2 minutes
From the editor
This past weekend, I attended a large craft fair. I was happy to get a head start on holiday shopping and take care of several people on my list in one afternoon. While a craft show is a great forum for this—where else could I find fishing-related items for my husband, candles for teachers and hand-carved flowers for my mother-in-law?—it did pose one problem.
As I bought these items from different vendors based in far-flung states, my credit card company went on alert. It certainly looked like someone was having an online shopping spree with my card. I was glad to receive text alerts asking if I had indeed made each purchase.
I also love that my credit union texts me weekly balances or when my account is below a specified threshold. On the occasion when I missed paying my cable bill on time, I appreciated the text letting me know it was due so I could pay quickly and not incur further fines.
As we become accustomed to—and even look forward to—these text reminders, it seems that collecting by text is a natural next step. It can be embarrassing to miss a payment, whether it’s because of a lack of organization (guilty!) or tight times that month. For some consumers, a text reminder can seem less intimidating and judge-y than a person on the phone. But credit unions need to be cautious of the legal limitations on collecting via cellphones. Read more on p. 26.
Mobile is also important for mortgage success. Rates are becoming less important than convenience. “Mortgages are transforming digitally as rapidly as everything else, and it’s a shift in societal expectations,” says Keith Kasmire, VP/sales for CUES Supplier member CU Members Mortgage, Addison, Texas, in this month’s cover story. “Moving to mobile means improving your entire mortgage process. Consumers not only want but expect a mobile app to make getting a mortgage easy.” Read more, starting on p. 32.
Someday you may even be sending exit interview surveys via text message. Conducting the dreaded exit interview online “can increase the response rate ... and can enable you to more easily compile the data so you can identify trends over time, which then become actionable as opposed to being a mere collection of anecdotal notes,” says HR consultant Adam Calli, SHRM-SCP, SPHR. On the other hand, face-to-face exit interviews provide “an opportunity to build a little bit more trust and to ask follow-up questions or dig a little deeper,” says leadership consultant Laurie J. Maddalena, CPCC, PHR. However your CU chooses to conduct exit interviews, the most important part is to actually do them and to use the insights to make improvements for other employees. Read more on p. 38.
Finally this month, do not miss our profile on Amy Downs, CCE, the 2017 CUES Exceptional Leader. Her inspirational story begins on p. 30.
Theresa Witham
Managing Editor/Publisher
