Building projects: Wait and see or time to act?
The time is now for credit unions that have delayed building or branch refresh projects, but it’s crucial to move forward strategically.
Over the past year, uncertainty tied to the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic has led many businesses to embrace a “wait and see” approach, pushing back decisions about major investments and setting arbitrary deadlines to revisit critical conversations in order to “see how things play out.” As many organizations begin to reopen these conversations, we’re seeing a sense of urgency to make up for lost time or to act before more things change. While that is understandable, building and renovation projects, core investments and digital infrastructure initiatives aren’t easily fast-tracked in normal times, and now is certainly no exception.
While we can’t make up for lost time, it does make sense to retire the “wait and see” approach. Throughout history, analysis shows financial institutions that sought guidance for investing in the midst of economic uncertainty and made smart, strategic investments in their physical infrastructure and brands experienced strong returns and came out of recessions in a better position than their counterparts, poised for quick, sustainable growth.
We’re seeing that ring true for financial institutions that have invested in building, branding and technology projects over the last 18 months. So, what about those credit unions that embraced the “wait and see” ideology and now feel ready to take the next steps in enhancing their branch networks?
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