Ink on the Interview
Q: How have things been going at your credit union over the past year?
A: Things have been going well. Life has been busy. A lot of changes in the industry is going on right now. Goodness gracious. We could go off on a tangent on that big time.
Q: Well, let’s talk about the conference here. It’s going to kick off here in about an hour. But any expectations for you this year?
A: I’m actually looking forward to seeing all the new products and services that Eltropy came out with. So every year, there are new products and services. Something else for me to learn. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s new that I don’t have and what I want to add to my group.
Q: Is there a specific piece of technology you’re hoping to add? Or just going to wait and see what they have?
A: You know, it’s interesting because the way that I do it, it’s kind of like when I go to GAC. I go in with an open mind and say, I only know what I know, so let me find out what all these folks are going to teach me. That’s how I approach all of these. So I’m looking forward to finding out what it is they have now.
Q: You’re going to be up on stage today, and the title of the session is called, From Chaos to Clarity: People First Federal Credit Union’s One Platform. You want to give us a quick overview of what you’re going to be talking about?
A: From chaos to clarity. Well, it was chaos, now it’s clarity, right? Basically, what we’re going to talk about is that we’ve gone for a long ride with Eltropy over the last couple of years, and as they’ve been growing, we’ve been growing. So basically, we started in a really bad state in terms of our contact center, just as a general contact center. And we’ve been adding, as I was just saying, we’ve been adding product and service on top of everything. So right now we’re pretty much running a good percentage of the Eltropy suite. And what we’re going to talk about is how I went from having chaos and not really being very good at member service through the contact center channel to actually acing it. So we’re just going to go along that journey.
Q: Can you give us just a quick shortcut on your journey? What were some of the couple of the issues you guys were experiencing, and how did Eltropy come in and help out?
A: Our average call times were 30–35 minutes, with abandonment rates up to 30%. Today, our average hold time is under 3 minutes, and our abandonment rate is under 4%. Around 60% of our 15,000 monthly calls are fully handled by the Eltropy system in under 2 minutes—no live rep needed. So the main issue that we had was my contact center. We’re having call times of – I’m embarrassed to say it, especially being on film – who were having call times of about 30 to 35 minutes. So with abandonment rates at the end, 25% – 30% people holding on, so that was really the one issue that I started to address. So, right now, four years ago to now, or three years ago to now, we’re now at less than a three-minute hold time, and the abandonment rate is less than 4%. So yeah, so it’s made a huge difference. And then on top of that, all the fun stuff that I was talking about, so with the texting and the AI on top of everything that we’re doing, we’re really able to help the member experience dramatically. So right now, about 60% of the people who dial in to my contact center, and we handle about 15,000 calls a month, are going straight to the Eltropy system, getting serviced within two minutes, and never having to talk to a live rep because they got their needs met. So it’s really been a huge change.
Q: You went from 30 minutes to three minutes – You’re just cutting off the zero there. That’s a phenomenal improvement. I think your members are probably quite over the moon about that reduction in wait time.
A: They are. They’re thrilled. My board is thrilled. Happy board, happy Howie!
Q: What are some plans for the future? This stuff’s only going to get better, and the times are going to get better, the efficiency is going to get better, and the service is going to get better. We’re looking at it from the member perspective. What about your contact center staff perspective as well? Can you share with me their take on this? Because I think they’re probably over the moon as well?
A: On the contact center side, they’re thrilled because people aren’t annoyed and angry when they get them on the phone. With the systems that we have in place now, they know why the member is calling. So all the information is popping up on their screen when they go to take the call. They have a general idea of what it is they’re going to be discussing, what it is they need to do, and it just makes the call go that much easier. Then, the other thing that we have as part of the Eltropy suite is we’re able to take them from the phone to text, to chat, to live video—all without having to hang up. So we’ve been doing, the members have been really happy. The team has been really happy about being able to service one and done without having to go and say, I need to get back to you. All the information is there, and we’re doing well. They can go to any channel and continue the conversation wherever they want.
Q: How has AI helped out, because you can’t take two breaths today without talking about some sort of AI service there? So, share with me how that has helped out in keeping it from going to maybe a contact center representative?
A: AI helps in multiple ways. It analyzes sentiment in texts and calls to identify coaching opportunities and product issues. It also scores all calls and flags ones that need attention. If a call is going south, it notifies the manager who can jump in to de-escalate. It’s like having a smart assistant monitoring everything behind the scenes. AI has helped out in lots of different ways. Right now, we have AI help on the tech side in terms of the sentiment. So it lets us know what the members are actually experiencing based on the AI that takes a look at the conversation and says, This is where you have issues, this is where you need to coach. These are product issues. So we’re able to, from behind the scenes, help members. So yours might not have been as good as you wanted it to be, but based on the learning that the AI is doing, it’s bringing it forward so no one else experiences it the way that you did. So every time that there’s another conversation coming through, the AI is learning and improving it for the member experience. The other thing the AI is doing is that AI scores all of my calls coming into the contact center right now. So it’s listening behind the scenes, and then it’s doing scoring, and a call isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, it’ll red flag and move to the top so that the contact center manager can coach. And if a call is getting escalated, someone’s just not being very nice on the call. It escalates to the manager, also with the AI listening. And the manager’s able to join the call and either de-escalate or, you know, resolve the conflict. So it’s just really cool what the AI does. Big Brother is always watching.
Q: Anything on the horizon you’re looking at doing, or anything on the future steps that you’re looking to learn here as well?
A: Right now, we’re just focused on growing the organization. I mean, digital is huge, data is huge. So I’m really doing a lot of work around our data right now and making it more useful. It actually ties into some of the stuff we’re doing with Eltropy as well. So, we’re getting the data in place, they’re able to use it through the AI and help our members. So it’s really cool stuff going on.
Q: Data is what’s making the world go round today. If your data ain’t good, the AI ain’t good. So that’s what I’ve learned, at least. Anything else to add here before we unleash you onto the show today?
A: I’m good! It’s always a pleasure to chat with you. Thanks for the opportunity, and I’m excited for what’s ahead.
