Pub. 1 2021 Issue 2

April 2021 | 31 opportunities to create internal efficiencies as you’re building your roadmap. Identifying your objectives will help achieve your mission. Assemble Key Employees & Hold Accountable It’s important to select the right employees to provide input and share their vision. Include personnel from all levels that will be involved in implementing the new process or service. Identify roles and assign responsibilities to hold each member accountable. Giving employees a voice will help them invest in the banks’ vision and strategy. Identify & Assess Potential New Processes, Software Applications or Vendors Evaluate how new technology, software applications or processes will impact your customer and your bottom line. Ensure imple- menting a new software application is within your budget and will fulfill the majority of your requirements. Take your time on vendor due diligence. Confirm they understand your goals and timeline, have a similar mission and values that align with your FI and offer excellent customer service. We also recommend requesting a demo, asking for current customer refer- ences, and inquiring on the implementation and training process to know the expectations set forth for your team. Data security should also be top of mind to ensure your customer data will be protected. And finally, ask about their roadmap and what enhancements they’re planning to implement. Ensure they are forward-looking and will meet future demands. Strategize Implementation & Customer Communication Devising an implementation strategy is integral to the success of launching your new vision. Identify key players and delegate their roles accordingly. Assess the project scope to ensure daily duties are met and time is allocated to meet deadlines while simultane- ously executing your new strategy. If your new solution is customer-facing, ensure customers are notified in advance and are aware of the upcoming changes. Com- munication is key to a seamless transition. This will help customers prepare for the transition and more willingly embrace change. During go-live, ensure customers know who they can contact for assistance and access training materials for quick reference via print or video. Emily has been working in the community banking industry for 15 years. She started as a Teller for The Callaway Bank and then expanding her proof knowledge at Computer Service Professionals, Inc. as a Senior Software Support Representative. As Emily’s passion to help community bank - ers grew, so did her role at CSPI. Emily currently serves as the Product Sales Specialist, where she assists in the development of CSPI’s marketing and sales plans, and provides demonstrations of CSPI’s Aurora Online and Mobile Banking, Aurora Document Imaging and Item Processing solutions. She enjoys developing and maintaining key business relationships with community bankers and interacting with state and national banking organizations. About CSPI: As a valued software and service provider leading the FinTech industry for 33 years, CSPI continues to focus on the needs of today’s progressive com - munity banks and credit unions to meet the growing demands of account holders by providing core solutions, digital banking, document manage- ment and item processing. We are core-agnostic and support API-first technology to create real-time integration for our Aurora Advantage Digital Banking product suite. Our dedicated team strives to enhance the user experience, deliver innovative solutions, significantly increase productivity, and provide exceptional ser - vice that exceeds your expectations. We believe if our customer succeeds, we succeed. Evaluate Your Process, Software Application or Vendor Measure your success by identifying vital areas of improvement (or decline). Survey or personally reach out to your teammembers and customers for feedback. Evaluate your results and determine the next steps. Always be forward-thinking on further enhancing the customer experience or identifying problematic areas seeking a more efficient process. There’s always room for improvement; stay ahead of the competition. While the banking landscape continues transforming to keep up with industry demands, community bankers have upheld their mission and remained focused on building personal relationships and anticipating their customer’s needs. Enhancing the customer experience, offering new products, and drawing the customer clos- er will help grow the bottom line and accelerate growth. ■ From working endless hours filing PPP loans to their nimble pivot adapting digital banking transformation, community bankers went above and beyond to ensure their customers’ needs were exceeded. While digital banking transformation has been in hot pursuit over the past decade, it became the priority as bank lobbies started shutting down.