DOVER, Del.—Dover FCU wanted to increase loan growth and improve front-line member engagement.
So the $421 million CU hired Celeste Cook of cuStrategies to devise an effective credit score analysis (CSA) program to kick-start the credit union's waning lending operations.
In just the first six months of this year, Dover generated $61.5 million in loan volume, matching its total loan volume total for 2014, according to VP-Member Services Chaz Rzewnicki. "We had our two biggest months in the history of our credit union with June closing at $17 million and July at $13 million, resulting in a total of $74 million with five months of opportunity still remaining in 2015," Rzewnicki said. (By the end of October, that figure climbed to $105 million.)
The "vast majority" of these new loans were auto, giving the CU an opportunity to aggressively promote its mortgage lending next year. "Dover is not very deep into mortgage lending," Rzewnicki explained. "Next year that will change, but as we firm up our infrastructure this year the designated focus was on auto loans. Moreover, after reviewing our portfolio and strategic plan, our executive team, in tandem with recommendations from Celeste [Cook], agreed that auto loans should be our area of concentration. It was an area we could quickly ramp up and we did exactly that. Going forward we will start to diversify more and target the mortgage/home equity market."
Recipe for success
Cook's guidelines for the CU included the following best practices:
- In-depth training for front-line staff on CSAs, with Cook explaining how the CU could partner with members and raise their credit scores. Members able to access multiple refinances and new loans, resulting in lower monthly payments.
- Tellers received "sales scripts" to engage members in conversation to increase business with customers. Tellers also advised on how to overcome objections.
- Managers coached on how to "engage" with employees better through effective coaching techniques and strategies.
"Dover FCU wanted to increase loan growth and profitability, and they knew it would take employee engagement to achieve the growth they desired," Cook said. "The strategic planning session, the management team felt cuStrategies' programs would help them achieve these objectives."
