By Ray Birch
VIENNA, Va.—When Cutler Dawson took over as CEO of Navy FCU 12 years ago, it was experiencing service issues that can often plague large credit unions. He recalled that at some branches teller lines stretched out the doors, and call center wait times often approached 45 minutes.
A dozen years later Navy Federal is much larger, approaching $80 billion in assets and 300 branches. Yet its service rankings have improved remarkably in the process.
Dawson said that Navy federal moved quickly to address the issues it was facing, and it moved to provide the kind of service and account holder attention that leaves members not seeing a large financial institution. Its strategies appear to have worked: Navy ranks No. 1 for consumer loyalty and appreciation among all U.S. financial institutions, and No. 2 among all companies, in a new report from Forrester Research.
“Members don’t see us being the nation’s largest credit union at $78 billion in assets,” said Dawson. “They see us through as a credit union they can trust. They find value in us. And they see us as being easy to use with great staff who serve them well. They don’t care if we are $78 billion or $20 million in assets. It’s all about how they are treated.”
6.3 Million Members
Dawson told CUToday.info that he disagrees with those within credit unions who feel that the bigger the credit union gets the smaller the member is made to feel.
Cutler Dawson
“I don’t agree with that thinking,” said Dawson, “because it does not have to be that way. Navy FCU started out 83 years ago with seven members who pulled together $450 to start a credit union. Today, even though we have 6.3 million members, we still provide the attention to members that a small credit union does. This year our call center will set a record for the number of answered calls, and we average a 42-second wait.”
Dawson said a key to its industry-leading service is adding more branches to handle the growing teller lines and beefing up call center operations, which have expanded outside of its Vienna headquarters to Winchester, Va., and Pensacola, Fla.
“You talk about providing good service, well, how do you think the conversation will go with a grumpy member who has had to stand in a long teller line or wait 45 minutes on the phone? I’ll bet that interaction may not go all that well,” said Dawson. “I remember 12 years ago standing in some of those teller lines, staff taking pictures of me, and then playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’”
Dawson said the Forrester report is an “affirmation” that what Navy is doing to provide excellent member service is working.
Four Pillars
Aside from dramatically improving member wait times, Navy focuses on what Dawson called its “four pillars of success”: member trust, member value, ease of use, and employees who believe service is their most important job.
“The first pillar is very important in that you have to create a brand that builds members’ trust, but more important, your actions every day must demonstrate to your members that they can trust you,” said Dawson.
Navy delivers value, Dawson said, with very competitive rates and a low fee structure.
Ease of use, insists Dawson, is more than the credit union having a large number of branches—now totaling 288—a big call center, online banking and a mobile app. He said products have to be simple and straightforward.
“Take, for example, our credit cards. We offer 1.5% cash back on all purchases. That’s pricing that is easy to understand, and a card that’s easy to use and fit into your lifestyle,” said Dawson. “We made this addition to our credit card line two years ago and it really accelerated the issuing of new cards.”
Loan Decisions In Ten Minutes
Another example, said Dawson, is lending auto decisioning that often provides members with a decision on a car loan in 10 minutes.
As CUToday.info previously reported, Navy has been hiring a significant number of people to staff its expanding Pensacola, Fla. call center. Dawson reiterated the importance of having enough staff to keep up with a growing membership and keep call wait times to an average of 42 seconds.
“I don’t care what metrics you look at, people are not going to love you if they have to wait a long time on the phone,” Dawson said.
As any employers know, finding new employees isn’t the challenge, finding good new employees is, especially when it comes to member service positions. Navy Federal has approximately 4,000 employees, and Florida Trend reported earlier this year that its long-term goal is to have as many as 10,000 employees in Pensacola by 2020.
Careful Training
Asked how Navy FCU or any credit union can add large numbers of new staff and still deliver consistent service, Dawson said that the credit union has an extensive three-day training program so new hires understand the credit union difference and Navy FCU’s values. He also said the credit union holds a “boot camp” to train staff on what it’s like to be a member of the military.
“Our team gets a day-and-a-half of education on what it’s like to be in the military, or a family member of someone in the military,” said Dawson. “They learn the challenges, financial and otherwise, our service members and their families face.”
The credit union also makes it easy, and quick, for call center staff to get an understanding of who members are when they call. As soon as members identify themselves on the call, Navy provides staff with data screens and pop-up windows that deliver a clear picture of the members’ finances.
“Members get the feeling immediately that we know who they are,” said Dawson.
And what also leads to superior service is staff knowing that their most important job is always doing the right thing for each member, emphasized Dawson, who said Navy Federal does not use sales incentives.
But what the Navy FCU will continue to emphasize is branching, said Dawson.
“We have 288 branches now and a goal to add 20 new offices a year in the foreseeable future,” said Dawson. “Look at Regions Bank; they are a little bigger than us, and they have 1,400 branches,” said Dawson. “As I said, we have less than 300, so we are far from being over-branched.”