Mystery shopping programs help direct staff training and measure how CUs stack up against competitors
A senior citizen walked into his Dallas credit union to discuss his soon-to-mature share certificate. Interest rates had dropped, and he was looking for a better way to invest his money.
The teller directed him to a CU member service rep to learn more about his options, noting that possibly an annuity or a conservative mutual fund would better suit his needs.
Unbeknownst to the teller, this senior citizen was more than what met the eye. He was a mystery shopper, evaluating the customer experience. He was taking note of such things as whether the teller introduced him to the MSR, or just pointed and sent him away, and whether the teller restated his inquiry to the consultant, or left him, the valued member, to re-tell his story.
Credit unions are using mystery shoppers right now to monitor and improve everything from customer service and cross-selling techniques to compliance and fair lending practices and how well they measure up to the competition
Often used as a tool to identify and continually improve customer service, mystery shopping can have a significant impact on every aspect of the customer experience, which ultimately drives the bottom line.
The impact of mystery shopping on credit unions has changed significantly over the years.
“Before, we had to explain mystery shopping,” says Judi Hess, owner of Customer Perspectives(TM) in Hooksett, NH. “Now that the discipline has proven its value to the industry, we need to explain new ideas for maximizing your program.”
Hess explains that an effective mystery shopping program approaches customer service improvement from several angles. The same shopping program can be used to measure and fine-tune training initiatives and highlight specific results with individual employees. Results could also be part of an incentive program on the individual or branch level.
Training and Measurement
$1.6 billion Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Calif., uses mystery shopping on regularly to monitor all member touch points; including teller shops, loan shops, phone shops and new account shops. Management uses the data to pinpoint specific areas that may need improvement.
Travis CU’s January 2007 mystery shop reports were showing a score of just 62 percent for employees asking questions and listening for cues of how the credit union could better serve members. The CU implemented a training program that taught employees what types of phrases to listen for and what kinds of questions to ask. In a year’s time, the same question received an 82 percent score. During the same time frame, Travis CU had 8,014 direct new members compared to 7,842 in 2006.
“If employees aren’t listening and asking questions, they’re missing opportunities,” said Renee DeSantis, president, Game Film Consultants, a mystery shopping firm in Austin, Texas. “That’s where the value of mystery shopping is very evident. It clearly shows where to focus your training efforts.”
In its shop, $98 million Premier Federal Credit Union in Greensboro, N.C., was looking to improve its cross-selling. It leveraged mystery shopping results to pinpoint specific areas where employees could use additional training.
“Realizing that providing top-level service to members includes offering a variety of products to meet their needs, we began to focus on a ‘needs-based’ selling culture,” says CUES member Lori Thompson, executive vice president of Premier FCU. “Our mystery shopping program was a key factor in being sure employees were on the right track.”
When the mystery shopping program began, Premier FCU employees achieved a 52.8 percent score on closing skills, or asking questions to see where additional products may benefit members. Relying heavily on mystery shopping scores and training provided by its mystery shopping provider (Customer 1st, Greensboro, N.C.), Premier FCU was able to increase its closing score to 95.6 percent in just two years.
Measurements and Morale
Premier FCU also implemented an incentive program for strong shop results by publicly recognizing associates for a job well done. Sometimes associates are rewarded with movie tickets or other small but meaningful giveaways to recognize exceptional evaluations. This step can boost the likelihood of positive results, says Carl Philips, director of Customer-1st.
“It’s about catching them doing it right,” says Phillips. “The old adage, ‘You can’t move what you don’t measure,’ applies here. If associates know a mystery shopping program is in place to measure closing standards, then they will be more likely to meet those standards.”
No matter the type of shop, program or initiative, mystery shopping is an excellent opportunity to boost employee morale.
As Phillips pointed out, the simple fact that employees know they’re being evaluated is often an incentive to do good work. Recognizing employees for a job well done or talking through things that didn’t go so well is a form of hands-on training that gets results
According to Bob Maietta of Service Evaluation Concepts, a credit union in Massachusetts uses its mystery shopping reports at quarterly meetings with loan officers. Team leaders point out the areas of the mystery shopping program that show weakness, taking out the names of employees and discussing ways to fix the problem. More importantly, they also point out the areas where employees do exceptionally well. That simple task alone helped improve mystery shop scores to the level of the credit union’s service standards
Frank Aloi of ath Power Consulting in Andover, Mass., says mystery shopping can focus a credit union back on the basics of the industry.
“Credit unions were created to deliver the type of member/customer-focused service that banks want to be known for,” Aloi said. “We’re seeing the trend in the industry that mystery shopping is being used as one of the primary mediums to gather customer experience data. Effective shop programs tell management what really is happening out on the front lines.”
In addition to revealing a credit union’s strengths and weaknesses, mystery shopping can also be used to see how well a credit union is measuring up to its competition. Evaluating the same customer touch points at competitive banks and other credit unions allows significant insight into opportunities to gain new members.
“Using the information for coaching and training truly will create change and improve customer service,” says Brian Caldwell, client services manager for IntelliShop in Perrysburg, Ohio. “It’s a simple equation. Better customer service leads to better member satisfaction which equals a better bottom line.”
By John Swinburn
Executive Director of MSPA
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