When sailing into the unfamiliar territory of digital innovation, credit unions who have a clear course and destination are more likely to enjoy a successful journey. After decades in credit union leadership—and more than a few lessons learned on a sailboat—I know the value of a reliable compass and wind indicator. For credit unions, our cooperative values are that compass. With a little recalibration, these values can keep us moving confidently with purpose as we discover innovative ways to serve our members.
1. Plot your bearings: Observe with purpose
When steering towards innovation, purposeful observation brings insight into what members truly want. Invite employees to stay alert, speak up, and share what they’re seeing. Identifying friction points is more than resolving operational headaches—it’s a way of honoring our commitment to improve members’ financial lives
Here are a few tips to strengthen your observation skills:
- Ask questions: Encourage your team to be observant by asking them questions. Find out what slows them down. Ask frontline staff what questions members keep repeating. What recurring questions do you receive?
- Watch for process pain: Notice when tasks consistently take members and staff a long time to complete or cause them to show frustration.
- Do tasks yourself: This can help you discover if any part of a process, like an online loan application, is confusing or time-consuming.
Takeaway: Active, deliberate observation will help you chart a clear route to innovations that elevate the member experience.
2. Trim the sails: Test small adjustments for a more secure journey
Once you understand where friction exists, it’s time to adjust your sails. Small, thoughtful changes can quickly steer members into calmer waters and build confidence across your credit union. Start by removing obstacles that slow down the member journey, including:
- Manual, repetitive tasks—data entry, paperwork, and routine phone calls
- In-branch tasks, like loan applications, that can be done online
- Member wait times or delays, whether for service or decisions
- Cumbersome steps, forms, fields, or clicks in digital processes
Next, follow a low-risk innovation approach: test improvements in a controlled way. Pilot an update with one branch, one team, or one member segment. Measure what matters—time saved, accuracy improved, or steps removed—and use that data to choose your next move.
Takeaway: Small updates speed up the impact of innovation while controlled tests reduce risk, maximize limited budgets, and build steady momentum.
3. Collaborate for a successful course
Every department contributes to the member experience. If you want to successfully innovate, then create opportunities for different teams to share insights and cooperate.
How to bring people together:
- Create cross-functional sessions between teams that don’t normally interact—Marketing and Operations, Lending and Finance, and beyond.
- Explore partnerships with other credit unions to share costs on bigger projects or gain access to specialized expertise, such as fractional CTO support.
- Keep your board updated. Share what you’re observing, how removing friction will add member value, and how low-risk testing ensures responsible progress. Highlight wins to build trust and alignment.
Takeaway: Creating opportunities for all stakeholders to get involved leads to stronger, more effective innovation.
What comes next
If you’re reading this article, you’ve already started your journey towards innovation, so here are some tips to keep that momentum going!
- Ask your team: “What frustrated members—or you—this week?”
- Complete one member journey yourself
- Identify one unnecessary process step, remove it and test what happens
- Shadow a frontline staff member
- Host a cross‑functional meeting
- Share your insights, risk reduction steps, and results with your board
When you combine the timeless compass of credit union values with deliberate observation, practical adjustments, and collaborative effort, innovation becomes not only achievable—but natural. It’s a strategy that leads to real improvements in members’ lives.
As you continue the next phase of your journey, Envisant is here to navigate alongside you. From payments solutions to strategic fintech partnerships, our team works with credit unions nationwide to achieve their vision for member service. Explore how we can help at: https://www.envisant.com/solutions/.
