Tech IT Up A Notch! Educators Credit Union 1326 Willow Road Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 www.ecu.com July 1, 2015
EDUCATORS CREDIT UNION Tech IT Up A Notch! OPENING SUMMARY Creating a culture of creativity and innovation is challenging, but is necessary when trying to keep pace with technology, industry change, and the demands of tech-savvy Members. Educators Credit Union has traditionally adopted the "wait-and-see" strategy, and followed suit when implementing changes in Technology. However, it is not acceptable to have dated online services, and Members expect the credit union to have industry leading solutions, or they will take their business elsewhere. With the implementation of multiple new online and mobile services in 2015, Educators knew that we needed help in delivering these successfully. Tech IT Up a Notch was created as a 2 day, high-energy, innovation event to give staff from around the credit union the opportunity to collaborate, unleash creativity, and generate buzz for our new online and mobile solutions. We wanted to get staff from around the organization involved in the organization s technology roadmap, and give them an open channel for suggesting ideas. Promoting creativity, encouraging collaboration, and rewarding innovation is what Tech IT Up a Notch is all about. The success of our online services is directly correlated to knowledgeable internal staff who are excited about the technology. We feel that developing a formalized channel to promote innovation will propel Educators Credit Union to be leaders in technology, create streamlined and efficient services, enhance communication across the organization, and proactively manage our technology investments to deliver exceptional Member online service.
WHY INNOVATE? Any type of change within an organization is difficult. It s always much easier to just do what has always been done. We decided in order to gather new perspectives, we had to disrupt the organizational model and get input from different areas within Educators Credit Union. Tech IT Up a Notch was a new type of event for ECU and offered an interactive and hands-on experience where we challenged our staff to come up with innovative solutions for our online channel. We created an event to facilitate open discussions with powerful ideas in a relaxed, fun, and playful atmosphere. We encouraged participants to let the ideas flow, and the result was better than what executive leadership ever imagined. It was a launching pad for generating fresh content and ideas with a focus on the following: 1. Solutions delivering high Member impact 2. Creating cost savings for the Credit Union 3. Creating efficiencies for staff Decisions were previously all made at the leadership level. Getting staff involved in this type of event increased engagement and participation across the organization. Getting small teams together to develop and share ideas also let us educate and inform them on the Technology roadmap. It also was a great way to have different peoples from all levels network and socialize which changed attitudes and behaviors about how we operate. EVENT DETAILS The interested staff had to apply to be considered for the event. We asked general questions on the application like what was the last innovative thing you did and what can we do to offer a new innovative products or services to encourage creative thinking. The selected staff started the day with video presentation from our CIO regarding the state of the Online Channel and culture shift we wanted to make. We showcased the new Online Banking and Card Control applications so they could see the direction Educators was headed with regard to Online and Mobile technology. To add a bit of fun, we incorporated technology keyword bingo into the presentations with some small prizes. We then divided the 28 applicants into 7 teams of 4. We made 2
sure there were not people from the same branch or department on the same team in order to encourage collaboration and promote organizational diversity. We had a team building exercise and ice breakers to help bond the teammates before we set them loose. Collaboration stations were set up throughout our office, with each team having a computer, paper, pens and pencils as well as candy and fidget toys to encourage the development of their great ideas. They had 2 days to come up with an idea that would directly impact our Strategic initiatives: Develop and deliver services through a high quality Mobile branch. Improve efficiency, simplify and streamline product offerings Enhance our communications including brand understanding and positioning Be the premier advocate of financial literacy for all Proactively manage our technology investments so we are using technology for the best member service. We gave them the following guidelines to help with the development of their idea: 1. Impact What is the impact on our organization? What problem does your idea address? What opportunities does it create? What is the benefit to our Members? 2. Business Viability Is your idea executable? What barriers might we face? Who is your target audience? 3. Creativity Is your idea original? Is it innovative? Does it improve, solve or create something beneficial for Educators CU? 4. Complete Can you demonstrate your idea today? 3
Can it be accomplished with tools, systems or solutions we currently have? How quickly can we implement it? What is the cost and ROI of your idea? Within the 2 days we had fun events to break up the day and stir the creative juices like raffles, meals, snacks/ beverages (including energy drinks!), even a photo booth with fun, silly props! We even had a local kick boxing company come out in the afternoon for a 15 minute workout to loosen everyone up. We reached out to our preferred vendors as well and they were very generous with the "swag" so we were able to give the participants a "swag bag" with screen cleaners, pens, 5 hour energy shots, T- shirts, etc. By the end of the second day, the teams had to create a Power Point presentation and present their idea to our group of judges (Senior Leadership Team). Each team had 5 minutes to present their idea and then the judges had a quick Q&A session with them. After all the presentations were complete, the judges retired to a meeting room to determine the winners. GOALS In addition to encouraging creativity and innovation, we wanted Tech IT Up a Notch to generate interest in the Technology being used at Educators Credit Union. We wanted staff to feel like the leadership was approachable, and their input was valued. Our new online solutions are flexible in nature, so the next step is to actually implement some of the ideas presented during the event. It also opened the door to strategies that engaged staff in ways that went beyond the event itself, and promoted ideas that solve challenges they face in their own departments. The goal going forward is to make this a reoccurring event where we tackle other technology issues, including core and optical systems as well as operational efficiencies. Some of the participants talk about the event as the highlight of their year. Due to the success of Tech IT Up a Notch, we plan to host an innovative event every year. 4
RESULTS We got 7 great ideas from the 7 different teams. With our new online banking solution, and the ability to leverage the software development kit, we plan on taking a number of these ideas and making them a reality. This not only gives us a competitive edge within the credit union online banking space, but give the participants the satisfaction that they were the ones who contributed to our online success. Over 95% of Participants surveys had a great time and 91% of participants thought the presenters brought energy and rocked out! TESTIMONIALS: We live in a world where old ideas about financial transactions are simply that old ideas. Technology in the early 90 s has made it possible for credit union members to do their banking conveniently from their electronic device from anywhere at any time. As we move forward, the new question revolves around innovation. What does innovation look like now that technology has already delivered the virtual branch more than 25 years ago? How do we leverage technology even further? We created Tech IT Up a Notch as a platform to ask our coworkers these questions. They were born and grew up in the middle of all these incredible social changes. They are the ones who will give us the insight to kindle the idea of not for profit, not for charity, but for service from a modern technological perspective. Eugene Szymczak, President / CEO Having been to many corporate sponsored events I was thinking to myself that this would be another event that would be good at best. Was I wrong. Tech it Up a Notch was one of the most inspiring corporate events I have ever been to. The enthusiasm of the employees attending was amazing. At the end of two days I felt that Educators had just been through a Technology Renaissance. Being a Baby Boomer and a Technology Immigrant I really appreciated what this event did for Educators and how it provided some real Business Solutions to our challenges of enhancing our members experience using technology. I am looking forward to our next Tech it Up and hope to join the ranks of the Technology pioneers - Peter Stein, Chief Human Resources Officer Tech It Up not only came up with great ideas from the groups, but the side benefits were noteworthy. It was an opportunity for employees from various departments and branches to mix and share their expertise and experiences with their group. Each member of the group now has a better understanding of the responsibilities of a variety of positions within the Credit Union. I had the opportunity to view the final presentations. I was glad I didn t have to serve as a judge as each 5
group had a great idea to either streamline some of our services or an innovation that had not been thought of prior to the event. It was a win-win opportunity for ECU. Mary Lueneburg, Chairman of the Board The event was awesome!!! The energy and ideas were great. It would be great to have sessions such as tech it up a notch for different aspects of the credit union such as the core system. Overall it was a great experience. - Participant I think that we crammed A LOT into a short time, but that's why it works. Too much time would create boredom. It's a great way to interact with co-workers and create unity across the credit union. It was fun, informative and a great way to get everyone more involved. All the ideas were great and I feel that many of them will be implemented in some way in the future. Participant Thank you for your consideration! Michael J. Mikkelson Chief Information Officer Educators Credit Union 1326 Willow Road Mount Pleasant, WI 53177 mikem@ecu.com 262.321.7909 6