Conversation analytics software allows Unitus Community Credit Union in Portland, Ore., to aggregate, analyze, and act on member feedback to provide a more consistent service experience.

“Listening to our members and truly understanding the reasons for their questions, concerns, requests, and ideas for improving their experience is fundamental to putting members first,” says Blaine Bartholomew, assistant vice president of member experience at the $1.3 billion asset credit union.

Unitus Community uses software called “Topbox” to analyze data from hundreds of thousands of member support calls to identify why members seek assistance and analyze patterns in service requests by issue type, frequency, and location.

This allows the credit union to improve processes, prioritize investments in technology, improve member communication, expand training for employees, and more.

“It allows us to get the voice of the member without having to ask members to fill out a survey,” Bartholomew says. “We’re tapping into feedback they're already giving us.”

He explains how Unitus Community uses conversation analytics to improve the member experience, and describes his role in member experience.

Credit Union Magazine: When and why did you implement this?

Blaine Bartholomew: We implemented this in late June 2019 for a number of reasons. One was the timing related to our online banking conversion. We knew this would be a disruptive event for members initially and we wanted better insights into what members were feeling and how we could improve their experience.

We wanted to give members what they needed without asking them for feedback. We believe there is value in requesting surveys from our members, but conversation analytics allows us to significantly add to the feedback sample from our members without adding friction to their experience with us.

We want to use data to get closer to our members, prioritize what they want, and improve their experience with us.

‘We want to use data to get closer to our members.’

Blaine Bartholomew

Q: What insights have you gained from using this software?

A: When we completed our online banking conversion we’d hired a backup contact center. One thing we noticed right after launch was that our IVR [interactive voice response] system wasn’t as efficient as we had planned.

We were getting a higher rate of calls passed back to us from the backup contact center, which was the first option for members with online banking-related questions. We were able to listen to those calls, dig into them, and understand we needed to change some of the authority levels and resources we gave the backup contact center to answer some of those questions without having to transfer members back.

We got those insights right out of the gate during a hectic time and acted upon them. Since then, we have identified three significant friction points across the organization we want to attack and improve for our members.

Q: How might your use of the software evolve in the future?

A: We’ve identified the low-hanging fruit. The next step will be looking at what we’re doing well, and do more of that.

The software takes us from anecdotal evidence to “this is what the data is saying.” It puts us in the position to be more proactive, use our resources more efficiently, and prioritize better.

We can also dig into employee metrics. For example, we can see how our contact center agents are performing and which words they use that resonate with our members, and train them around that.

NEXT: Keys to member happiness