OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.—The “No. 1 credit union” in the country credits its success to diligently eliminating service friction—better known as “pain points” for members—over the last few years.
Recently named the top CU in the nation by Forbes, the $1.4-billion WEOKIE FCU credits the recognition for an initiative it launched several years ago to discover where members were having difficulties with the organization and where various processes slowed down or became a problem, and then fix them.
All of that led to changes in WEOKIE’s policies and procedures at its call center, its lending department, and in the various authorities granted to staff—and it says it isn’t finished. That’s because it continues to receive feedback from members, in part, because it is also putting CEO Jeff Carpenter’s email on the organization’s website.
“We are really listening to members, trying to understand where they want us to make improvements, where the pain points may be in our service,” Carpenter told CUToday.info.
WEOKIE’s focus is timely. As CUToday.info has extensively reported, CUs have fallen behind banks for three straight years in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study. Analysts have stated credit unions have too many outdated steps in their processes that create a great deal of “friction” for members.
“When I got here in 2019, we converted to the Fiserv DNA core system, and that gave us a lot better, stronger technology. That has played well for us,” said Carpenter.
A Work in Progress
But that did not fix every point of friction with its members, Carpenter acknowledged.
“We are still working to make things much smoother for our members,” said Carpenter. “We still have frustrations. I don't know how long you waited when you called to talk to me, but I'm guessing it's somewhere between 90 seconds and four minutes. That’s a pain point.”
To address long hold times, WEOKIE brought in a consultant and is in the middle of revamping its contact center.
Jeff Carpenter
“If you’ve got a problem with your account, and you're on hold for three minutes—which probably seems like 72 minutes—can you imagine how mad you will be when you finally get to talk to somebody? And, then, what if we end up saying, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t help you.’ We're really working hard at trying to reduce those friction points.”
Reducing Overstaffing
Another of the big challenges WEOKIE faced a few years ago was an outdated—and actually overstaffed—lending department. The 63,000-member CU said it as since fixed the issue, ferreting out and resolving numerous inefficiencies within in the entire lending process.
“It used to be that you could walk into a branch and apply for a loan, but the loan officer was also in charge of the coin machine and the tellers. They had to deal with red flag accounts and compliance and all kinds of things,” Carpenter explained. “Members really were not getting a very positive experience. Loan service was spotty. We weren't doing a good job of delivering a consistent message to members, getting them a loan quickly, protecting them with products like gap and warranty coverage and credit insurance.”
In January of this year, WEOKIE centralized all of its consumer lending functions and now has only nine people working directly with members. That focus, said Carpenter, has helped staff become more skilled at what they do and much more efficient.
“Now you are talking to a lending expert,” he said. “We’re going to help you figure out what is the best product for you.”
Dramatic Changes
Carpenter said the change has been dramatic, both in what was reworked inside the back office lending operation and how members like and use the its offerings.
“We used to have 50 people involved with lending and now we have 15,” Carpenter said. “And, we have seen our loan volume double—with less than one-third of the staff.”
Carpenter emphasized WEOKIE is focused on efficiency, including helping members reach the CEO if they choose.
Carpenter recalled the time when the CU’s chief risk officer called him about a member getting the CEO’s email and then reaching out to him.
“He apologized to me and said he was sorry and that he had no idea how the member got my email,” said Carpenter. “I told him he should check our website, because I put my email on it for members in case they have a problem. They know they can come to me. They should be able to talk to their CEO.”
How Rankings Were Determined
Carpenter said the credit union is honored to be named the top CU in the nation, noting that overall 3.4% of credit unions across the country made the cut for Forbes “best-in-state” rankings. Given it was named best in the nation, the credit union was also, obviously, ranked first in its home state of Oklahoma in the Forbes analysis.
According to Forbes, each credit union, on average, received completed survey responses from 50 surveys/interviews, which queried consumers on topics ranging from mobile banking ease-of-use to transparency of fees and interest rates, plus the hours and accessibility of bank branches. The survey was conducted in conjunction with market research firm Statista, which conducted in-depth interviews of more than 26,000 U.S. citizens from all 50 states about the financial institutions where they maintain accounts.
The Top Five
The top five CUs in the nation and their scores, according to Forbes: WEOKIE (93.64), Eugene, Ore.-based Northwest Community Credit Union (92.96); Laramie, Wyom.-based UniWyo Credit Union (92.53); Antigo, Wis.-based CoVantage Credit Union (92.32); and STCU (92.07) from Liberty Lake, Wash.
WEOKIE Call Report data backs up the Forbes selection. The CU made $5.4 million in net income 2020 and the same number again in 2021. Through June of 2022, WEOKIE is well on pace to double that number, with $6.7 million during the half year. Net worth stands at 11.41%, delinquencies are .09%, and ROAA is .95%.
The Most Important Changes
“Looking back I’d say so far the most important changes we have made are in the lending department,” said Carpenter. “I’d say number-two is really just empowering staff to live our vision. We have given them authority to make more decisions on their own so they can help members immediately, such as with a fee reversal. Culture has been a big piece of this, and we will continue to make changes based on where they are needed.”