Solving the Service Puzzle

“At Xceed Financial, we continue to believe in the value of investing in people,” says CUES member Kathryn Davis, CME, CCE.

As chief marketing officer at $998 million/67,000-member Xceed Financial Credit Union in El Segundo, Calif., Davis recognizes that difficult economic times have meant cutbacks in employee development programs for some companies, but she believes that developing the necessary skills, expertise and commitment to teamwork among associates is essential. “It’s an integral part of our corporate culture to nurture the people—at all levels and in all departments—who deliver the Xceed Financial experience to members today and who we hope will develop into our leaders of tomorrow.

“Outstanding member service—truly putting our members first—is fundamental,” she adds.

Working collaboratively with the HR department, Davis and her team created an Associate Enrichment Day with the theme “Solving the Service Puzzle.” And the effort was awarded second place in the CUES Golden Mirror Awards™ “Staff Training” category.

The event was held on a day when the CU was closed, to enable as many associates as possible to attend. However, each attendee was given a paid day off to compensate for the missed holiday. “We think that paid day off demonstrated both the importance of the training and that we respect associates’ need for personal time,” says Davis.

The day began with a series of presentations and team-building exercises focused on service, with the added goal of having associates get to know each other and have the chance to work cooperatively with people from other departments. Each participant was given an Xceed Financial CU polo shirt and tumbler as a reminder of the lessons learned. Other prizes and surprises added an extra dollop of fun to the day’s events.

Learning From the Best

Experts from the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Centre presented a workshop titled “Radar on, Antenna up: The Ritz-Carlton’s Fulfilment of Unexpressed Wishes and Needs.” Davis says: “We see Ritz-Carlton as representing the gold standard for customer service.”

he day concluded with the unveiling of a new internal promotional video the HR department now uses with newly hired associates during their orientation to help them understand the standards of service that are crucial to the Xceed Financial CU brand.

To make this work, the two departments divided up the responsibilities for the training day. Marketing took the lead on brand messaging components, materials development and event production. Human Resources led the team building exercises and customer service training.

Rewarding Results

The results: “Associate feedback on the day was extremely positive,” says Davis. “People at all levels expressed appreciation that while other companies and institutions are cutting back on these activities, Xceed Financial continues to be genuinely interested in their associates’ career development.” She’s also had informal feedback from managers who have let her know that the activities and team-building exercises were effective in helping associates get to know and work more cooperatively with their colleagues in other departments.

“There has been a noticeable improvement in inter-departmental relations,” Davis adds.

he icing on the cake for Davis and her team was having their hard work honored by CUES. “The Golden Mirror Awards are very prestigious and it was very validating to have our commitment to associate development recognized by our peers, “ Davis says. “We’d wholeheartedly recommend that other CUs consider offering a program like this. It really helped each associate—across all departments—recognize and take responsibility for his or her part in delivering an exceptional service experience to our members.”

Teresa Pitman is a freelance writer based in Guelph, Ontario.