How DFCU Financial Streamlined their Lobby Experience and Increased Member Satisfaction

A Lobby Tracking System™ Case Study

Born of humble beginnings on a farm in what is now Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford revolutionized efficiency through mass production on the assembly line.  He was never satisfied with the status quo, which fueled his ambition.  Also born of humble beginnings of eight engineers in Dearborn, Michigan, DFCU Financial (DFCU) has since grown to become the largest credit union in the state. DFCU, similar to Henry Ford, also strived for a better business process and imagined a more systematic, streamlined approach to their current lobby member flow.  DFCU found their solution in FMSI’s Lobby Tracking System ™ (LTS) and was able to reduce their wait times and improve their member service levels.

Improving Service Levels

In the past, DFCU utilized a non-electronic sign-in system for its members, which was a laborious process of sitting down and charting it out.  The Michigan credit union had long wait times in their lobby and had no way to hold employees accountable for their sales activity—or conversely to recognize them for a job well done.

After implementing LTS, DFCU noticed a marked improvement in member service.  Employees can now easily see on-demand a member’s wait time, as well as the reason for the member’s visit, thus allowing the employees to provide better service.

“Because we have the member visiting information at our finger-tips, our MRRs are now able to provide timely and customized member service, which reduces wait times and improves customer service, “ states Theresa Fox, Executive Vice President of Branch Development at DFCU.

More Accountable Personnel

Prior to implementing LTS, DFCU management introduced employee standards, recommendations, and goals without having a good way to measure, track, and hold employees accountable for their activity.

“We love having the right information available to measure our MRR’s performance,” says Theresa. “Without a tracking system, it’s difficult to hold employees accountable or provide them with the rewards they have come to enjoy.  LTS provides credibility to supporting managers with actual performance information.”

There have been countless situations where LTS has helped the MRRs see the objective view.  For example, a particular employee was significantly outperforming her peers and there questions about her helping only members with high sales potential.   When Management reviewed the LTS reports, in detail, they came to the conclusion that the employee was in fact taking members in the order they were signed in.  Having this information to reconcile any questions was very helpful for both management and the other MRRs towards fully understanding the scenario.

LTS Best Practices from the Executive Vice President of Branch Operations at DFCU Financial

• Review the data to see exactly how many times your MRRs are working with members for an extended period of time, and subsequently use the information to coach these employees.
• Don’t guess about branch and employee performance.  Use the facts and figures from LTS to help prepare your employees to best serve your members’ specific needs.
• Coach your MRRs to closely examine the member information that is displayed when a member enters the credit union, so that you can incorporate a personal touch and provide exceptional member service.

As one of the top performing credit unions in the nation, DFCU has much to be proud of having come from the humble beginnings of eight Ford engineering employees.  Just as Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry by greatly streamlining the process of manufacturing vehicles, DFCU is revolutionizing their credit union branch operations by utilizing the Lobby Tracking System to greatly streamline their lobby tracking process and improve member service.