AUX Blog

By Guest Contributor Anne Legg, Data Strategist and Owner of THRIVE™

When data is connected and generating sights, the next step is to take action. Moving from insight to action can be one of the challenging aspects of leveraging enterprise data. To help build a formal pipeline of actions that solve members’ problems, consider the following framework.

#1. Focus on the member problem

Identifying the member problem the credit union is leveraging its data to solve, creates clarity on the mission and consensus on the team needed.

#2. Create a process to develop and implement the solutions

One of the most successful problem-solving methodologies is called Human-centered design/ design thinking. Human-centered design (HCD) is a design and management framework that develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of problem-solving. Design thinking is the application of HCD. Design teams use design thinking to tackle ill-defined or unknown problems. The process reframes these problems in human-centric ways and allows designers to focus on what’s most important for users. HCD process follows the following five phases

• Empathize
• Define
• Ideate
• Prototype
• Test

#3. Collaborate cross departmentally

The team members who are engaged in the HCD are critical. They should come from a variety of departments, so collaboration and co-creation can occur. A significant part of the HCD success is the variety of perspectives in the process.

#4. Overcome the fear of failure

To solve problems and create solutions will mean that some outcomes will not end up as desired. It is essential to look at these as not failures but as learning opportunities. If the credit union has a learning culture, then this framework will produce results. If the credit union does not have a learning culture, this framework will help lay the foundation to become one.

🙌 Credit Union Benefits from Formal Problem-Solving

Creating the member-centric data mindset allows credit union talent to do the following:

1. Create a distinctive member experience that is powered by technology and is obsessively member-focused.
2. Leverage the power of cross-functional teams that generate high-speed innovation and result in a strong pipeline of new products to meet member needs.
3. Build a robust data consumption capability to propel the credit union to scale fast and efficiently and stay competitive in the future.

>>>Interested in learning more on this topic? Check out our whitepaper “Infusing Data into Your Credit Union’s DNA”

About the Author

Anne Legg is the founder, and principal of THRIVE™ Strategic Services. THRIVE™ works with credit unions to create revolutionary member relationships via organizational education, member-centric data strategies, and data maturity.

She is a recognized credit union business strategist, presenter author, educator with an MBA thesis on the credit union business model as well as two internationally published whitepapers on credit union business strategy. She has delivered over 100 onsite sessions to over 600 credit union senior leaders across the united states, launching their data journeys.

Anne is author of Big Data/Big Climb, the industry’s only playbook on data transformation. And she taught at the CUNA Marketing School and has acted as the subject matter expert for CUNA’s Credit Union marketing curriculum. She has also been an author to CUNA’s Environmental Scan, The Credit Union industry’s leading strategic planning guide. She has also served on various Credit Union Boards, including; CUNA’s Marketing and Business Development Executive Council, MAC, and the California and Nevada Credit Union League Public Advocacy Committee.