Spero Financial Credit Union ($710.5M, Greenville, SC) began replacing its traditional ATMs with interactive teller machines in August 2021. Today, the use of ITMs in branches and drive-thru lanes has enabled the credit union to reassign staff resources to roles focused more on member relationships and growth objectives through advisory services. Its approach makes ITM technology a key component of its member service and experience model.
With A Little Help From Friends
Spero did not take lightly the decision to move to ITMs. To determine whether introducing the machines into the branch and drive-thu experience would change its members’ perceptions of its quality of service, the credit union sought the advice of nearby Coastal Federal Credit Union ($4.7B, Raleigh, NC), a shop with extensive ITM experience.
Based on that collaboration, Spero concluded ITMs were within its financial investment capability as well as a good fit for its overall member service model. The collaboration with Coastal also gave Spero the outline of a strategic plan for implementing the ITM technology at its branch and drive-thru member touchpoints.
The Journey Begins
Spero partnered with an ITM provider that offered connectivity software for the cooperative’s core processing system as well as several other third-party systems that housed other accounts for its members.
Spero’s selected provider also offers live video. When a member taps the video screen, a live agent greets them and offers assistance. That human intervention available upon request for struggling members is key.
“For the member experience at the ITM, there’s always a live teller on the other end,” says Jessica Baker, chief operations officer at Spero. “It’s much more than just an interaction with a machine.”
Spero installed its first ITM at its headquarters in August 2021, giving staff members and management the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the ITM’s utility and functionality. It also provided a valuable proving and training ground ahead of the wider ITM deployments that would follow.
CU QUICK FACTS
SPERO FINANCIAL FCU
DATA AS OF 03.31.23
HQ: Greenville, SC
ASSETS: $710.5M
MEMBERS: 50,719
BRANCHES: 10
EMPLOYEES: 165
NET WORTH: 8.7%
ROA: -0.19%
“We rolled out the ITMs after our branch locations had returned to full-service operations following the early months of the COVID pandemic,” says Toni Davisson, chief financial officer at Spero. “It would have been a wonderful service to offer during the peak pandemic months.”
Spero’s primary goal was to move routine transactions out of the branch lobby and enable staff to fulfill more advisory services such as mortgage and auto lending.
“Implementing ITMs was not only cost efficient but also a huge time saver for our members,” Baker says. The COO estimates the ITMs — which the credit union markets as TellerLink — perform roughly 90% of members’ typical transaction requests.
Yellow Jackets Swarm
For members who initially needed more hands-on help, a trained team of TellerLink member service representatives wearing yellow vests stood ready to help at the branches and drive-thrus.
“Our member relations team was engaged in each ITM deployment,” Baker says. “They wore bright yellow vests. For the drive-thru lanes, we supplied snacks and kept them well-hydrated.”
According to Baker, the ITM implementation involved all areas of the credit union. Facilities prepared the sites and ran the power and data lines; ITM support operations coordinated the machine installation and cash delivery process; IT updated and configured the machines’ software; branch operations informed the members of the changes; and marketing developed signage and promotion for the new service across all communications channels.
“Our initial goal was to have at least one ITM in every branch location,” Davisson says. “Next was to convert our branch drive-thrus to be supported solely by ITMs. As we were converting the drive-thrus, we made sure an interior ITM was available at branches to demonstrate the service.”
Spero deployed the yellow vest teams for the first few weeks of each new deployment.
“The timing of the rollout came on the heels of the pandemic when many of our member-facing teammates were fatigued,” Davisson says. “They welcomed the opportunity to serve members virtually from our main office, which does not provide in-person branch services.”
Resistance To Change
Spero anticipated some members would be hesitant to embrace this new way to interact with the credit union, so it made sure to include a human element in the rollout.
“Our teams took a concierge approach to showing members how to use the new technology,” Baker says. “After they used the machine once or twice, they realized it wasn’t a machine but a person on the other end ready to serve them in half the time. We credit our friends at Coastal Federal for sharing their time and knowledge in setting up this new program with us.”
Spero also took a phased rollout approach to better acclimate members to the ITMs and accelerate adoption. And during the whole process, branch operations and member service teams have been instrumental in answering members’ questions and easing their concerns.
Belief, Persistence, And Passion
Many credit unions have voiced skepticism about the ability of ITMs to provide a truly exceptional member service experience. But Leigh Wright, senior vice president of member services at Spero, says Spero’s vision for ITMs is about having the right people in the right places to serve members.
“We see the benefits of pushing routine transactional services out of the branch and empowering our front-line service representatives to become more advisory in their roles,” Wright says. “I feel the strategy has come to fruition. Our front-line teams truly believe in the strategy, vision, and benefits it has provided them, such as shortened lobby hours on Fridays, not having to tend to a drive-thru window in their location, and becoming certified as member service associates (MSAs) to truly deepen the relationships of the members they serve. The result is we have promoted almost all of our tellers to a TellerLink representative or to an MSA position.”
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