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symposium guest speaker auditions

2008-05-12T04:49:00Z

Last year we started a tradition with our symposium in that we opened up a guest speaker slot by the way of a video audition contest. You know kind of like the auditions for American Idol or Survivor? Tim McAlpine from Currency Marketing was our inaugural winner and set the bar in a high place. On Friday, Brent posted on Open Source CU, our first two entries for this year’s guest speaker. The two videos inspired me and made me realize how fortunate we are to have such passionate people that want to be involved with the symposium. Check out the entries from Ginny and Andy here. Come on, a Board Member and a young professional, both passionate about credit unions – it doesn’t get any better. If you want to be considered for a guest speaker role, please get your entry to us by June 30. If you haven’t made up your mind yet to come to the symposium this year, then just watch the videos and look at the lineup we have assembled – you will realize that you owe it to yourself to come enjoy great fellowship with people who share your passion.

great place to work

2008-05-12T04:32:00Z

This year marks my 20th here at FORUM. When I have the privilege of speaking at credit union events, I have to provide an introduction. I don’t like doing this as it always makes me feel uncomfortable. The last thing you want to do is bore people with a list of stuff you have done before you get up and try to be relevant to them for the next one to eight hours depending on the engagement. At the same time, you want to provide a glimpse in to who you are and why you deserve the audience’s attention. Humility is a trait that I admire and respect and I want to live by it. I usually just tell the unlucky person who drew the short straw to do my introduction that I am a credit union lifer. My parents opened my first credit union account shortly after I was born at the former Naval Avionics Credit Union, now called Family Horizons Credit Union. And my one and only career upon graduation from college has been at FORUM. Credit unions have been in my life. FORUM is a great place to work and one validation of that statement just came this past week when FORUM was named as one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

My friend and our SVP of HR &Training, Jenny, said it best in an email to the employees. “The selection is based upong information gathered about FORUM – our culture, facilities, benefits, etc. – as well as feedback provided by many of you. Approximately 200 employees were randomly selected to participate in an anonymous survey. This recognition is not from the work of one person, but it is a result of a team effort – our entire FORUM team including each and every employee. So, be proud of what you’ve helped create at FORUM. And accept my gratitude for helping making our credit union one of the best places to work in Indiana.” I couldn’t have said it any better and I do take pride in working here at FORUM and trying to make a difference in our members’ lives each and every day.

Wisconsin Credit Union League | wrap up

2008-05-12T04:16:00Z

Thank you to the Wisconsin Credit Union League for the opportunity to speak at your annual conference this past Friday. Jennifer and Linda from the League were awesome to work with and I appreciate their hospitality. I also appreciate the participation involved with my two sessions. The first one – A Lending Timeout – was great conversation and special thanks to Focus CU for the courage to join me up front and talk about your credit union. I was very impressed with their ability to carve out a niche and make it a reality. Plus, their name and logo are snazzy and fresh. The second presentation – Member Relevant Technology – was fun to do and I appreciate everyone’s attention given I was the last thing between you and America’s Largest Indoor Waterpak. I know I ran through a lot of information in a short amount of time so if you have a particular concept or site that you would like additional information on please send me an email at dougt@forumsolutions.com or leave a comment to this post and I will get it to you. I enjoyed the conversation and hope to get the privilege to do it again in the future.

cheese, badgers, brats and waterparks

2008-05-04T03:31:00Z

Later this week I am headed to the Wisconsin Dells for the Wisconsin Credit Union League’s 74th Annual Convention and Exposition. The event takes place at the Kalahari Resort. I am told that the Dells just might be the waterpark capital of the civilized world. I think I visited the Dells or drove through them once as a young child, but I really can’t remember. I am presenting two topics both on Friday afternoon. First up at 1pm is “A Lending Timeout” and then followed by “Member Relevant Technology – a walk on the wild side” at 3pm. Looking forward to the event and if you are attending please consider joining me at one of my sessions. I am not a professional speaker and I promise I won’t put you in to a coma with a gazillion PowerPoint slides filled with bullet points. I am a credit union lifer who enjoys conversations on all things credit unions. The theme of this year’s event is “CUs: The Real Story” so it should be a good fit as I like to tell credit union stories about my 20 years at FORUM and I like to hear a good credit union story as well. I also will realize at my 3:00pm session that I will likely be the only thing between you and the Wild Wildebeest

Zopa pride

2008-05-04T03:17:00Z

As you may know we have been involved with Zopa since before the official US launch here at FORUM and we remain proud to be a part of the Zopa community. Zopa has been receiving some accolades recently including best in class and best in show at the recent Finovate StartUp show in San Francisco. They competed with 40 start-ups in the financial sector. In addition, Zopa has been mentioned in the national press. Here is a story in the USA Today highlighting the growing trend of entrepreneurs turning to alternative lending sources to fund small businesses. The Wall Street Journal article features three small businesses who received funding through Zopa participating credit unions and other alternative lending sources.

For those of you interested in Ron Shevlin’s take on Finovate and Zopa, please visit his post summarizing his attendance at the event. He predicts that Zopa will win this space with their model. Ron’s post is a can’t miss read if you are interested in what happened at Finovate. If you would like to ask Ron some questions in person about his experience then please join us at the symposium: in Indy on October 1-2 and join in the conversation as well as the RockBand) tournament.

pennies for change @ United Way

2008-04-30T20:43:00Z

Here at FORUM we are supporters of the United Way and many other local charities. On Friday, we are launching our Pennies for Change progam with the United Way. Our members will be able to enroll in this program where for every time they use their debit card with a signature the transaction will round up one penny and this penny will be donated by the member to the United Way. A simple way to make a difference for the United Way – one penny at a time.

Our FORUM Solutions teammate, Nathan, is the man behind the scenes making this process an efficient one for all involved. This program opens many doors for the credit union to work along side the membership to make a difference in our local community.

looking outside for inspiration

2008-04-30T20:11:00Z

Here at FORUM, we are in the process of implementing a new interaction solution with Adapt and Interactive Intelligence. We are internally calling it an interaction solution as it is much more than just a phone system. This solution truly impacts how we interact with our members via multiple delivery channels such as phone, chat, email, audio response, etc… At one of our first meetings with key stakeholders we talked about what the ultimate delivery solution would look like and we tried to steer clear of ideas like call queues and phone trees. One way to begin looking through a different lens at such a solution is to look outside the financial service sector for ideas. What interactions do you like as a consumer and how can such experiences translate in to what we are trying to build? Here are just three of many that we came up with:

Have you filled a prescription at CVS or Walgreens using their automated phone line to order the prescription and let the pharmacy know when you would like to pick it up? Translation: what if you could call or email the credit union and tell the credit union that you would like a call at 3:00pm today to talk about investment options. You don’t have to wait and the credit union can be sure to get you the right person to talk to enable fanatical service.

Are you a Best Buy Rewards Zone customer? if you are, you probably get exclusive invitations to come to the store to shop after they are closed. The store is less crowded and they usually have promotional events going on to make it even more enticing. Translation: What if the credit union offered a rewards zone for a defined group of members and they could call the credit union after hours for outstanding service? If you did this for your multiple service households they just might wait to call in during these special events to receive this above and beyond service as they would know the credit union would have the experts on hand to answer any of their questions during this special event.

Dollar Rent-A-Car has a service for frequent renters called the FastLane. You set up your profile online for items such as what insurance coverage you want, what type of auto you prefer, and if you want to bring it back empty or pre-pay the fuel. Then when you rent from them you skip the lines and go straight to your car. Translation: What if you allowed your members the opportunity to set up a profile at the credit union and then this profile helped direct the call to the right credit union employee. For instance my profile might be I prefer to speak to someone in English, I am primarily a saver, and I usually call with questions about certificates of deposit. Another profile might be I prefer to speak to someone in Spanish, I am primarily a borrower, and I usually call about home equity questions. We use a profile concept on our ATMs where you can set your language preference and even your Fast Cash amount to make cash withdrawals lightening quick.

Let us know if you think any of these have potential or if you have any ideas that might help us.

another milestone birthday

2008-04-25T18:00:00Z

It's not everyday that a company can celebrate two milestone birthdays back-to-back. Fortunately for us here at FORUM Solutions, that is the case. Today one of our teammates, Mike, is celebrating his 50th birthday! Hopefully one of his presents is a pair of scissors...

milestone birthday celebration

2008-04-24T15:49:00Z

One of our teammates, Paul, has a milestone birthday today - really the first one that can be considered a milestone in your working years - and this is the love he received from the team. No measurements on how large the foil ball is that is being formed from the clean-up and then recycling.

New CUSO Focus: Member Loyalty

2008-04-18T13:59:00Z

The Credit Union Journal has reported on the formation of a new CUSO focused on developing an industry-wide metric to gauge and measure credit union member loyalty. FORUM is excited to have Michelle Bloedorn, the CUSO’s executive director and former marketing executive at Baxter CU, and Diana Dykstra, CEO at San Francisco FCU, as speakers at this year’s Partnership Symposium.

The six founding credit unions of the Member Loyalty Group are Addison Avenue FCU, America First CU, Baxter CU, Boeing Employees CU, Educators CU and San Francisco FCU.

If you haven’t already registered for this event sign up today!

we want you to apply for a starring role

2008-04-17T04:37:00Z

If you haven’t seen it yet, please check out the announcement on the Open Source CU blog related to our 2nd annual speaking audition contest for our upcoming Partnership Symposium. Skeptical (not CU Skeptic skeptical, but somewhat skeptical) that this is a golden opportunity? Then talk to Tim McAlpine and he will tell you his experience. We know you are out there and want to be a part of this fun and thought provoking event so get your camera rolling. Thanks Charlie for kicking this contest off in perfect fashion – we admire your creativity and your wife’s endurance during the shooting of this video.

new paragraph

2008-04-16T14:53:00Z

Hey there you are… thanks for turning the page from True Story to the FORUM Solutions site. Notice the cleaner look over here and you don’t have to worry about that scary picture in the frame staring at you now. Indeed, the timing is right as we are working on many exciting projects here at FORUM Solutions and you will be able to hear about them here and from the teammates that are working on the projects.

A quick look at just some of the projects include a new communications solution at the credit union with Interactive Intelligence and Adapt, work continues on our “one card concept” that you may have heard about (details later), internet banking enhancements, and some research and potential work around our commercial group. So please subscribe to our RSS feed and most importantly please comment on the posts – we want to hear from you – we want to collaborate so if you see an opportunity where we can improve or work together we would love to hear from you.

Oscar has left the building

2008-04-14T17:59:00Z

Ten years – what a ride. In five short words this is the best way I can think of to communicate the time in which I had the privilege of working along side my friend and FORUM Solutions co-founder, Cam Minges. If you haven’t heard, Cam Minges has accepted an executive position at Vantage Credit Union in St. Louis.

We always joked that we were the Odd Couple. Yes, he was Oscar and I was Felix. Although the photographer and sports fan roles are reversed. We didn’t really grow up with this show but we have seen it on TV Land and thought of the comparisons. Our work styles could not have been more different. Cam was a maverick who did his best work in chaos. I, on the other hand, need order and everything in its place to come anywhere close to good work. It was in these differences that the magic happened. Among Cam’s numerous talents, he has this knack for taking a crazy idea, adding value to it, and amazingly creating a prototype that would visually represent the idea. He did all of this in warp speed. This is how TAPS Lending was born among other inventions. Cam will absolutely positively be a catalyst at Vantage and do great work. The cool thing is that the collaboration doesn’t stop just because he now works under a different rooftop – it will continue. The friendship is for life.

We will miss him here at FORUM Solutions. At the same time we are excited about the future as we have many talented teammates ready and able to step up in our business and innovation efforts. You will get to meet many of them here at this site as I expect many will be posting their thoughts on this blog. Speaking of this blog, in the coming days I will be phasing out my True Story and posting my thoughts here. True Story predated the new FORUM Solutions site and it now seems like a logical time to convert from trying to contribute to two blogs down to one. Plus, I am tired of my ugly photo on True Story – I begged the Trabian guys to use the George Clooney pic.

Cam… Thanks for the amazing work and numerous contributions you made here at FORUM. We appreciate all that you did to put us where we are today.

Improve CU Reputation & Build Loyalty

2008-04-07T13:55:00Z

Last year I agreed to take on Ron Shevlin live to debate the issue of Net Promoter Score. I am very passionate about this amazing metric because it provides actionable data (and reliable data) that will help you improve your credit union’s reputation and build loyalty. Remember loyalty?

This year, I’m excited to hear my friend Diana Dykstra, CEO of San Francisco Fire Credit Union and a self-proclaimed Net Promoter Score zealot, share her success with NPS at the FORUM Solutions Trabian Partnership Symposium.

Diana HATES satisfaction surveys. Why? Because when she took over as CEO, her credit union had a 98% satisfaction rate. But she knew, just from interacting with employees and members, that they were not “delighted.”

She set out to delight her employees and consequently her members by listening, learning, and innovating – using the ultimate question.

“How likely are you to recommend us (credit union) to your friends, family and co-workers?” Members rank on a scale of 0 to 10.

9-10 = promoters

7-8 = passives

0-6 = detractors

% of promoters – % of detractors = NPS

When she started her score was 52%. Today it is 74%. Her loan-to-share was 44%. Today it’s 85%

And assets grew from $371 million to $465 million serving 21,600 members. Loyal members.

Speaking of members, they grew 10% in membership last year and decreased closures by 19%.

In San Francisco, if you search for credit unions on Yelp.com, you will find San Francisco Fire Credit Union’s loyal members.

They are the highest rated financial institution in one of the noisiest markets in the US. This is not a ranking you can buy, you have to earn it. Every single day.

Can’t wait to hear Ron Shevlin debate those results …. there’s a lot more, but I’ll wait for October at the Partnership Symposium. Front row center.

Denise Wymore is a speaker, writer, blogger, consultant, overall credit union advocate. She spoke at last year’s Partnership Symposium and will be an active attendee at this year’s event.

Symposium Speakers Featured in Podcasts

2008-03-27T20:08:00Z

Have you been keeping up with the Currency Marketing podcasts? They are up to 5 now, with the latest featuring our own Doug True.

It’s exciting to see that out of the 5 podcasts conducted so far, 3 (4 if you include Doug) of the credit union innovators featured are also speakers at the FORUM Solutions | Trabian Partnership Symposium. Take a listen to the interviews for a sneak peek at these Symposium presenters:

Symposium registration is open – see you in October!