HOOVER, Ala.-Four years into its switch kit and Alabama Telco still holds the same opinion about what makes the tool work-handling as much of the process as possible for the member.
"There is no way around that, in our opinion," said Martin Hartline, regional branch operations manager. "Members have a lot on their plate and that is not changing, and is likely getting worse. If you are not there to complete much of the work for them, track the progress and keep members updated, many will slip through the cracks."
Worse, offered Hartline, if people don't understand they will receive that assistance they may not even follow through with the first step. The initial move is to receive a packet in-branch from a member service rep or to go to the $570-million credit union's Web site and download forms for account opening, direct deposit, funds transfer authorization, automatic payment change and account closure.
"We try to keep it as simple as possible," said Hartline. "Members fill out their name and address and we help them fill out much of the rest, and even mail forms out, such as to places to start the process of getting payments redirected."
Members who move over their checking account become targets for cross-sales, but Hartline pointed out that the switch kit is a cross-sales tool. "We train our front-line team to profile members and find those who do not have our checking account. The kit works when your tellers really promote it."
