'Data Geek' Thrives on Frugal Innovation
'We know so much about our members that we figured we'd use the data to find relevant solutions to their financial problems.'
BRENTT MOON LEVERAGES technological innovation and a thrift y outlook to improve member service at $261 million asset Quest Credit Union in Topeka, Kan.
“We’re a credit union, and we shouldn’t spend money just to spend money,” says Moon, Quest’s vice president of information technology and operations. “We should give it back to members in the form of more services or other benefits.”
For example, Quest paid an outside consultant $36,000 a year to administer a rewards checking program for eligible members. Moon scrutinized the program and decided Quest could develop software that would provide the service, without needing to send data out of the credit union.
“It’s trying to do things intelligently,” Moon says. “Why are you paying a third party to analyze the data you already have?”
Quest CEO Vickie Hurt says Moon—who began working at the credit union 14 years ago as a part-time teller while attending Wichita State University—understands the business top to bottom.
“He’s a thoughtful leader,” Hurt says. “Whenever brainstorming and planning is underway, you’d better invite Brentt. He does more with less, because he can.”
Under Moon’s direction, Quest created a member onboarding program that uses data provided by members to guide them to other useful products and services. That also enabled Quest to avoid paying third-party providers.
Moon, a self-proclaimed “data geek,” says the system helps Quest target products more efficiently, and serve members better.
“We know so much about our members that we figured we’d use the data to find relevant solutions to financial problems,” Moon said. “We’ve noticed that members end up opening more accounts and getting more services than before.”
Moon also served on a team that created automated tools that track employee performance and improve the credit union’s efficiency. The tools tell management who needs coaching or encouragement, and allow employees to measure their productivity.
When he’s not finding ways to improve Quest, Moon is a fisherman, a Cub Scout leader, and a coach for his two kids’ sports teams.
Moon embodies credit unions’ mission, according to Hurt. “To him, ‘people helping people’ and building a successful, strategic business can coexist in harmony,” she says.