both within their area of responsibility and across the organization.
Why is the member experience analyst a role every credit union should have?
DV: When we rolled out salesforce as our CRM, one of the things I learned quickly was that things can fall through the cracks. Cases are being created, leads are being identified, and you’re receiving member feedback through surveys. You need someone with eyes on all of that to ensure follow-up happens in a timely and effective way. Beyond analysis and journey mapping, the MX analyst stays on top of all those touchpoints by putting processes in place and creating reports. You can’t undervalue how important it is for someone to be monitoring and making sure members know you are hearing them and responding to their feedback.
If a credit union doesn’t have someone in a role to listen to members, you could end up solving the wrong problem. The MX analyst position helps a cooperative understand the job to be done and ensures it isn’t going down the wrong path or pursuing an incorrect avenue. By understanding how members feel about you, what their true needs are, and what products or services they really desire, you can avoid personal biases and drawing the wrong conclusions as you make decisions.
How is this a change from, say, 10 years ago? Are more credit unions embracing this kind of thinking?
DV: I think investing in member experience is still something that is relatively new in the credit union space. Although I am seeing it more with peers, as an industry, I’m not sure we’ve embraced member experience as much as we should.
However, at Langley, we’ve definitely gone all in. We’re investing heavily and will continue to do so. We’re also sharing more ideas with our peers through Callahan, Salesforce, and other connections. Collaboration is happening, and we expect more credit unions will invest in member experience staffing and resources in the future.
— This interview has been edited and condensed.