To Be Service Oriented, Or Not To Be.

Shakespearean actors who don’t know the difference between backstage and onstage:

“To be, or not to be: that’s up to the director who’s having a very bad day.”

“Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou … because you were late again today?”

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” But the truly great, know the difference between BACKSTAGE and ONSTAGE!

There is a time and place for everything. Compliance, regulations and rules are vital to what we do as credit unions … but they are NEVER meant to be member-facing. The costume fixes and set repairs happen backstage. When you’re onstage, you leave that behind.

Here are some real-life examples of onstage staff focused on backstage issues:

“I’d be happy to open that checking account, but we’ll have to run you through ChexSystems.”

Do you have to run the member through ChexSystems? Yes. Do you need to lead with it? Heck no!

“I need to complete this form, while you’re here, so my back-office people can keep their records updated.”

If your back-office does, in fact, need paperwork, do you really have to complete it with the member there or can you wait until they leave?

There is a tangible difference between credit unions who are service-focused and those who are compliance-focused. Every institution lives by the same rules – but the best keep as many of those rules “backstage” as possible.

When you are ONSTAGE, you are focused on the member – not the minutia. The audience never sees the chaos that is swarming backstage – nor should they.

• Only share compliance-related information when absolutely necessary. The member doesn’t care about YOUR procedures.

• Streamline the member experience. Every step a member has to take … every form completed … every signature should have a purpose. The goal is to limit steps while maintaining compliance.

Onstage-focus on compliance is the “winter of our discontent,” … your member’s discontent and your staff’s discontent.

Relook at your policies and procedures. What can you move backstage?