Observation versus Automation: How One Credit Union Built Better Lobby Management

Kevin Jepson
November 30, 2009 | COMMENTS

What employees do—and how long it takes them to do it—is much clearer, thanks to two technologies Community Credit Union of Florida (CCU) here recently built in Rockledge: a "new and improved" version of a lobby management system and a homegrown virtual "Job Jar."

"We have to be more efficient in this economy by making sure we optimize our human resources," explained Laurie Cappelli, senior vice president at the $338-million credit union.

CCU re-imagined an existing lobby management system provided by Passageways, the West Lafayette, Indiana-based portal solutions provider. Working with Passageways, the CCU added a card reader and a touch-screen to the system. Members visiting the lobby swipe any credit or debit card, and the system automatically captures the member's name and log-in time.

The log-in information appears on the touch-screen, where members use a menu to register the reason for their visit; no receptionist is needed. The data is transferred to a queue on the employee portal and displayed on the monitors of member service representatives and branch managers. The MSR logs the member out of the management system once the transaction is complete. "Previously, the member signed-in on a piece of paper, and it was up to the manager to keep traffic flowing smoothly," Cappelli said. "Our only system was the power of observation."

Now CCU can track the member log-in time at the lobby, the purpose of the visit, member wait-time, and how long the MSR spent with the member. "We have more granular data with which to understand the member experience," said Hank Phillips, vice president of technology. "The system alerts the manager if somebody has been waiting past the acceptable wait time," Cappelli noted. "We can see how long it takes certain tasks to be completed. We know if some staff members take longer to complete a task and might need additional training."

Passageways Lobby Management includes three modules: the Services Island, allowing a credit union to select services to track; Lobby Reports, delivering analysis of branch, staff and service data and real-time status reports; and My Reports, allowing staff members to gauge their own performance. The platform allows CCU to juggle resources to make sure the lobby is staffed efficiently-and will be even more valuable when integrated with the credit union's virtual Job Jar, an electronic log of employee tasks and responsibilities, she said.

CCU's 93 employees log their daily tasks in the Job Jar, which the credit union built in Microsoft Access. Unassigned tasks are logged and assigned as time allows. "There are ancillary tasks that aren't being completed because of the lack of resources, but now we can track where the appropriate employee skill-sets are to complete those tasks," said Cappelli.

By using the data from the Job Jar and the lobby management system, along with a cross-training program, CCU hopes to increase employee engagement to 80%—the current average is about 55%, said Cappelli. Staffing will be honed when the credit union is able to integrate its call management system with the lobby management system, said Cappelli. "I'll be able to see who's not busy taking calls and shift them over to the lobby if needed. Our staff has decreased through attrition, and now we're broadening each employee's skill set and restructuring our processes to meet member needs."

The enhanced Lobby Management system, which is available to all Passageways clients, took a couple months to develop, at a cost of about $10,000, Phillips said. Touch screen, card reader, and computer hardware ran about $12,000 to install across CCU's seven branches.

This article appeared at www.cujournal.com and is reprinted with permission.