Technology Shouldn’t Be a Key Strategic Initiative Anymore*
Very few credit unions are using cutting edge technology as a differentiator in the market. Most are simply trying to keep up with the latest technological whistles and bells that turn into table stakes overnight. The approach to thinking about technology needs to pivot to a longer-term approach.
By Kevin Smith
That’s a very bold title for a blog post. It may be triggering for some. That’s okay. Note the asterisk behind it. If you’ve met me you know that my go-to answer to questions is the cop out, “it depends.” Well, this does depend too, but in rarer and rarer cases.
Tim Harrington and I spend a significant portion of our time in strategic planning sessions with credit union boards and leaders. It’s a fabulous opportunity for us. And I’ve noticed how many times the generic term “technology” shows up as a strategic priority in these sessions. It’s time to push back (gently) on this idea.
What’s Going On, in Two Scenes
Often when this comes up, it doesn’t take much scratching below the surface to find out that this means there are a few areas where the organization would like to get some of the latest cool features that some slick fintech or Apple have introduced that’
s making the customer experience much faster or easier. So the thinking goes: installing gadget X will be a “strategy” to entice existing or new members to do Y.
Sometimes when this comes up in the planning session, the digging reveals that there are a couple of technology features that are now commonplace that the credit union is lacking, such as fully online account opening or a digital loan application process. It’s here that the board and leadership recognize that without these features, they will be left behind. (An incredibly valid thought and concern!)
But playing catch-up is not a strategy.
I Thought We Were Done with the Word “Pivot”
It’s time to pivot away from thinking about technology features, whistles and bells, as a strategic approach. Would you consider having locks on the doors, cameras in the lobby, and multi-factor authentication as a strategy? Probably not. This is part of a security approach, a necessary security approach. It’s time to put our generic term of “technology” in the same category.
Few credit unions can be at the bleeding edge of tech-based products and services that are truly novel and strategic. At best we try to be fast followers. But this doesn’t mean that you pay any less attention to the technology needs of the organization. On the contrary. I’m suggesting that it needs to be woven into everything you do, into those things that actually qualify as Key Strategic Initiatives.
* Back to the Tricky Asterisk
Here’s the qualified, “it depends” moment. Some of my planning clients have heard this from me: If the organization is very behind in its technology offerings for member experience or in products and services, so much so that it can be considered an existential-ish crisis, then you may need to have “technology” needs on your Key Strategic Initiatives for a planning cycle. Ideally no more than one planning cycle, but that may not be realistic for some depending on how far behind they are. But the critical point is to try to get to a place, as quickly as possible, where you take technology off of your strategic initiatives for those existential reasons.
Change the thinking. Improve the outcomes.
