St. Petersburg, Florida – (April 30, 2012) – Presentations from leading authors, financial services providers and entrepreneurs at PSCU’s 2012 Senior Leadership Workshop & Member Forum in San Diego last week showcased innovative ideas for new technologies and products that position credit unions for impressive growth in the coming year. This annual meeting is the largest in the CUSO’s history—with 650 attendees.
“These are epic times for our industry, and we have responded by transforming our culture, vision and service delivery model so we can better serve our member credit unions and ultimately their members,” said PSCU President and CEO Michael Kelly. “Our Member-Owners realize the future success of their credit union requires both careful navigation and making bold entries into new markets. Record-setting attendance at this event shows their desire to use dramatic changes in the marketplace as a catalyst for success.”
Kelly discussed PSCU’s new master strategy called MōPRO (Member Owner Payments Revenue Optimization) that delivers agile operating systems and innovative payments solutions to equip PSCU’s credit union members to increase member engagement and acquisition while boosting revenue. He added that PSCU’s focus on innovation includes a state-of-the-art Innovation Lab designed to collaborate with credit unions to bring dynamic new solutions to the market quickly. “Within 90 days of opening the lab, three innovative solutions were born,” he notes.
The first, PSCU’s Credit Union Service Availability Portal (CUSAP), shows a real-time look at all the CUSO’s products and services and is now available from the iTunes store for use on mobile or desktop devices. PSCU is also finalizing development of a Portfolio Performance Benchmarking App that will allow credit unions to compare their results with their peers and the company’s first mobile wallet solution: PSCU’s Mobile Container. The new mobile container is a robust infrastructure that provides one-stop shopping for credit unions to select product and service modules.
Keynote 2012 Member Forum presentations included:
As an astronaut and U.S. Navy pilot, Captain Mike Kelly has learned a lot about decision-making in critical situations. He discussed the dynamic in which a group of people will agree to a decision that no individual actually thinks is the best choice. When meeting with his wife Gabby’s surgeons, he made a point of individually asking each physician if they felt the recommended procedure would produce the best outcome – in order from the lowest-ranking resident to the highest-ranking surgeon. As Commander of Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight, he said he needed a team comprised of people who pay attention to details, were willing to question his decisions, could anticipate negative outcomes and proactively create solutions and risk-takers who were driven to make the mission a success.
“The Time to Invest in the Future is Now!” - Jim Carroll, Futurist, Author and Innovation & Trends Expert
Jim Carroll views 2012 as an important opportunity for credit unions that are willing to embrace innovation and adapt to rapid changes in consumer behavior. He notes that the nation is poised for a huge shift in monetary power as $12-$18 trillion dollars is passed from one generation to the next. Credit unions need to reach out to Gen Y by offering services that meet their needs and by earning their loyalty early. He showcased an example of a Florida credit union that opened a branch in a local high school. Other credit unions are engaging in web-based Gen Y financial literacy programs. He urged credit unions to move quickly to seize the opportunity to expand market share by attracting disenfranchised banking customers.
“The 4 Disciplines of Execution” – Chris McChesney, Global Practice Leader of Execution, FranklinCovey
Chris McChesney urged credit unions to create teams that are committed to coming up with new ways of doing business. He said implementing change is extremely difficult because “employees are focused on the urgency of daily tasks.” According to McChesney, teams charged with developing innovative new products and service models must follow four disciplines to be successful: 1) Select 2-3 projects that have the best chance of success and set an specific objective and deadline 2) Then select one project and focus on bringing it to fruition 3) Keep a scoreboard that displays measures so the team knows if it’s making progress and 4) Create accountability by requiring team members to report on last week’s action items and make a commitment for actions for the coming week.
“Leaving the Cul-de-Sac for the Autobahn” – Denise Gabel, Chief Finance & Strategy Officer, Filene Research Institute
Denise Gabel took a novel approach to encouraging credit unions to embrace change and adopt bold new ways of doing business. She brought Canadian singer Bernard LaChance, who described his journey from his life as an unknown, cash-strapped singer with a dream to being a guest on the Oprah Winfrey show. Since he had no agent or recording contract, he created an ingenious business plan. He would book a theater and stand in front of it for weeks selling tickets to those who passed by. He had a headset to let people listen to him singing, accepted only cash and printed a seating chart on his T-shirt so ticketholders could cross off their seats with a marker. But he wanted to become nationally known, so he went a step further. He booked the Chicago Theater and posted a YouTube video of him standing in front of the theater selling tickets and invited Oprah and her best friend Gayle King to be his special guests and pointed to the front row seats on his chest that were reserved for them. His audacious plan worked. Gayle came to the theater and invited him to attend the Oprah Winfrey Show, which launched his successful singing career. The takeaway: improbable and even impossible dreams can be achieved!
“Growth Opportunities Through Payments” – Oliver Jenkyn, Visa’s Group Executive, North America
While it’s not a sexy strategy, Oliver Jenkyn urged credit unions to focus on converting members who spend cash to use a debit or credit card. Surveys have shown that cash users also use debit or credit cards, but typically for transactions over $15 dollars. Incenting these members to use their cards for smaller transactions can greatly boost interchange revenue since cash transactions account for an amazing $7 trillion of U.S. spending. He also noted that the credit card market is growing faster than expected and encouraged credit unions to build profits by actively promoting and incenting members to use their cards.
Growth Through Innovation: Building Steady, Fast and Profitable Growth” – Michael Treacy, Best-Selling Author of “Double-Digit Growth” and Management Consultant
Michael Treacy notes that the easiest way to drive growth is to focus energy on proven strategies that increase member retention and successfully cross sell more services to existing members. He urged credit unions to discover what services or capabilities their members value and then expand and enhance those products and services. He cited Southwest Airlines, which has achieved unprecedented success by giving flyers what they most value: convenient flights at a low cost. He closed by emphasizing that growth is a discipline that requires prioritizing the best 2-3 ideas and rolling those out quickly to achieve maximum results.
Member Credit Unions Led Interactive Breakout Sessions
Interactive breakout sessions led by credit union executives and PSCU managers described successful strategies and programs to boost membership, increase cross selling and other tactics that drive revenue gains and member loyalty. These sessions discussed: elements of a successful virtual branch strategy; enhanced member card activation/usage driven by merchant-funded and CURewards platforms; PSCU’s new AccessPoint system (currently in testing) that enables easy customization of the member portal for credit cards; technology and market for an EMV card; PSCU’s mobile banking platform and mobile container (currently in development), and use of Net Promoter scores and member surveys to measure service levels and boost member satisfaction.
Senior Leadership Sessions Offer Workshop Environment
The Forum’s interactive Senior Leadership sessions included: Nanovate: How to Lead Innovation in an Era of Uncertainty” with Drs. Kevin and Jackie Freiberg, authors of “Nanovation” and Michael Treacy, Best-Selling Author of “Double-Digit Growth” and Management Consultant.
The annual Member Forum was designed not just to inform but also to mentally and physically energize attendees. This meeting offered sunrise workouts and a women’s senior leadership breakfast, in addition to evening entertainment that included an acrobatic, drum-playing ensemble and an evening at the famed San Diego Zoo.
About PSCU
Established in 1977, PSCU (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is the nation's leading credit union service organization (CUSO) and serves more than 1,500 financial institutions nationwide. As a non-profit cooperative, the company is owned by more than 680 member credit unions representing 16 million credit, debit, prepaid, online bill payment, mobile and electronic banking accounts. Comprehensive 24/7/365 member support is delivered through four Contact Centers located throughout the United States that handle more than 18 million inquiries a year.
PSCU’s MōPRO initiative marries emerging technologies with proven strategies and empowers the CUSO to lead the industry in developing innovative payments solutions. This new culture of engagement, agility and energy can enhance both revenue and market share for member-owner credit unions. For more information, visit the PSCU website at www.pscu.com.