FAIRHAVEN. Mass.-Debra Tower is a proponent of members having a consistent experience when they visit their credit unions, which is why she believes a credit union must pay a great deal of attention to branch design.
Tower, who heads the branch network of Southern Mass Credit Union and often does the work of a branch manager herself, says the credit union wants members to have similar, if not the same, experiences at whichever SMCU branch they visit. Much of that has to do with surroundings, Tower believes.
"We have designed our branches in New Bedford and Fairhaven, where I work, to look the same. The member walks into the branch they don't use all the time and has the same feeling, like they are stepping into an extension of their familiar office that they began their relationship at," said Tower, who explained the design of the teller lines, the lobby, and the lighting are key aspects of the branch design strategy.
The $200-million CU has a third branch that is located in the basement of a local high school.
Tower said the credit union believes the bricks-and-mortar sales approach gives members a greater feeling of confidence in the credit union, and therefore deepens relationships.
"We think it reiterates our commitment to members. We may be growing, but we are not changing. It's a warm feeling we have in our branch design. People know we will take care of them, they often call it 'my credit union.' They get a comfortable feeling that has them seeing credit union as their second home. They talk more about their personal lives, which allows us to gain insights and help them even better."
Aside from the surroundings, Tower reminded that the attitude of the staff and the level of service do just as much to align members more closely with the credit union. Southern Mass also rotates staff between the two offices so members often see the same faces no matter which location they use.
The Role of Training
Staff training plays a role, as well.
"They are schooled to listen to our members and many of them have been with the credit union for a long time," Tower said. "The luxury of having tenured employees is they tend not to have cookie-cutter conversations with members, and have deeper discussions."
In running a branch Tower feels a common mistake managers make is trying to do too much.
"Don't try to do too much yourself. You have people to help you. Do too much and you will get burned out. Sometimes it's nice just to get out of the branch during the day, get out into the community, and promote business for the credit union. You need a little downtime."
