Planning a core conversion? One of the most important parts of that process has almost nothing to do with the vendor. Instead, it’s all about communications.
For starters, don’t call it a core conversion.
“Our brand approach to these types of communications is very personable,” says Jessica Gallagher, communications director at Credit Union 1 ($1.5B, Anchorage, AK). “We’re not going to use complicated language that makes this sound scary or unapproachable.”
Core conversions remain one of the most arduous tasks a financial institution can undertake, but clear communication plans can ease the process for staff and members alike. When Credit Union 1 converted its core in 2023, it started sending communications 60 days out informing members about a systems upgrade, the enhancements they’d see, and the potential impacts the upgrade would have on them.
Purdue Federal Credit Union ($2.0B, West Lafayette, IN) also converted in 2023. Like Credit Union 1, it had been on its previous core system since before the turn of the century.
“Ours was older than most of our employees,” Gallagher quips. “We’ve been rapidly growing and pursuing change, and it was not able to keep up. The 80s were great, but we needed to leave it behind to meet our goals.”
Come Hungry
It’s been more than two years since both shops upgraded, but the conversion process began well before that, with long-term discussions, site visits and meetings with other credit unions, vendor RFPs, and more. When it came to internal communications, the credit unions gave themselves plenty of time — 18 months before their respective go-live dates — to educate employees about why the change was happening, the impact on members, and logistics.
Each credit union also selected themes for internal communication. At Purdue FCU, staff voted on multiple options, settling in the end on “Project: Endgame,” which included T-shirts, themed videos from HR, and more. Credit Union 1 opted for Candy Land and created its own version of the classic board game to update staff on progress.
“We’d get to a hang-up and we’d say, ‘We’re stuck in the Gumdrop Mountains, we’re going to shoot for a shortcut over the Rainbow Bridge,” Gallagher says. “It gave us fun language to refer to something that was at times stressful and complicated.”
The game also helped put the project into perspective for employees and underscored how the team was working together to progress toward a larger goal. That kind of cultural buy-in — built on games, meetings, and lots and lots of food — was an essential piece of the conversion for both teams. That’s why both institutions tapped vital stakeholders from different departments to serve on transition teams.
“Food was key,” says Jackie Hofman, chief administrative officer at Purdue FCU. “I can’t tell you how much food planning we did.”
The Indiana-based co-op also hired a project manager that eventually evolved into an entire project management team, and for maximum buy-in, it still engaged all employees in the process. Employees and roles that weren’t as closely involved in the process stepped in as cheerleaders and support staff to ensure everyone was well fed, hydrated, and upbeat during the launch.
In Alaska, Credit Union 1 had a candy budget for the project and sent custom candy packages to teams with curated selections and a note about the conversion. Employees even designed a Candy Land-themed rainbow sneaker that ultimately went to one winning staffer.
Slice, Dice, And Notify
Prior to converting, Purdue FCU sent as many as 50 different communications to various member groups, going as far as to customize many of those communications for specific needs, such as divorced couples with the same membership number whose accounts would be changing or members with kids who would see changes in the way the credit union distributed statements.
“We had to do the best we could to identify potential problems and then get lists of those members so we could make them aware,” says Carrie North, assistant vice president of marketing.
With an early April go-live date, Purdue also put a hiring freeze in place starting Nov. 1.
“You don’t want to be training new people on a system for a couple of months and then, boom, they have to learn the new one,” Hoffman says.
Purdue also beefed up its branching and call center staffing and contracted out for contact center backup, although it only needed that backup for two weeks or so thanks to effective communication.
“Call volumes spiked in the beginning and then died fairly quickly,” the chief administrator adds.
The credit union gradually returned to normal staffing levels through attrition once the conversion was completed.
Credit Union 1 instituted various milestone bonus incentives to maintain subject matter experts throughout the process. Although some turnover is unavoidable, these incentives helped unify the core team and encouraged them to stick around for the entire multi-year spectrum of the project, Gallagher says. Regularly scheduled touchpoints also kept employees up to date and prepared them for when it was time to inform members.
Collaborate — And Pay It Forward
Regardless of whether a credit union brands its conversion, clear and consistent communication throughout the process are fundamental elements to success, representative from both credit unions say.
To engage staff during a systems upgrade, Credit Union 1 created a pair of custom-designed Candy Land-themed shoes employees could win.
A custom Candy Land board tracked Credit Union 1’s core conversion progress and kept the process light and fun.
“A lot of people might not understand what’s happening, so we didn’t want them to think there’s a digital banking upgrade,” North says. “We landed on ‘system upgrade’ because it insinuated that it was more of a back-office system.”
Industry collaboration was also crucial.
Purdue leaned on a variety of other credit unions for advice, including CommunityAmerica Credit Union ($5.3B, Lenexa, KS). The Kansas City-area co-op shared its communication plans and contact information, and Purdue has paid it forward, doing the same for others going through this process.
Finally, ensuring members comprehend, not just recognize, the change is also critical so members can plan ahead for things like branch closures and possible lapses in online banking or other services.
“Our member experience communications weren’t just ‘This is happening,’” Gallagher says. “The focus was on how to can prepare. We equipped them to plan with us.”
Is It Time For A Systems Upgrade?
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