5 Tips to Simplify Digital Transformation and Cloud Migration, According to One of the Nation's Top-Ranking Credit Unions

Tackling an experience transformation and journey to the cloud in one fell swoop is what dreams are made of for many organizations in our digital-first economy. For credit unions, this means bringing new ideas and technology on board to enhance the member experience (MX) and employee experience (EX).

The team at iQ Credit Union (CU) is no stranger to reimagining how to best serve their members and staff and jumped in headfirst to enhance these experiences for their wanderers and explorers. iQ CU’s relentless focus on excellence in customer satisfaction has positioned them at the top of the leaderboard as the best credit union in Washington two years running in “America’s Best Credit Unions in Each State.”

In this article, we share tips and tricks from our recent webinar, “How iQ Credit Union is Reinvigorating their Member and Employee Experience in the Post-Pandemic Economy,” presented through Callahan & Associates. Leaders at iQ CU spoke about how they successfully completed an experience transformation journey that was “scarily smooth.”

Get the benefit of their takeaways from the process of elevating their MX and EX below.

How iQ Credit Union’s Experience Transformation Started

Like many other credit unions, iQ had to pivot in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. They knew their legacy software needed an upgrade, but the sudden shift to remote work and digital-first experiences solidified the need to start the process of moving to the cloud. iQ CU’s previous solution for contact center software did not support them in their most utilized member channel and was not capable of supporting their strategic direction for the future.

Tips from iQ: What Other Credit Unions Should Know Before Starting a Cloud Migration

Tip #1: Planning and Communication are Key

“Start communicating to staff early to create excitement and get the buzz going about new tools and features. You’ll want to communicate often, sending an email each week highlighting a new system feature. You cannot communicate enough. It is a complex project with lots of moving parts so it’s critical everyone is on the same page.” — Ali Migaki, SVP/Chief Retail Officer, iQ Credit Union

“Consider who should be involved when forming the project team. You need to have the right players at the table for a successful launch. Get your IT team involved early on; this is a lesson we learned at iQ. Rely on your IT department to translate any technical terms to ensure everyone is interpreting key information correctly.” — Ali Migaki, SVP/Chief Retail Officer, iQ Credit Union

Tip #2: Find the Right Partner and Solutions for a Cloud Migration

“Look for a solution that is ‘tech agnostic’ that can pull in the systems and branding you’re already using and build a system around that. Think about the technology you have today, along with the technology you don’t yet have, and remember to choose a solution that is more flexible, agile, and adaptive to meet your needs now and in the future.” — Kim Slorey, Member Contact Center Manager, iQ Credit Union

“Have a collaborative partner throughout the design and testing process who is responsive to tickets and helps you find quick solutions to work out any bugs found during testing. You want a partner who will make recommendations on workflow to keep the process moving. The post-launch support we received from Avtex was in line with what they promised during the RFP in creating a valued partnership to ensure future success. We have quarterly meetings to discuss our roadmap items, along with challenges, opportunities, and successes. They have been a great partner.” — Erin Nikkila, Lending Contact Center Manager, iQ Credit Union

Tip #3: Test, Test, Test

When thinking about transforming the MX operations and strategies in your credit union, remember to take a phased approach to the process. Start with what your priorities are to improve MX and EX and go from there to determine what technologies and changes are needed in the beginning, middle, and end stages, rather than attempting to integrate all the technologies and solutions at once.

“The more testing, the better. Your staff needs hands-on experience that will lead them to become your on-site trainers on live day. Our philosophy at iQ included having a lot of people test the system before we went live, which was helpful during implementation. Be strategic when selecting your testers and make sure to have a diverse group of people who all think and solve problems differently. We also highly recommend creating a training queue that staff can play in to get accustomed to the new system in a safe environment.” — Erin Nikkila, Lending Contact Center Manager, iQ Credit Union

Tip #4: Go Live — and Have Fun — with your Cloud Migration!

“For our ‘Go Live’ date, we purchased red flags that staff could wave if they needed help. We brought in food and played some games along with giving away prizes. There was a leadership presence onsite to lend a hand. A major launch like this could be stressful for staff, and we prepared for what could have been a really stressful day and turned it into a fun one. Staff members were pleasantly surprised, and the phone gods were in our favor on go-live day, which helped reduce stress. My advice here? Pick a go-live day where you anticipate lower call volume.” — Kim Slorey, Member Contact Center Manager, iQ Credit Union

Tip #5: Learn from Other Credit Unions when Considering an Experience Transformation Journey

“The great thing about CUs is we help each other and go back to our ‘people helping people’ philosophy. We spoke directly with other CUs that had already gone through this process, asking questions about their cloud migrations such as:

• What are we not asking?
• What were the biggest surprises?
• How should we be preparing?
• What technology considerations do we need to be thinking about?
• What lessons were learned?
• What were your “wish we would have” moments after the fact?
• Did you deploy all the solutions at once? Why or why not?”

— Kim Slorey, Member Contact Center Manager, iQ Credit Union

At Avtex, we can help you start with your “why” and then build a manageable roadmap to achieve your goals.