Can You See Success? Data-Driven Insight Creates a Clear Line of Sight

by Rhonda Sheets | Founder, President, CEO

Executive Summary:

Banking executives struggle to gain a “clear line of sight” when their strategic vision is clouded by uncertainty. Today’s economic trends, global socio-political events, consumer volatility, and a lack of adequate resources all contribute to a foggy outlook that must be cleared to succeed.

The clarity needed for timely and effective decision-making demands reliable customer data that gives banking leaders an accurate and honest view of the situation. Four Focus Factors – Shared Understanding, Ownership, Collaboration, and Transparency – are key to operationalizing the data throughout the organization to reach desired outcomes quickly and predictably.

Takeaways:

• A clear line of sight provided by reliable customer data is essential for banking executives trying to navigate today’s uncertainty. 

• Leaders moving toward defined, measurable objectives must leverage CX data to foster Shared Understanding of issues, encourage Ownership, drive Collaboration, and promote Transparency.

• Objective data analysis of customer feedback, done properly, is the source of valuable insights that can improve decision making and lead to predictable outcomes.

• Executive commitment to following where the data leads produces the clarity needed to define a path forward for the entire organization.

When the CEO of the largest bank in the United States acknowledges the novelty of our current economic environment, you know things are serious. In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon admits:

“I am often frustrated when people talk about today’s uncertainty as if it were any different from yesterday’s uncertainty. However, in this case, I believe it actually is.”

Like many leaders, banking executives seem to be most engaged in their role when they are able to, well, execute the organizational vision. Most of them have achieved their position by being able to articulate a clear mission and inspire others to fulfill it in everyday operations.

But these days many credit union and bank CEOs seem to be opting for a way out, whether through a merger, career change, or early retirement. They are frustrated by the continued inability to see a clear path to their objectives. Their vision is obscured by uncertainty. Even the most competent leaders are frustrated by not having the data they need to move forward. Without the information needed to keep teams focused on a predictable path, leadership struggles to keep the organization together.

As you may know, time isn’t always taken – or available – for executives to just think.  If you took the time to just think through all the complexities, you likely would end up with one or more of the following reflective questions:

How do I…

• improve the capability of my executive team to work together to respond quickly to problems?
• increase the speed at which issues are detected and diagnosed?
• shorten the time needed for my executive team to decide and act to resolve issues?
• identify and resolve internal organizational issues impacting CX delivery?
• foster workplace synergy by improving internal communication and engagement?

This article will help you bring into reach the answers to these questions that unfortunately remain frustratingly out of reach for many executives.

Executive Clarity to Bridge Disconnects

Banking executives can’t reach their goals due to a disconnect between their strategy and its execution – a disconnect caused by a lack of usable data. Executives challenged in an uncertain economic environment to get stronger performance outcomes with fewer resources are looking for the means to make decisions and execute strategy quickly, based on the best possible intel.

In organizations where executives are tasked with meeting their own departmental targets, a lack of actionable intel makes it difficult to reach decisions and act in a timely, unified manner.

Because delivery of the customer experience depends directly on employees, service issues embedded in organizational processes can pose a persistent, deep-rooted threat to customer relationships. Sudden changes accompanying rapid growth – for example, through mergers and acquisitions – can also strain infrastructure and personnel.

So how do banking execs get everyone moving in the same – and the right – direction?

Organizations that have not developed habits and skills that allow them to work together efficiently struggle to maintain a focus on the customer. This focus demands a reliable and continuous source of data – not merely ABOUT the customer but actually FROM the customer.

A data-driven focus means everyone is committed to following the data where it leads.

Objective data, based on measurable facts and metrics, demands attention from everyone as the compass for action. Data-driven decision making, after all, does not rely on guesswork and intuition-based judgments.

But even executives with access to a large amount of data can be challenged by the task of making sense of it and effectively operationalizing its insights.

Done properly, customer data analysis provides valuable insights into customer needs, market trends, and emerging opportunities. Patterns in customer behavior and preferences reveal opportunities for innovation to gain a competitive edge.

Armed with actionable data, banking executives can identify gaps between service performance and expectations, develop new products and services, and enhance existing offerings.

Fortunately, there are identifiable characteristics that can be developed, like any skill, to make organizations more unified and efficient in operationalizing their data.

4 Focus Factors for a Clear Line of Sight

What does it mean for banking leaders to have a “clear line of sight,” and how does it help their organizations thrive in a way that keeps their customers loyal, even through uncertain times?

First, think of what it means to NOT have a clear line of sight: an organization that is fragmented in its use of data is like the old parable of the blind men attempting to learn about an elephant by each touching a different part. Disagreement is sparked by their individual findings. Their only hope of arriving at the truth lies in working together.

Here, then, are the “Four Focus Factors” that (properly executed!) can illuminate the blind spots and bring clarity to the complexity your bank or credit union is dealing with:

1.  Shared UnderstandingFirst, having a clear line of sight means that everyone relies on the same data to create a shared understanding, not only of the organization’s goals, but of the priorities that emerge from the data. With this, teams can align their efforts toward a common objective – where the data is pointing! This demands that everyone work together to both prioritize and then actually FIX the issues.2. Ownership

Second, a clear line of sight fosters ownership, as consistent data will reveal not only effort, but effectiveness. A data-driven focus means everyone is committed to following the data where it leads and owning it. Everyone participates in resolving the issue at hand. And everyone shares in the achievement – individually and together.

3. CollaborationThird, a clear line of sight enables teams to work more effectively by coordinating their efforts across teams, involving all affected areas – which may include both front office and back office support teams. When an organization is in repair mode or, worse yet, fixated on damage control, multiple functional areas are typically involved and need to be included in the resolution.Just imagine the outcome if no one is actually reaching across the aisle to solve organization-wide problems revealed in the data. If the issue is systemic, as so many are, it’s going to take everyone working together to get to the root of it.4. TransparencyFinally, a clear line of sight demands transparency among team members. All cards are on the table to solve the problem at hand, using objective data to make decisions in the best interest of the organization.

Ask your leadership team this question: “Do we really want predictable outcomes?” If the answer is a resounding, “Yes!” the next question is, “Where is the data to drive us toward the outcomes and to demonstrate that we are actually gaining ground in achieving them?”

A Real-World Example of a Clear Line of Sight

ORNL Federal Credit Union in Tennessee faced dramatic drops in member satisfaction following two service disruptions, including a digital conversion. Fortunately, the strategy they adopted to deal with the situation involved a Shared Understanding of priorities revealed by the data – namely, that members’ expectations were evolving toward digital channels and greater personalization.

Rather than insulating themselves from anticipated member backlash, ORNL FCU’s executive leaders took Ownership of the truth – as revealed through their CX intel – about what their members were thinking and feeling during the disruptions. As expected, not all of the feedback was positive. But it was instructive in directing Collaborative action to retain members who might otherwise be looking elsewhere for banking services.

ORNL FCU’s leadership was open about the challenges associated with the disruptions. This Transparency to both departmental teams and its membership paved the way for a swift recovery in member satisfaction and loyalty: NPS rose from a low of 64.0 immediately following the digital conversion to 79.75 three months later. ORNL FCU has since sustained this level of high performance, with an NPS of 80.52 for April 2023.

The data thus ultimately revealed that organizations like ORNL FCU committed to following its feedback intel can accelerate recovery in the wake of disruptions.

What is the reward when you gain a clear line of sight?  Uncertainty goes away: you will know where you are through the data – like it or not – and you will be able to define a clear path to (among other things) fostering employee retention, ensuring customer retention, achieving predictable customer growth, improving operational efficiencies, and tackling challenges and opportunities faster and better.

For executives seeking a clear line of sight to objectives like these, the Four Focus Factors are the guideposts that can get you to where you need to be – sooner than you can imagine. Even faced with uncertainty unlike any other, you will be well prepared to come out on top of the competition.

To read the complete story of ORNL Federal Credit Union’s resilience, get the case study here: supportexp.com/ornl-fcu-data-analysis-bolsters-cx

Are you ready for the clarity and data-driven focus to lead your organization toward your objectives? Get in touch with one of our expert CX consultants today!

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