During the first quarter of 2009, Xtend, Inc., a multi-owned cooperative CUSO headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, spread beyond its Midwest roots as it began providing call center services for credit union partners in Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington D.C. These contact center services are provided by Xtension, a division of the CUSO that specializes in both inbound and outbound support initiatives for credit unions and industry partners. Currently the Xtension contact center supports twenty-two (22) credit unions throughout eight (8) states and the District of Columbia, as well as four (4) CUSOs in three (3) states.
The three most recent credit unions to deploy the shared staffing resources of Xtend are Boston-based Massachusetts State Employees CU, Houston-based Harris County FCU, and DC-based District Government Employees FCU. “Each of these new partners wanted us to support their staff and members in a slightly different manner,” says Xtend President Scott Collins. “For one we provide overflow support to their in-house call center to give them increased coverage and expanded hours. For another we receive member inquiry and transactional calls based on automated routing as a cost-effective extension of the credit union staff. And the third partner has directed all inbound calls to our center as the first member point-ofcontact.”
Collins believes that “flexibility, integration, and the ability to deliver cost-effective solutions based on different rules of engagement and business plans” are key reasons that credit unions are evaluating Xtend’s shared resources business units like Xtension more than ever before. “Two of these partners have never utilized a third-party call center before and the third transitioned from a large national player. What an exciting challenge for our new contact center business.”
Visit www.xtendcu.com to find out more about the CUSO’s inbound (Branch XT) and outbound (Member Reach Plus) offerings.