Boosting Operational Efficiency in Credit Unions Amid Rising Expenses 

An 8-Step Checklist to Help Credit Unions Manage Costs and Enhance Customer Communications Management (CCM) 

Operational inefficiencies and rising costs have begun to impact credit unions—big time.  

According to Callahan & Associates’ analysis of 2024’s first-quarter data from the National Credit Union Administration, operating expenses at credit unions have risen steadily by 6.0% year-over-year. While down from 11.5% in 2023, this still marks a significant increase.  

Operating expense ratios at credit unions over the last few years have also grown and now account for 2.95% of assets. The return on assets (ROA) fell from 1.04% in March 2021 to 0.66% in the first quarter of 2024.  

The numbers reflect the impact of inflation (and you can dig into them more if you choose), but they will tell you that the credit union industry, spends a whopping 73.2 cents per dollar on average. 

What are credit unions to do? Is it even possible to improve ROA while addressing rising costs? 

Here’s where you start: by boosting your operational efficiency.  

Credit unions must address their operational inefficiencies to fight against rising expenses. To help, we’ve put together an 8-step checklist you can use to identify areas to streamline processes using customer communication management (CCM) for easy ways to reduce costs.  

Checklist Item #1: Do You Automate Routine Communications?  

What to do: Integrate with a CCM platform that can automate all repetitive communications your credit union must manage.  

According to the Havard Business Review, automation drives business growth and efficiency. It gives 80% of employees more time to focus on relationships with customers and other stakeholders and tackle new projects. Almost 90% of employees also said they felt more satisfied with their jobs because of automated technology.  

We can apply this to credit union communications where you have pieces of content, like bills, statements, and more, that you must regularly send to your members.  

Implementing a CCM solution that automates communications decreases manual work, errors, and the late delivery of crucial communication pieces. And automating member communications reduces the employees’ and the organization’s workload, resulting in huge operational cost savings.  

Checklist Item #2: Do You Leverage Member Servicing and Onboarding? 

What to do: Use a CCM solution that creates automated workflows to seamlessly onboard new members. For example, depending on your needs and requirements these workflows can effectively guide new members through registration, including how to set up an account, while offering relevant products.  

Onboarding and member servicing are crucial touchpoints between you and your members. How you handle these touchpoints truly matters because they mark the first time members interact with and receive support from your organization.  

It’s in your organization’s best interest to leverage member servicing and onboarding with automated processes because they reduce errors and questions to support. Automated processes also reduce the time and effort of employees overseeing 100% of the workflow.  

The best part? Using automation to create a seamless onboarding process frees employees to focus on other business areas, like acquisition and retention.  

Checklist Item #3: How Do You Invest in and Implement Omnichannel Communication Tools? 

What to do: Implementing omnichannel communication tools is a complex project that impacts your entire business. No one expects your organization to run it alone. Invest in a CCM solution partner who understands your needs and can guide you through the process from start to finish.  

If you want to compete in today’s competitive business landscape, an omnichannel approach to communications is an organizational ‘must-have.’ Members desire a personalized experience, one where they receive their communications in the channel of their choice, from wherever they are, whenever they want. 

So, what does your current solution look like? Do you use legacy systems with data silos that prevent your business teams from receiving a full, complete view of the member? If the answer is ‘yes,’ you’ll want to focus on a solution that offers your members a truly omnichannel experience.  

The right CCM solution is complex. But the right option will provide the help you need to integrate legacy systems, data, and even business silos for improved efficiency that also offers members a truly omnichannel experience.  

Checklist Item #4: Does Your Current Solution Incorporate Print to Digital Communications? 

What to do: Despite the recent push for digital adoption, many members still prefer to receive print communications. Using a solution that delivers both helps retain and engage members and fulfill regulatory requirements.  

For many years print was one of the only ways credit unions could deliver timely communications to members. Of course, today, communication delivery methods have become increasingly digital. Members want to receive digital notifications, emails, SMS messages, and have access to an online portal for a complete view of their statements and other personalized details.  

Offering members services and products incorporating print to digital communications ensures you reach all members, even those living in areas with limited digital access. The key here is to use a CCM solution that decreases postage costs and manual processes while giving members the more cost-effective digital options they want.  

Checklist Item #5: Do You Ensure Regulatory Compliance with Automated Documentation?  

What to do: It’s absolutely possible to remain compliant while improving efficiency. Use a CCM solution that manages and automates the generation, storage, and delivery of crucial regulatory and legal documents.  

Your customer communication management strategy must consider legal and compliance-related documents. Automating your regulatory documentation lowers costs by reducing errors and associated fines or penalties to your business while ensuring members never miss receiving these crucial communication pieces.  

Checklist Item #6: What Are Your Current Self-Service Capabilities? 

What to do: For simple transactions like changing a phone number, retrieving a statement, or checking the status of a loan, use a CCM platform to streamline these processes and reduce the pressure on member support teams.  

Empowering members through self-service options reduces calls to support teams for queries the member can easily handle. As a result, the cost of running a more efficient team goes down because there is less reliance on phone-based or in-person support.  

Checklist Item #7: Do You Leverage Integrated Analytics for Proactive Communications? 

What to do: Members often don’t know about the products or services their credit union offers. The key to keeping members engaged lies in acquiring a member and using communications at the right time to expand your reach.  

When it comes to effective CCM, you’ll want to integrate your analytics to help support the accurate and timely delivery of proactive communications to the right members at just the right moment. For example, you might want to send communications regarding member feedback, provide information about service maintenance, and project updates, or even celebrate good news.  

Integrating member analytics like product or service usage, recent transactions, or how long they use a feature, into your workflows and processes gives you the power to identify areas of proactive communication. You can then send members the information they need before they even know they need it, which is a terrific way to improve efficiency and decrease reliance on support, despite rising costs.  

Checklist Item #8: How Can You Put More Focus on Member Retention and Acquisition? 

What to do: By focusing on areas where you can generate efficiency it’s possible to turn your attention to the things that matter most, like member retention and acquisition. 

Gaining new members is vital to business. The good news is that members are signing up in droves. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) 2022 annual report showed that U.S. credit unions saw a 4.4% growth in new members from 2021 to 2022. And year-over-year, the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) 2020 statistical report showed an extraordinary 29% global growth in credit union membership.  

However, credit unions must remember that while the focus tends to be on acquisition, it’s equally (if not more) essential to put an efficient acquisition plan or strategy in place that makes current members feel valued over the long term. The truth is that it costs the average credit union $300 – $700 to onboard new members. Maintaining the relationship with existing members with things like customer communication management ensures you receive a return on your investment.  

Boost Operational Efficiencies and Watch Out for Long-Term Customer Communication Management Success 

This 8-step checklist shows just how crucial the right customer communication management (CCM) solution is to your organization. While investing in a CCM solution is an upfront cost, the long-term gains will help fight against rising costs because of streamlined workflows, automated repetitive processes, member engagement, and leveraged technology, all of which help to boost operational efficiency.