TUSCON, Ariz. — Undertaking new technology initiatives often comes with a few bumps in the road, which is why successful solution launches are all the more sweeter. For Hughes Federal Credit Union, a recent overhaul of its online banking platform was just that-a sweet success.
In this recurring feature, Credit Union Journal visits with IT professionals-the often unsung CU heroes-to better understand how organizational goals are executed. This month, Hughes FCU's Vice President of Information Technology Rick Griesser provides an inside view of operations.
"Trying to keep pace with the changes in technology is always a struggle," said Griesser. "Additionally, ensuring interoperability between all the different systems and applications we take advantage of to service our members is a constant battle."
With $750 million in assets, 185 employees, 78,800 members and six branches, keeping pace with technical updates, while not overextending its reach, is a fine balance Hughes FCU shares with countless other credit unions.
For example, Hughes FCU's online banking system was successfully converted in July. This process included streamlining its online banking, bill pay, mobile banking, mobile apps and person-to-person payments. And if this wasn't a big enough undertaking, Griesser explained that the IT department also rewrote and converted to a new host for its website.
The revamping process wasn't without its hurdles, but the results are encouraging. "Since the conversion we have increased our online banking users by over 18% and bill pay users have grown by 21%," said Griesser. "We have experienced a rapid adoption of our mobile application platform in the first two months with over 2,600 downloads."
The IT Practice
With a 20-year tenure in the credit union industry, Griesser's first position was as an auditor for credit unions. This led to accepting a position as a Chief Financial Officer for a credit union where the IT department reported directly to him. Years later, in 2000, he became a credit union consultant focused on information security. The following year he joined Clifton Gunderson LLP and helped build a formidable IT security consulting practice.
"Our IT security teams worked with credit unions of all sizes and from coast-to-coast performing security assessments, vulnerability assessments, pen tests, SE tests, among others," said Griesser. "Staying in the credit union field is how I found my current position with Hughes. I have been here a little over two years now."
In order to keep abreast of the ever-changing landscape of banking technologies, Griesser takes continuing education courses online and attends industry conferences.
"Joining the CUNA Council was one of the first things I did when I started here at Hughes, knowing that there was going to be much for me to catch up on," said Griesser. "I also make sure to attend our core provider's education conference in addition to their annual forum."
As a former C-level executive, Griesser understands the importance of communication, especially for IT departments, which sometimes have the stigma of being closed off or disconnected. He said that this generalized interpretation has changed in recent years.
