How the right records management solution can streamline credit union operations

If a cluttered desk denotes a cluttered mind, what does a cluttered digital filing cabinet say about an organization?

With various regulations in place that stipulate how and when financial institutions collect, keep and dispose of customer data, administrators are often left to manually manage large volumes of records. Unfortunately, complex and tedious tasks of this nature can bog down staff and take away time that should be dedicated to more valuable activities. This is where centralized document and records management comes in. The right records management solution is key to streamlining experiences for credit union staff and customers alike.

Pinning down the pain points

Every customer account includes large amounts of sensitive data and information. It’s up to credit unions to keep those details secure and safe but also accessible at a moment’s notice. This is a tough balance to strike, and many financial institutions struggle to manage costs and regulations while maintaining that level of convenience and security. But when it comes to record handling, any breakdown within these categories could be costly in both the monetary and reputational sense.

Data shows that financial institutions experience the second-highest average cost per data breach. The average $5.97 million loss would be detrimental to any business, and for credit unions — which are built on the foundation of member trust — the added reputational damage would be even more devastating. Record disorganization and misuse can lead to fines as well as put institutions at operational and regulatory risk when the next audit comes around.

Additionally, not only will dispersed information frustrate employees who are tasked with locating records, it will also have an adverse effect on the member experience, where confidence and trust are paramount. With advanced and easy-to-use records management solutions available, there’s no reason to risk penalties or overburden credit union employees with scattered records and stacks of paper.

Leveraging the power of records management

Digital transformation is exciting for any organization, and an excellent records management solution is a key part of this modernization journey. Content services technology is highly beneficial, streamlining operations across business units and simplifying larger strategies.

Here are six key advantages of converting paper or digitized records to an improved centralized information and records management platform:

1. Support business continuity: To reduce friction for credit union employees, records must be simple to access at any time and from any location, especially given today’s distributed workforce. However, convenience must not come at the expense of security. Records management solutions offer security tools in a scalable, resilient database.
2. Reduce operational costs: There’s only so much space to store records — especially for credit unions that are reducing their footprint due to increased online services and hybrid or remote workforces. When information is instead kept and protected in digital vaults made specifically to house sensitive information, organizations can eliminate space as well as storage costs.
3. Reduce information silos: Visibility into record-keeping goes a long way toward minimizing human hours spent searching for and requesting access to information. Records management solutions allow organizations to sort folders and files in the hierarchies and groups that work best for their needs, thus speeding up business operations.
4. Address regulatory and compliance requirements: Government and industry compliance rules can often shift unpredictably — records management solutions can help credit unions quickly and easily adjust to address new regulations.
5. Support audits: While audits are huge undertakings, there should still be time and energy left in the day for administrators to focus on other business-critical tasks. Records management systems often have helpful features like tagging, document history, system activity, and audit trails which help simplify the process.
6. Improve member experience: Today, customers expect services seamlessly and quickly. The faster member service representatives can access the information they need, the faster members can get on with their day.

Improving workflows across functions

Investing in centralized content services technologies should improve experiences for both employees and members while boosting the bottom line. A single source of truth eliminates pesky guesswork and makes it easier for admins, legal personnel, and member service representatives to leverage information.

For example, automating the content lifecycle can give back-office administrators time back in their day and quell the unease the legal department may have about information storage. All an administrator must do is calibrate the system with a few easy clicks and the system can ferry one piece of content — or thousands at a time — from active to retention to disposition.

Cleaning up the digital realm

It wasn’t too long ago when financial institutions, especially local credit unions, had backrooms and basements brimming with overstuffed filing cabinets. Digitized records have, for the most part, replaced paper documentation. However, the old disorganization habits have transferred to the digital realm. Luckily, records management technology is a breeze to set up, use and maintain, empowering credit unions to focus on what matters most: members. 

For more information about records management and to see it in action, check out the webinar “Streamlining Records Management for Banks and Credit Unions with Laserfiche” and my previous articles on emerging technology solutions for financial institutions.