EPL’s new product advisory team – paving the road to success

Having been in the credit union industry for nearly 40 years, EPL knows one thing above all else – customer feedback matters. Customer feedback is the lifeblood that fuels the innovation and ingenuity behind our products and services. Some of our most rewarding business endeavors, including the decision to build i-POWER®, were the direct result of the feedback posed to us, all thanks to our close and symbiotic relationships with customers. Our customers put their trust in us to deliver industry-leading software and technology solutions, and likewise, we put our trust in them to help us remain ahead of the curve.

Since partnering with Dedagroup NA, the North American subsidiary of the Italian IT services group, Dedagroup ICT Network, we’ve seen some big and exciting changes at EPL. Among those changes include the decision to form our new Product Advisory Team. What is a Product Advisory Team? For EPL, it’s a chance to lay the foundation for an ongoing conversation with you, our customers. It’s a channel by which we can maintain consistent and relevant communication about the topics that matter to you and your credit union. Lastly, it provides a platform that amplifies our customers’ voices. As a customer of EPL, you’ve always been heard, but now you have a megaphone.

What do we plan to accomplish? First, we want to understand your business’ priorities and challenges. We know that no one credit union is the same, and consequently, each customer’s needs differ. However, there will be parallels that we can identify and, in turn, work to address as we continually update our systems and develop new products and services. Our product pipeline is and always will be dependent upon the needs of our customers. Second, we want to demonstrate our commitment to you. Without your vital feedback, we would just be another standard core solutions provider – it’s you that set us apart.

The Product Advisory Team was first unveiled at this year’s client conference as part of EPL’s three-year product roadmap. Since then, we’ve been preparing to launch and are excited to announce that this month we held our first meeting at Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham, Ala. The turnout was fantastic, but more importantly, the ideas generated were game-changing.

One of the key exercises we conducted was designed to identify some of those priority parallels I mentioned above. As a core software and technology solutions provider, we know that innovation does not happen overnight, and most certainly does not happen without an end goal. By working with our Product Advisory Team to highlight the group’s top five priorities, we not only were able to detect key areas of need, but also ensured that EPL’s continued innovation benefits our customer base as a whole.

This is just the beginning. The Product Advisory Team is not a temporary gathering of the minds or meant to exist on an island. In time, the team will meet again to discuss the next phases of EPL’s evolution and we will invite further customer participation. With your continued help, EPL will become a credit union industry disruptor and challenge the status quo set by the big box providers, all while delivering the best customer service on the market.

Rhiannon Stone

VP, solutions delivery

EPL, Inc.

EPL goes global, stays personal

It’s no secret that credit unions are in a constant battle to meet the rising demands facing the industry today – increased regulation, higher costs, competitive pressure, succession plans – the list goes on. What is particularly troublesome is that every market forecast ultimately yields the same results: membership is projected to increase, while the actual number of credit unions remains on a steady decline. How do credit unions keep pace with the ever-changing industry? Simple - by maintaining the personalized, high-level of service that credit union members have come to expect as they continue to move away from the big banks in droves. The CUSO’s that empower credit unions to deliver first-rate member service are an integral part of the growth of the credit union movement worldwide, and, not surprisingly, must also fight to stay competitive with each other as the technology landscape rapidly evolves.

EPL, Inc. (EPL) is one such credit union service organization. Founded in Birmingham, Ala., in 1977, EPL offers industry-leading core software and technology solutions to credit unions of all sizes with a unique, competitive kicker: It focuses on providing credit unions the same personalized service that their members expect from them. EPL’s industry position today is one of strength and fortitude, following a significant investment from the Italian IT services firm, Dedagroup NA, earlier this year. But it was not always so, as EPL was not immune to the biggest challenge facing many credit unions and CUSOs today: the market itself.

Let’s rewind for a moment. The premise behind EPL’s formation was to ensure that credit unions had a technology and software solutions company to meet their needs, and over the years, that has always been the case. From the beginning, the “service” aspect of doing business was at the forefront of each endeavor EPL took on, whether it was developing one of the first real-time processing systems in the 1970’s, or helping pioneer shared branching across different regions, or helping credit unions embrace an open-architecture system to better support member-driven strategies on a cost-effective basis. Being an early innovator, EPL was never a stranger to accomplishing more with less – a staple of pride for its founders over the past several decades.

Many industry competitors found capital investment for growth from financial institutions; EPL went a different direction – its customers. By allowing its customers to become shareholders, EPL further strengthened the bond that built its business in the first place: deep relationships. Those relationships yielded courageous and risky innovations. The decision to build i-POWER®, EPL’s core connection suite, was not an easy one and involved a significant investment of both time and money. This intense drive to create a well-resourced organization that could serve as a viable alternative to big box providers continues today. To ensure and improve its future market position, EPL began the process of seeking out an industry partner – a partner that not only shared its values of superior customer service, but also one that believed innovation to be the foundation on which highly successful companies are built.

Enter Dedagroup NA.

While EPL is still credit union-owned, Dedagroup NA, the North American subsidiary of the Italian IT services group, Dedagroup ICT Network, made a multimillion dollar investment – a 70 percent stake – early in 2015. Dedagroup NA not only brought shared values and capital assets to EPL, but also over 40 years’ experience serving financial cooperatives in Italy, Europe, and most recently, Mexico. This new global perspective has allowed EPL to continue to do what it does best: serve its customers through constant innovation.

What does constant innovation look like for a CUSO like EPL? Think expanded proprietary solutions. Think strategic partnerships with premier, best-in-class business partners. Think a cloud-based datacenter structure and real-time solutions. Think access to global technology assets that further strengthen EPL’s already industry-leading core engine, i-POWER®. Lastly, think about connections – customer and member connections driven through data and, most importantly, human interactions.

EPL’s new global perspective has also created a palpable buzz among credit unions nationwide, and already resulted in the return of former longtime customer, North Alabama Educators Credit Union (NAECU). Credit unions like NAECU are excited about EPL’s newfound market position and evolving software and technology solutions, but the foundation upon which EPL was built is its ultimate selling point: EPL takes its relationships with customers very seriously.

EPL’s latest move to keep customers involved in the innovation process is the development of its Product Advisory Team. Since its inception, EPL’s customers have been an integral aspect of the product feedback loop, helping develop new strategies and solutions to enhance the member experience. The recently formed Product Advisory Team will assist EPL in creating solutions that credit unions not only want, but desperately need to stay competitive in the marketplace.

As the credit union industry ebbs and flows, twists and turns, flies and dives, remember – there is a reason that hardworking Americans are turning away from big financial institutions in favor of the credit union movement: the experience. The experience of first-rate service. The experience of being part of something greater than oneself. The experience of knowing that any issue had will be met with the resolve of a real person. The commitment to a first-class experience that credit unions make to their members should be reflected in the partnerships that it forges to deliver on that promise. This demand for excellence will not only help CUSO’s like EPL stay competitive, but also help credit unions of all sizes continue to evolve in a marketplace that knows growth as well as it knows volatility.

EPL Staff

EPL, Inc. 

7 ways to help increase loans

Remember when lending used to be easy?  Members would dress in their Sunday best, come into the branch to make a good impression, and practically beg you for a loan? Yeah, we don’t remember that either. But lending has evolved drastically in the last few years.  The days of in-person apps are going away.

Today, when members ask you for money, they’re quite often in their jammies, not their Sunday best. It’s all about convenience and speed, and members accessing your services on their time! Sure members might come into your branch to apply for a loan, but they’re more likely to use the following:

• Call Center
• Online  (24/7)
• Mobile (24/7)
• Tablet   (24/7) 

At the heart of the appeal of all these channels is the member’s desire for a quick response and immediacy: instant decisions, e-signature capability, and a fast turn-around (closing a loan in minutes rather than in days). So, if this is today’s playing field, here are a few options to explore that can help you increase loans and stay in the game:

1. Go Mobile for Loans

• Go out to your SEG groups or a partner dealer.
• Enable members to open new accounts remotely.
• Take loan applications remotely and provide an instant decision.
• With an iPad, the member can sign their documents with their finger!

2. Use Social Media to Get the Word Out!

• Market your products and services letting your members know you have what they need.
• Create contests and have fun!

3. Educate your Members

Before your members decide to purchase a car, they do some research.

• Be relevant during the research process by providing them the tools and the tips they are looking for.
• Educate them on what they need to know before they buy a car so they can get the best deal.
• Pre-qualifying saves time and hassle at the dealership.
• 0% financing by the dealer vs. CU financing.
• Add-on fees/products – cost more at the dealers.

4. Loan Ideas

• Offer a payday loan alternative.
• Create a program for subprime borrowers.
• 90 days no interest loans.
• Consider extending new car loans out to 84 months. (Almost 25% of new cars financed in Q1 of 2014 were extended for 7 years.)

5. Auto Loan Recapture

• Identify members who have auto loans elsewhere and who could save a min of $XX by refinancing.
• Make a personal, specific offer and quote:
• Rate
• Monthly payments
• Annual savings (“Here is exactly how much we can save you in a year.”)

6. Expand Indirect Opportunities

• Market to members according to life milestones to get CU loans from retail financing … aka Lifestyle Lending.
• Create new indirect relationships with local businesses such as:
• Dentists
• Furniture/Appliance stores
• Veterinarians
• Plastic Surgeons
• Provide them with quick responses and competitive rates.
• Everyone wins!

7. Target Gen Y Early

• Help them establish credit with a small loan, no application fee, a competitive rate, and a one-year repayment term.
• This will:
• Establish a relationship with that borrower,
• Give the CU an opportunity to interact and educate them
• Help build credit.

With so many lenders vying for the same share of mind and wallet, if you really want to connect with members you need to get creative with your loan strategies. 

Loan applicants? They’re out there. Sitting at the breakfast table in their bunny slippers with their smartphone in hand with no plan to visit your branch. You need to be the solution at their fingertips.

Yvonne Sambrano

Sr. Lending Product Manager

EPL, Inc.

The cost of old equipment

Every year credit unions go through a budget process to determine hardware and software requirements for their employees.  Unfortunately, many credit unions want to write off their equipment’s depreciation over a sixty-month time period and then continue to utilize the equipment far beyond it’s life expectancy.   

COSTS

I believe credit unions who follows this scenario fail to understand the real cost for delaying hardware and software upgrades.  These costs typically first show up when hardware fails.  Even if new hardware fails within the first year, it is typically covered by a warranty and can be either serviced on-site or expressed back to the vendor for repairs.  

Repairing older hardware, however, can cost more because newer replacement hardware (disks, memory, and I/O card interfaces, etc.) may not be 100% compatible with the existing hardware.  Existing devices, motherboard firmware and operating system, as an example, may not fully support the capabilities of the new replacement part.  This more than likely will cause unexplained and intermittent operating system crashes that can cause lost employee productivity and inadequate customer service to the members.  

Lost productivity has a soft cost to the organization, particularly when an employee is forced to seek time on another employee’s PC or must deal directly with a support technician before they can continue their assigned job role. Another cost is the member’s negative experience with the employee that can jeopardize how a credit union is viewed by their members.

PERFORMANCE

Replacing older hardware and software ensures that employees are not having to wait on a slow PC to respond.  Older hardware will not perform as well each time new software products are installed or upgraded over time.  In addition, newer software products such as Microsoft Excel and Word files shared between different software versions could slow done the employee when having to deal with incompatibility issues. Also, the software industry typically adds features based on a number of factors but one specific factor is hardware value to performance.  As an example, a PC purchased 3 years ago for $1,000 will not perform as well as a PC purchased today for the same $1,000.   

RECOMMENDATION

With the low cost of PCs today, hanging on to old equipment is not very cost effective.  My recommendation is to plan for a third of a credit union’s PCs to be updated each year in rotation.  PCs should be written off in a 36 month asset depreciation schedule. Doing this will ensure your PCs are replaced every 36 months avoiding many of the issues that older hardware and software may cause.  This will significantly improve your employee’s productivity and ensure credit union members receive the service they expect.

EPL Staff

EPL, Inc. 

Omni-Channel: next generation technology = new revenue generation

As always, revenue generation is a top priority for financial services. The obstacles to meeting this goal, however, are greater than ever. Financial Services providers are under unprecedented pressures to:

• keep costs down
• find new revenue streams by offering new services
• discover ways to leverage technology that improves the way they deliver services so as to retain and reach more customers.

 That’s no small order, but there is an answer.

To meet these challenges, many institutions are developing future branch models that leverage people, processes and technology to drive new revenue. They’re doing this by creating a 3D video-based Omni-channel environment which can help offer a more consistent and integrated approach to delivering products and services to consumers across all channels.

This “next generation” branch transformation is expanding and integrating technology that enables virtual face-to-face meetings with high definition video, which allows a financial institution to centralize their subject matter experts and make them available to all branches.

Consider this. While mobile channels are growing and customers’ visits to branches are less frequent, branches still fulfill a critical role in new customer acquisition and cross-selling for more complex transactions like mortgages, business services and investments. Conducting these transactions via video enhances the financial institution’s ability to provide more services at a time that is most beneficial to the consumer. Through the integration of video into the branch’s infrastructure and other channels, financial services are able to support a customer’s needs with subject matter experts at much more cost-effective method while increasing sales and service. High-definition video, 3D imagining and video communication solutions are changing the landscape, and let customers meet virtually with real-live experts in an intimate, face-to-face exchange. It feels and looks as though your experts are sitting right across the desk from them!

This new technology, within self-service channels, allows financial services providers to transform their branch model, plus improve efficiencies and consumer experiences. Additionally, this technology allows other retail representatives to engage consumers on complex needs, cross-sell other services, and expand their reach beyond a teller platform to more advanced services. This winning, new revenue formula leverages next generation technology, and centralized platform of experts that connects products and services with more consumers when it’s most convenient for them and for you!

Robin Kolvek

SVP, Business Development

EPL, Inc.

How to cultivate your subject matter experts (SMEs)

It takes a team to run and grow your credit union.  Does your team have unique talents and expertise that contributes to the credit union's overall success?  Do you truly have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or do you have people in their roles that do their jobs because it has, “always been done that way?”  

When met with new challenges your team must have the drive to learn and continue growing their expertise. 

How do you inspire your team to be SMEs that will not only allow you to better serve your members? How do you encourage them to continue personal growth and driven to find better ways to improve efficiency and member satisfaction? How do you cultivate peer influencers and managers? 

EPL is a company that is committed to growing our staff to become SMEs and is also committed to working with credit unions to help their staff become SMEs. So, how can EPL and credit unions work together to make sure your staff knows how to use your core data system most effectively and have SMEs throughout your organization?

• Help your staff build their credentials to become SMEs: This can be done through internal and external education, through ongoing experiences and solving problems
• Ensure key people attend training sessions: Remember, no constructive question is unreasonable. Make sure staff understands what is being presented and encourage discussion.  Share information in the training session about how new processes will benefit the credit union.  Have the team communicate internally what they learn, ask them what they learned and how it will benefit your credit union?
• Network with other credit unions (like with our e3Community): EPL has created a networking forum to allow credit unions to discuss, ask and respond to best practices and challenges. 
• Encourage staff to be ambassadors for their area: Allow them to be influencers on processes that are established.  Consider having processes reviewed by your credit union partners to be sure they are optimizing system functionality.
• Have your SMEs conduct training: When your SME is the team trainer in specific areas, they tend to continue improving their knowledge. Have them record their training session to improve their own delivery and to keep an electronic resource available for future staff or to share with other credit unions
• Your team will respond to praise: Recognize SMEs internally to staff and managers.  You can also acknowledge them externally in credit union publications and board communications.  Finally, consider recognizing them as experts in industry networking forums. Soon other credit unions will be seeking out your SMEs for good ideas advice for better execution.

Cultivation of SMEs helps to grow your team professionally, motivates and retains your best people and provides a resource for other credit unions to gain key ideas to help their credit unions to grow as well.

EPL Staff

EPL, Inc. 

CUs helping CUs as people helping people

If two heads are better than one … imagine what we could ALL do together!!!

Online social communities are changing the game for leaders, customers, employees, brands and our culture.  These online communities have real business value when it comes to learning from others and collaborating because many of us are working towards common goals for our business and professional lives.

That's why EPL introduced the e3 Community, made up of people who share a common purpose in the credit union industry.  The goal is to enhance the way credit unions collaborate - to draw on individual strengths, share perspectives and learn from each other in a vibrant, synergistic environment.  

What does “e3” stand for? 
Its all about Evolution, Extension, and Exploration. 

When you think about it, it represents the whole credit union philosophy of "People Helping People!"

The e3 community is a “learning community” designed to help foster opportunities for people to work together, solve problems, and generate ides … and its a convenient way to do so – anytime, anywhere. And the more information you have, the smarter the decisions you’ll make for your credit union. 

So what can you learn?  

Question… are you interested in collaborating with other credit unions to learn:

• What products worked for them
• How they increased their loan portfolio
• How they are dealing with new regulations
• Or, working together to share credit union resources and help each other in times of need?

There are over 600 users on our e3 Community accessing knowledge, collaborating and voting on ideas for our credit union system.

We’ve seen many great examples of knowledge sharing in our online community. A great example is a credit union that was very new to the EPL system who reached out for other’s experiences with the popular instant card issue solution.  They wanted to know if anyone in the group had already made the decision to go with a solution, if they could share their experiences and what choices and options were best.  We saw several willing credit unions reach out and make recommendations.  EPL staff shared other’s experiences as well and also shared “comparison” and “things to consider” information.   

We’ve also seen a lot of input in the world of compliance and security, which all credit unions know is one of the biggest hurdles in the industry. 

There are heightened expectations and many risks facing you today so unlocking the value of peer collaboration to share best practices and build productive relationships is key.  This is what the community is all about, being able to reach out to others, whether a peer credit union leader or an EPL subject matter expert … We are informally bound together in this network by shared expertise and passion for a common endeavor!

The community is about Diversity!  It increases the opportunity for diversity of thought and approaches as an online community atmosphere can eliminate the boundaries of location, philosophies, and even personality styles.  The outcomes … enhanced potential for all members, the possibility that new knowledge will be created and the enhancement of the effectiveness of the overall credit union movement. 

Rhiannon Stone

VP, Solutions Delivery

EPL, Inc