"Engagement" gets more discussion at credit union meetings than a gathering of Kay Jewelers store managers. It's become the buzzword du jour for what was previously known as "loyalty" and/or "multi-product members," the latter being an old-fashioned term for what, in my opinion, it's really all about.
Too many CUs have gotten caught up in Facebook "likes" or how many Twitter followers they have despite a scarcity of empirical data that followers are any more likely to do more business with the CU or that they are really any more "engaged."
But one person recently observed that before you go all Beyonce about putting a ring on members' fingers, you should begin with your own staff. Ryan Estis, who heads his own Minneapolis-based consulting firm and gives his title as chief experience officer, told the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council that research has found 60% of employees today describe themselves as "under-engaged," which means "a lot of human potential is being left on the table."
A Little Admission
"Sixty-seven percent of you are having difficulty driving engagement inside your organizations," said Estis. "And only 39% of employees have trust and confidence in their senior management."
I'm sure it's not true at your credit union, but here's a little admission about my own CU: front-line staff is clearly not engaged. Oh, they're friendly enough, but I've never had an interaction with anyone who seemed passionate about the place. When I joined no one ever asked, "Do you know what a credit union is? Do you know what makes us different? Do you know you're a member?" And over the eight years I've belonged, no one ever has.
Estis said part of his message to those charged with marketing and developing business for credit unions was that in order to be "rock star good" in internal engagement, you should follow three best practices:
1. Collaboration and be inclusive.
"You must build high-trust relationships. Be clear about what people can expect from you. Ask good questions. Listen. Seek first to understand, then be understood." While Estis was referring to work relationships, that advice could easily be applied to dealing with members.
"To be a good collaborator you have to master the art of active listening," said Estis, before conceding, "I used to do the worst thing you can do to someone, interrupt people and finish their sentences. We are missing opportunities to communicate in ways that make a meaningful connection."
2. Default to "open" and think big. "Take risks and embrace technology. You have to encourage continuous learning and share best practices, and you have to ask, 'Are we a little bit better today?'"
3. Be a culture champion. Employees, he said, want to know they are making a "meaningful contribution." But to get those contributions, he recommended CUs ask themselves "Why are we here?," and then make sure employees know the why first.
"Just about every organization has values," Estis said. "The challenge is to get them off the wall and into the hearts and minds of the people who work there. When core values are understood employees are 26 times more likely to be more fully engaged."
I've been attending marketing conferences since the days when getting a message inside workers' pay envelopes was considered a core strategy, and have watched as the marketing world has evolved to social media and micro-targeting. The constant in all that has been marketers struggling with "telling the credit union story," and the recent CUNA Marketing/BD Council event was no different.
"From a marketing perspective, it's not just about how you are telling your story, it's about how others are helping to tell your story," said Estis. "It builds trust, and trust is such a big part of the work you do in CUs."
What was known in the "stuff the pay envelope" days as "word of mouth" has been spruced up by Estis, who calls it the "circle of trust" (although I believe Robert DeNiro's character in "Meet the Fockers" may have dibs on the concept).
"Trustworthy people do what they say they are going to do, when they say they are going to do it, all the time," said Estis. "Every member who walks through the door has expectations about their experience. When those are met consistently, that's what drives trust, engagement and evangelism."
The Daily Reminder
Ninety percent of those who have had a great experience are willing to make referrals, but just "11% of sales organizations ask," Estis said. Of course, one big challenge there is most CUs don't see themselves as "sales organizations."
Seeking to practice what he preaches, Estis said he changed his title to chief creative officer as a "daily reminder we better be in the business of being obsessed with the experience, as that is our only compelling differentiation. And everyone here better be obsessed with being chief experience officers.
But what's the payoff? According to Estis, it's this: "When you help people to get where they want to go, they will help you to get where you want to go."
Frank J. Diekmann can be reached at
