About Teachers Federal Credit Union
Teachers Federal Credit Union (Teachers) is one of the country’s largest credit unions with $8.8 billion in assets and more than 400,000 members across all 50 states. Founded on Long Island in 1952, Teachers is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution that provides members with 32 full-service branches throughout Long Island, Queens and Manhattan, as well as access to services at more than 5,000 shared service centers located across the country. Over the years and through various partnerships, Teachers has been proud of its role as a key supporter of the communities it serves. Teachers offers a range of member-focused products with competitive rates and low fees that started as a smart solution for teachers—now smart for all. For more information visit www.teachersfcu.org.
Success Snapshot
110,000+
Walk in interactions tracked in 2021
15,000+
Completed appointments in 2021
10 hours
Saved per employee per month admin tasks
22
States experienced member growth
The Goal:
Get More 1:1 Time With Members—Both In-Person and Virtually
Teachers Federal Credit Union has a big goal: they want to expand into all 50 states and become “America’s credit union.” A key part of their growth strategy is increasing engagement with new and existing members through in-person and virtual channels (especially for those not near a physical branch).
However, the credit union’s process for booking facetime with members wasn’t easy. Members had to contact the credit unions’ call center to request a meeting. Since the contact center couldn’t see or access staff calendars, they’d often tell members to visit a branch for service—even though this wasn’t always a convenient option.
When members arrived at a branch, they’d check in using a clipboard. Both members and personnel disliked this outdated sign-in process. Plus, the paper records made it difficult to see branch activity at-a-glance. In addition, staff didn’t know who would walk in, so they spent a lot of time juggling unpredictable traffic levels each day.
As a result of this process, advisors also couldn’t prepare for all of their appointments. They started most interactions by asking members to explain their needs (sometimes for the second or third time). They also didn’t have a simple way to proactively book time with members to discuss products and services that may interest them—which was integral to Teachers’ member engagement and growth goals.
Teachers needed a scheduling system that could improve branch efficiencies, make it easy for members and staff to pre-schedule meetings, and give management better insights into appointment data across branches and channels.
“We wanted to engage members across the country. But we didn’t have an easy way for members to book appointments with us. No one wants to start a relationship by contacting a call center.”
Austin Hopkins
Premier & Relationship Sales |Teachers Federal Credit Union
The Solution:
Drive Member Engagement With Appointment Scheduling Software
After looking into several solutions, Arvest chose Coconut Software’s Appointment Scheduling and Lobby Management platform for the following reasons:
- Designed for credit unions. Coconut’s solutions are built specifically for financial institutions. Its design made the booking flow simple for both members and staff. With Coconut, Teachers could increase appointments, drive workforce efficiency, and uncover performance insights they couldn’t get with their existing systems.
- Fast implementation and integrations. Teachers typically spent six to seven months rolling out new technology. But Coconut was launched in less than two months, thanks to its ease of use and onboarding support. Teachers and Coconut also partnered to implement a first-of-its-kind Salesforce Integration that helps staff see members’ recent appointment data. This would help the Teachers team determine when and how best to follow up with members.
- Proactive appointment booking options. With Coconut, Members could schedule in-person, phone, or video meetings from Teachers’ website and app. Teachers staff could also proactively offer appointments via email campaigns and unique booking links. This would help Teachers proactively engage members—and give advisors more opportunities to have relevant sales conversations with clients.
“We’ve completed a lot of technology implementations in the past few years. Coconut Software offered the best implementation, experience, and customer support by far.”
Austin Hopkins
Director – Premier & Relationship Sales | Teachers Federal Credit Union
The Results:
Improved Satisfaction and National Member Base Growth
Teachers rolled out Coconut’s Appointment Scheduling software to all of their branches and the Relationship Sales Team in the spring of 2021. Since then, the credit union has onboarded more than 300 personnel across six departments and achieved the following results:
- Higher member satisfaction. After rolling out Coconut Software, Teachers immediately saw a massive spike in their member experience score. Since then, they’ve seen continuous improvements in scores quarter over quarter.
- Increased sales opportunities and revenue. In the past year, Teachers staff and members have used Coconut Software to book and log a record-breaking 125,000 appointments. The increase in meetings allows staff to spend more time deepening relationships with members so they can boost sales and revenue. As an example, they’ve seen increased mortgage applications since offering proactive 1:1 appointments to speak with a mortgage loan officer.
- Fueled nationwide member growth. Offering virtual appointments and an easy, transparent booking process helped Teachers connect with members across the country—including areas where they don’t have a physical branch yet. This helped them drive member growth in 22 states. “Expansion wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t have this tool that makes it easy for members to meet with us from anywhere,” says Austin.
- Saved thousands of staff hours. Since staff have a better view of appointment volume, they’re better prepared for each day and spend less time dealing with clipboards and lineups. Now, each branch is saving 10 hours per employee per month on administrative tasks related to appointments. Employees also love the convenience Coconut offers them, and management has seen higher satisfaction scores from them as a result.
- Better quality appointments. Coconut allows staff to see who they are meeting with in advance. They can prepare for each appointment type, send reminders, and collect important information ahead of time. Now, staff can focus solely on members’ needs when they arrive—instead of starting every meeting collecting basic details.
- Improved reporting—and decision making. Coconut helps Teachers quickly view branch traffic and performance. This data has helped them optimize staffing levels, minimize wait times, see which services are the most common, and make operations decisions based on the volume and type of virtual appointment bookings received. Teachers also uses member demographics via appointment campaign sources, which gives them a better understanding of their members preferred choice of engagement. Now, decisions are more grounded in real data instead of best guesses.
“Over the last year, Teachers has transformed how members engage with us. Whether it be in person, by phone, or via video, appointments can be made at a time that is convenient for them.”
Prakash Sathengeri
VP – IT Strategy Transformation | Teachers Federal Credit Union
