We are half-way through the year! Now is an excellent time to stop and assess the credit union’s data analytics initiatives and course-correct any gaps in your program.
Take this quick check-up to assess your progress on becoming a data-driven organization.
( ) Are you integrating data from multiple data sources regularly into a single source of truth?
How well data is integrated throughout the organization is anchored on how fast and how well the credit union can glean meaningful insights from the data assets to generate better products, services, and member experiences. Data integration involves techniques and processes that ingest, transform, and combine data across all sources, wherever that data may live, creating a unified, single view of the data. The faster you can access the insights from your data, the faster you can take action. Speed and responsiveness supported by accurate, trustworthy data leads to successful business outcomes.
Data that is not integrated remains siloed, not cleansed, un-mastered, can be difficult to analyze and potentially be unreliable. If the organization is lacking data integration tools, investing in a leading data warehouse ensures your data is clean and unified from all sources and that the integration capabilities can keep your credit union moving with as much speed and agility as possible.
( ) Are custom data definitions embedded into your analytics platform?
Every credit union has custom definitions they use for regular reporting and analytics. How are your credit tiers defined? Do you have a different definition for a member or household? Each of these fields are essential to get accurate and can be difficult to identify without a data warehouse. A successful analytics platform ensures these critical elements are at your fingertips with no manual calculation required.
( ) Are KPIs and other critical metrics entirely automated?
Has your organization spent time clearly defining the data’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? Having clearly defined organizational KPIs gives your analytics efforts a guiding direction. There are thousands of different analytic opportunities your team could explore. The Knowlton Group recommends determining the metrics that matter most to your credit union.
Many credit unions struggle to align their strategic goals with operational goals. This can be due to changing of traditional KPIs (like return on assets or membership growth), but this realignment is essential and should be automated. If your business is committed to data-driven decision making, establishing the right KPIs is crucial. Remember, the point of a KPI is to gain focus and align goals for measurable improvement. You can only improve what you measure, so focusing on the right KPIs will help the organization track and measure improvement. If you need help defining the best KPIs, The Knowlton Group can help.
( ) Can business users self-service their data and reporting?
Have you taken the time to understand each line-of-business’s needs regarding what information is required and how to act on insights? Business users need to access their reporting and pull data at any time with minimal involvement from developers. You can start by establishing what systems and processes are needed to drive the flow of data throughout the credit union. Each line-of-business will require different data outputs to hit their set goals. By providing easy access to the data, and a streamlined process to put the data into action, alignment of the overall business initiatives becomes routine.
In a data-driven culture, everyone can be a data analyst. The data needs to be transparent, and employees need the tools to access it. Spend time and effort providing resources and training so business units have access to dashboards and analytic tools to extract insights from the data. Once they learn how to extract insights, encourage them to share their ideas with all areas of the credit union.
Another recommendation is to train employees from all departments in data literacy and how to interpret raw data into knowledge and action. With proper and ongoing training, employees will use the data analytics tools to their fullest capabilities.
If your credit union has hit some obstacles along the journey, it’s best to partner with experts who can develop a strategy and a roadmap for accountability. This is what the Knowlton Group does exceptionally well. Our industry-leading VeriCU Data Platform will give your credit union then platform it needs to win with data. Start the discussion today, send us an email or give us a call at 860-593-7842 to learn how we can help.