We come by our name honestly. Innovation is a reflection of the progressive mindset of our membership, people who have long embraced banking technology to simplify their lives. Their openness to innovation stimulates our evolution as a financial services provider. It’s our job as their credit union to continually push ourselves to live up to our name.
As we start a new decade, I’d like us to broaden the conversation about what digital technology can do to further improve the member experience at Innovation. To do this, we’ll be connecting with members and staff across the province throughout the year. We’re calling it our Digital 2020 Initiative. Working with our leadership team, we’ll be initiating a series of conversations about:
- the ways that digital investment, which is not limited to online and mobile, improves all of our channels (advice centres, online, mobile, call centre, etc.),
- which digital technologies can support our members in achieving their financial goals, and
- how to empower our staff with digital tools that will improve the member experience by reducing friction.
These conversations will give us direct insight into how we can digitize to further refine our responsive services and continue reducing friction in the member experience. They will guide us on how to create efficiencies that will give our staff more time to connect with members and, last but not least, result in benefits that will help us build into the future.
The truth is, we can’t opt out of digital transformation. It is literally changing our world. It’s also impacting our members, who have been conditioned by technology to expect amazing service in every channel. It’s up to us to provide equally amazing experiences for them both online and in person. The way I see it, the best way to achieve this is by asking, identifying their needs and staying ahead of the curve in terms of how we will meet them.
I believe that our Digital 2020 Initiative will help put our finger on the pulse of what our members and staff need. It will also illuminate our ‘move forward’ digitization strategy so that our evolution as a credit union is always aligned with those needs. This is an incredibly exciting time for Innovation. Not only am I looking forward to the conversations I’ll be having this year, I also have a burning optimism for our future.