| How do branch visitors feel about waiting in your | | | | means that visitor volume is typically low. As a result, |
| lobby? Does the experience encourage them to return | | | | members receive a level of personalized service that |
| to buy more products and services, or does the lobby | | | | contributes to a perception of high-service quality. |
| "wait" leave the impression that your credit union is less | | | | But branches with six or more total staff are likely |
| efficient or professional than they deserve? | | | | candidates for lobby management improvements. The |
| The lobby is the beginning of many customer service | | | | ideal Lobby Management Solution should meet the |
| experiences. Unless a member is coming in for teller or | | | | following criteria: |
| ATM services, they will likely have to wait in the lobby | | | | · Require very little effort to learn and use. |
| for a few minutes before being served. Low rates | | | | · Encourage best work practice and enable great |
| alone are no guarantee that the member will be | | | | customer service. |
| satisfied with the branch experience, or be willing to | | | | · Provide immediate benefits to CU staff at all levels |
| come back for more. To take and keep market-share | | | | of the organization. |
| from larger financial institution, credit unions must | | | | · Provide real time reporting – what is happening in |
| consistently provide a good member experience - | | | | the branch right now! |
| beginning with the first impression created in the lobby. | | | | · Help establish and monitor employee performance |
| While examining one credit union's deposit account | | | | standards. |
| process, we discovered that the visitor's lobby | | | | · Actively discourage bad practices (like serving |
| experience was an untapped area for service | | | | customers out of order due to sales incentives or |
| improvement opportunities. | | | | because the service request is "easier" to handle). |
| Better Lobby - A Solution For SAFE Credit Union | | | | · Be affordable and easy to setup and administer. |
| When SAFE, a community credit union in North | | | | · Integrate with the host and other systems – and |
| Highlands, California, engaged us to re-engineer their | | | | use current technology. |
| deposit account process, CEO Henry Wirz and | | | | · Produce an attractive return on investment (ROI) |
| SAFE's Board made a strategic decision to invest in | | | | – be paid back in months, not years. |
| superior work processes, cost-effective technology, | | | | Assessing Your Credit Union's Lobby Experience To |
| and staff training – setting a goal to make their | | | | determine whether or not your credit union needs to |
| lobbies among the best managed in the industry. | | | | implement a lobby management solution, begin with an |
| We began two years ago by surveying the market | | | | honest, thorough analysis of your current lobby |
| for existing solutions. While we found several mature, | | | | experience. |
| industrial-strength lobby solutions available, they | | | | How long do members really wait in your branch |
| seemed better suited to very high-volume situations | | | | lobbies? You can better manage the customer |
| like motor vehicle offices rather than credit union | | | | experience when you know exactly how much time |
| lobbies. The low-end, share-ware applications had | | | | members spend in the lobby. Don't be satisfied with |
| extremely low acquisition costs, but met few of the | | | | averages. The average may seem reasonable to you, |
| credit union's other needs. | | | | but members' needs vary depending on their |
| Since none of the available solutions were a good fit, | | | | circumstances. The same member who happily waits |
| SAFE made the decision to develop a new lobby | | | | 20 minutes on their day off work, may be very |
| management application and make it available to all | | | | dissatisfied with an unexpected wait of 20 minutes |
| credit unions. As a result, a solution called Better Lobby | | | | during their lunch break. |
| is now available through a SAFE-sponsored CUSO | | | | Of course, the average time may not represent the |
| called Better Branches. | | | | actual wait times that are experienced by members at |
| Better Lobby allows any staff member to place a | | | | different times of the day and in different branch |
| branch visitor into the lobby queue. The queue is visible | | | | locations. Your average wait time for the month may |
| to all service staff in the branch as well as on-site and | | | | be 4 minutes, but what is the longest wait time – |
| remote credit union management. Only the visitor's | | | | and what percentage of your members exceed a |
| name and visit purpose need to be entered to start | | | | wait of 10, 15 or 30 minutes? Achieving short wait |
| the process. MSRs select the member they will serve | | | | times requires either active lobby visitor management |
| from the queue and, when the service is complete, | | | | or over-staffing; and we all know that over-staffing is |
| close off the service event. Basic follow-up reminders | | | | not a sustainable practice. |
| are provided if a call back is needed. All branch MSRs | | | | If long waits are unavoidable, make sure you learn |
| are notified of new additions to the queue and of any | | | | from the situation and take action to improve. Long |
| visit that waits longer than the established standard. | | | | waits contribute to a bad perception of your CU's |
| Better Reporting Provides A Real-Time Peek Into | | | | professionalism, reliability, and competency in the mind |
| Branch Activity | | | | of the member. This perception will influence where |
| In addition to bringing order and visibility to the branch | | | | they buy their next financial product or service. |
| lobby, Better Lobby provides remarkable reporting on | | | | Complete your lobby analysis by answering the |
| service events that were previously, very hard to | | | | following questions: |
| measure. Better Lobby's "Service History" report best | | | | · Why do members (or potential members)visit the |
| illustrates this point. The report shows the number of | | | | branch? |
| members served by each SAFE MSR at one of the | | | | · How many new accounts were opened yesterday |
| credit union's 10 branches during the period of July 8-9. | | | | in your branches? |
| The real-time report was created part way through | | | | · What staff representatives opened them? |
| July 9th, so some visitors are shown as either still | | | | · How long did it take? |
| "waiting" or "being helped". Employees are identified by | | | | · How much time are my platform staff spending |
| their initials next to each bar in the graph. At the | | | | with members? |
| bottom is a list of members who were served at that | | | | · What portion of their day do they actually spend |
| bring during the reporting period, together with their | | | | providing face-to-face service? |
| "wait time," "help time," "status," and "MSR" who served | | | | · Which MSR handles the most traffic? |
| them. More information is available by scrolling through | | | | · When do the peaks and valleys occur? |
| the report. Three additional real-time reports are also | | | | Of course, some of this information is available in |
| available. | | | | existing systems, but it is a rare credit union that can |
| Criteria for Choosing a Lobby Management Solution | | | | apply time measurements to "customers served" and |
| When it comes to choosing a lobby management | | | | "products sold". |
| solution, the size of the branch is a determining factor. | | | | You may conclude that a well-engineered lobby |
| Very small branches do not need lobby management | | | | management system is just what you need to |
| technology to provide good service. Their size alone | | | | consistently boost service levels and increase sales. |