In his opening remarks, CU*SOUTH CEO Leo Vaulin focused on the transformative power of a core conversion. Leo Vaulin Said, “We’re working with credit union leaders to re-shape the member experience – from simple transaction processing, to building affinity by involving members as supports, as active promoters, and – ideally – as co-creators of their credit union experience. Credit union members have dreams – buying their first car or their first home, or financing their children’s education, of retiring with a secure lifestyle. A good cored software conversion gets everyone involved in this collaborative creative process – the leadership, the staff, and even the members. We invite members to learn about how their credit union’s new software makes it easier for them to shape their interaction and design their experience.”
Karen Rys, VP Operations for CU*SOUTH commented, “We’re extending the principles of agile software development of their entire core conversion process, this should be the only time our credit unions have to experience a core conversion – so we don’t expect perfect clarity on the end result 12 months out. Instead, we apply a scrum-style framework to create an iterative, incremental rhythm of progress throughout our conversion lifecycle. We design, we test our assumptions with the credit union leadership and staff, and we adjust our course with every step forward.”
“Collaboration is the key,” agreed Robyn Guyer, EVP of United Advantage NorthWest Federal Credit Union and CU*SOUTH’s partner CUSO. Robyn added, “When we converted to the CU*BASE core platform 9 years ago, we spent the 12 months before conversion reading every reference manual and taking every online class. Now, we work with CU*SOUTH on every credit union conversion, sharing what we’ve learned and helping them develop their best practices. You need a partner who’s been through the experience – and we’re happy to share what we’ve learned.”
“This month, the Harvard Business Review published new research on the Network Orchestration business model – using Apple, LendingClub, and Airbnb as case studies,” said Mr. Vaulin. “The researchers noted that organizations that drive a network of co-creation deliver shareholder values 2 to 4 times that of businesses who fail to leverage this opportunity. Co-creation leads to greater revenue growth, lower marginal cost, increased organizational flexibility, and a significantly improved customer insight. By involving our credit unions in the co-creation of their core conversion experience, we reduce the number of data conversion questions, and dramatically improve the education and adoption rate among credit union staff. That involvement, in turn, extends to members, who get excited at the new experience, both in self-service options, and in the increased efficiency of service delivery at the credit union.”
The CU*SOUTH Core Conversion Summit runs through Thursday, July 30, 2015.