CoreTrac

When it comes to tracking members’ requests for information on new products and services, many credit unions rely on old fashioned paper forms, or perhaps Excel spreadsheets. Both methods almost always prove to be clumsy and unmanageable, especially as the credit union grows. Often, the first alternative that comes to mind for many credit union executives – a Member Relationship Management (MRM) system – makes them nervous when they consider the costs and complexity of implementing such a system. However, one credit union, Roanoke, VA-based Member One Federal Credit Union, has implemented a powerful, but affordable and easy-to-use, MRM system called ResourceOne from Austin, TX-based CoreTrac, Inc.

Even though they are a fairly large credit union with over $330MM in assets, Member One did not want to take on a complex and expensive MRM project. Their goal was to find a solution that was user friendly and tailored to the credit union’s dynamic needs. Cheryl McIntyre, AVP of Training and Sales, and her team did extensive research which led them to CoreTrac in 2003. Cheryl recalls, “We did some demonstrations with the CoreTrac system and found that it was really easy to use. We also liked the fact that it had a lot of capabilities already built-in, and the price point was right too.”

During the implementation phase of ResourceOne, Cheryl had her first opportunity to work closely with CoreTrac’s experienced project managers and technical support staff. “They kept us on track and did an excellent job of helping us with setting up policies, configuring the system to our needs, and general training,” states Cheryl, “I can’t say enough about their technical support!” CoreTrac’s developers and support team also assisted Member One’s IT Department with integrating ResourceOne with the credit union’s UltraData core processing system.

While ResourceOne is a full-featured, browser-based contact management and sales force automation system, it also includes many other useful modules, including a Case Management module. Cheryl explains, “We were ready to roll out an incentive program and were quite happy to find that ResourceOne came with an excellent compensation feature.” Employees and managers can securely view their compensation progress throughout the day, week, and month. Cheryl appreciates the fact that, “The system can be customized to our specific needs. It really offers a lot of flexibility and options.”

Of course to be effective, any system must be adopted by the front line employees – tellers, call center representatives, loan officers, etc. – that deal with members on a day-to-day basis. Cheryl is pleased to report, “Our employees are really happy to have the system. They were glad to get rid of the paperwork and now they can easily communicate with each other and follow-up with members. They especially like the Notes feature which allows them to keep close ties on the status of each referral and ensures that they maintain high member service levels to our 60,000+ members.”

A key component of any MRM system is its ability to provide useful reports on such items as referrals, pipeline, production, goals, lost business, performance, calls and events. CoreTrac’s ResourceOne includes a robust reporting engine that delivers reports that can be sorted by branch, user, product and/or date. This information is invaluable to the credit union’s management team so that they can easily obtain the big picture on how employees, branches and the credit union as a whole are performing. Cheryl emphasizes, “We are so pleased with the reporting and we especially like the different levels of security that the system provides for viewing reports.”

With over 400 partner companies or Select Employee Groups, Member One Federal Credit Union has a diverse membership to serve, and is always looking to expand their membership base. They have no intention of becoming complacent about member service and needed an MRM solution that enhances their performance-based culture and increases efficiency of all their employees. That is why Cheryl and the other credit union employees appreciate CoreTrac’s commitment to constantly improving their software. “They really listen to our requests for enhancements and are always asking for client feedback,” insists Cheryl. She adds, “ResourceOne and CoreTrac have met all of our expectations and we are happy to recommend them to other credit unions.”