4 minutes
The financial services industry is realizing that brand is more important than commodities in initiating, building and maintaining relationships. Most banks and credit unions offer very similar products and services. Today it is how we deliver those products and services that makes us unique.
This concept of spaces that work exceedingly well has a history that goes back 6,000 years ago to the establishment of the principles of feng shui (a Chinese system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment). Even today, spaces affect not just what we do (and what we can do), but how we feel.
Think about the places you go in your daily life. Are there spaces you enter and feel good about the experience while you’re there and after you leave?
If designing high performance space is about creating both high function and strong positive feelings, why is “vibe” often overlooked in the creative process? I am talking about driving specific positive responses rather than decorating a space to gets wows for aesthetics alone.
Today historic design principles (such as those embodied by feng shui) are being augmented with the “ontology of design.” Otology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality. Understanding how a space is going to cause us to act and feel is significantly more important than just providing an efficient and organized box. This is where smart and dumb space comes into play.
If a space is designed simply for efficiency and a wow-generating first impression, it is dumb space that will deliver—at best—modest improvements in performance. Here’s an example of dumb space: “Let’s replace all the tellers with video teller stations and create a new branded look.”
This focus on efficiency alone has proven to save money without any improvement in productivity or joy on the part of members or staff. If video tellers are combined with a powerful experience for members and staff, the equation changes. Video tellers, teller pods or tellers are not bad; it is the experience you create with them that differentiates you in the mind of your members and staff and drives a productive vibe.
So how do we recognize smart design in our work?
A few smart branch features:
- Ceiling heights are varied. High ceiling create a feeling of openness that can be used to welcome a member in the entryway; in contrast, low ceilings create intimacy for one-on-one financial discussions.
- The space allows a reasonable flow from one person to the next, from one process to the next and from one task to the next. We used security cameras and interviews with staff to document how people were using a new space and an older, lower-performing space.
Watching the first branch team in action was like watching a ballet. The member service representative on duty was saying hello to every person entering and triaging member needs. If the MSR needed an instant issue card, another staff brought it to the lobby. If the MSR needed to leave with the member, another staff member immediately took over and continued the dance. Further analysis of the difference between this branch and others showed that how the new branch was laid out helped members feel important, well taken care of, and also that they could easily figure out how to get what they needed. Staff said they loved working at the branch.
When we observed other branches, we saw gaps in service and confused members. Staff were much less sure of the process and complained of challenges to relationship-building. In large part the reason was the difference in branch layout, staff positioning and messaging.
- The ratio of front-office vs. back-office space is 85 percent to 15 percent or greater to maximize deposits, loans and new member acquisition per square foot. This efficiency ratio means that you need less space to accomplish the same goals and the saved resources can be reallocated from un-needed space to enhancing the member and staff experience. Five years ago the ratio was typically 65 percent to 35 percent. With advances in technology, paper reduction and tighter budgets we have seen it improve to 70 percent to 30 percent. But 85 percent to 15 percent should be the target.
- A smart space is focused on target member interests rather than an expression of credit union ego. A big logo at the back wall, logos on the glass partitions and in the carpet make for a vibe, but not one placing the member as first in importance.
There are many elements that create smart rather than dumb design. The time spent creating the right vibe in your credit union’s branches will support staff productivity and provide big payback in long-term growth, profitability and engagement of your brand by target markets.
Paul Seibert, CMC, is principal/financial and retail design for CUES Supplier member EHS, a NELSON Company, Seattle.
