The architecture of transformation: Data

Data plays a vital role in the transformation of your credit union — and can help you make informed decisions to support its success in the future. Reporting and analytics can help you evaluate the progress of your credit union’s transformation efforts and revise your strategy to ensure you achieve your objectives.

Additionally, tools and enablers can help you manage risks during the transformation journey and help to enhance the member experience. Exploring new ways to leverage data will optimize your credit union’s performance, provide a seamless member experience, and ensure a sustainable transformation.

Reporting and analytics

The transformation of your credit union must include reporting and analytics to ensure your success in the future. During the transformation journey, consider establishing a comprehensive data governance strategy to help drive decisions that will shape your credit union’s future. Additionally, key performance indicators (KPIs) can help your credit union measure its transformed infrastructure and adjust its strategy to help you achieve your desired outcomes.

Key performance indicators to measure transformed infrastructure

It is essential to regularly measure KPIs to assess the progress, effectiveness, and impact of your credit union’s transformation efforts. To ensure a successful transformation, these KPIs should include data analytics such as data utilization rates, model accuracy, and return on investment (ROI) on analytics investments.

Building in advanced data analytics capabilities to inform decision-making will be all-important to support the successful transformation of your credit union. These KPIs should be continuously monitored and reported to stakeholders to ensure that your infrastructure transformation aligns with your strategic goals and is delivering the desired outcomes. Additionally, your credit union can adjust its transformation strategy based on the insights gained from these KPIs to ensure successful implementation and long-term sustainability.

It is important for these KPIs to align with your credit union’s strategic goals and transformation objectives. These are some relevant KPIs to consider during your transformation journey:

• Digital adoption — Indicators may include the percentage increase in the use of digital banking platforms by members, number of members enrolled in and actively using digital services, or the adoption rate of new digital features or services introduced as part of the transformation.
• Operational efficiency — These indicators may include improvement in the speed of internal processes such as loan approvals and account opening or decreases in the number of manual or paper-based processes within your credit union.
• Cost savings / reduction — Monitor changes in operational costs due to streamlined processes and automation.
• Productivity and staff efficiency — Assess KPIs and performance benchmarks to measure the productivity and efficiency of your workforce as well as identify areas for continuous improvement.
• Member retention and acquisition — Monitor the number of members that your credit union gains over time and the retention of existing members.
• Technology uptime and reliability — Consider the amount of time your systems and services are available and how consistently they perform their intended functions to identify where your technology is working well and areas for potential improvement.
• Next best offer or recommendation for members — Measure the success of next best offers or recommendations for members.

Each of these KPIs can help you measure your credit union’s progress during your transformation journey and enable you to adjust course to ensure you reach your strategic goals.

Leverage data

Your credit union can drive growth, reduce risks, and deliver exceptional value to its members by leveraging data effectively. Credit unions generate a wealth of data daily — and effective data governance is the cornerstone of unlocking its potential.

A comprehensive governance strategy will help your credit union set up a framework for data and data-driven opportunities and analytics. Additionally, an omnichannel member experience is dependent on data — and your credit union must ensure data consistency and accuracy across all channels to offer a seamless member experience.

Data will continue to play an increasingly critical role in shaping the future of credit union member experiences. Therefore, it is vital for your credit union to explore new ways to innovate as technology and data analytics continue to advance to secure its position in the future.

Tools and enablers

It is essential for your credit union to invest in tools and enablers during its transformation journey to position itself for success in an increasingly competitive financial services landscape. These tools and enablers include platforms, data management strategies, and advanced analytics capabilities.

“Within our technology transformation roadmap, we’ve pivoted to focus on some foundational tools that offer opportunities to give members something different to enhance their experience,” says Adam Fraser, Chief Operating Officer at First Credit Union. “But it’s important to recognize that we have systems that are aligned with each other, that talk to each other, that build a strong foundation. And pair those systems with strong processes and a strong culture to really accelerate that transformation even further.”

Effective reporting and analytics will empower your credit union to make informed decisions, manage risks, enhance the member experience, and ultimately achieve its strategic goals. Staying current with evolving technologies and industry best practices is vital for sustained success in a rapidly changing landscape.

Platforms / applications for reporting analytics

Credit unions rely on a variety of platforms and applications to facilitate reporting and analytics — and the selection of these tools is crucial to achieve successful outcomes during the transformation process. Implementing BI platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, or QlikView can allow your credit union to consolidate data from multiple sources, create interactive dashboards, and generate insightful reports. These tools can empower your credit union to make data-driven decisions to support its future success.

Your credit union may consider migrating to cloud-based analytics platforms such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure to scale its operations, improve data accessibility, and reduce infrastructure costs. Additionally, specialized applications such as NContracts or CompliAssure can help your credit union streamline reporting and risk management to ensure compliance with various regulatory reporting requirements.

Data management, machine learning, and analytics

Effective data management, machine learning, and analytics can be an indispensable tool to help your credit union optimize its operations and deliver exceptional member experiences. Your credit union can enhance its decision-making and member engagement by implementing machine learning algorithms for credit risk assessment, fraud detection, or marketing personalization.

Additionally, analytics can provide you with valuable insights into member preferences to allow for tailored product offerings and market strategies. Predictive analytics models can utilize historical data to forecast member behaviour to enable proactive interventions for retention and growth — positioning your credit union to thrive in the future. 

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