Page 22 - BusinessWest December 21, 2020

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Mike Ostrowski says the pandemic has been a “disruptive innovation” that helped many customers appreciate the benefits of banking online.
ments to their businesses in the middle of a pandemic. For Kevin O’Connor, executive vice president and chief banking officer for West- field Bank, reducing foot traffic in the lobbies back in the spring was a chance to review how to make customer interactions with the bank easier in ways that were not face-to-face.
“We published all our branch phone numbers on our website so people can easily reach their local branch,” O’Connor said. “In this way, we could blend the digital experience with the personal touch of a local branch staff member who is there to assist.”
During the summer months, mandates were relaxed, and banks and credit unions were allowed to reopen their lobbies to walk-in traffic. But this month, as COVID-19 infection rates spiked, lobby restrictions were reinstated at many institutions.
“Because we went through lobby closures back in the spring, we were able to refine the process of helping customers find different ways to accomplish what they need to do,” O’Connor said.
For example, Westfield Bank makes video tutorials available online for those who are new to electronic banking. “We do this to encourage
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noted that, when lobby traffic was first curtailed and members would call to complete a basic transaction, his staff would take the the time to educate the caller on how to accomplish what they wanted to do
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people to be comfortable in whatever way they interact with us.” Michael Ostrowski, president and CEO of Arrha Credit Union,
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“We published all our branch phone numbers on our website so people can easily reach their local branch. In this way, we could blend the digital experience with the personal touch of a local branch staff member who is
there to assist.”
electronically.
“In some ways, the pandemic was a disruptive innovation because it
helped us to migrate so many people to the electronic world,” Ostrows- ki, said adding that online and mobile activity with Arrha has increased 30% in the last nine months.
Educating members is also the approach Craig Boivin, vice presi- dent of UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, has taken. While the aim is to reduce traffic in the branch, there’s still one in-person appointment that he encourages.
“A member of our contact center staff will set up an in-branch appointment with folks who aren’t as tech-savvy and take them through a hands-on tutorial on how to use what’s available,” he explained. “We do this so the member can avoid going to the branch in the future for simple transactions.”
Customers who regularly use online banking and mobile apps bare- ly noticed the limited lobby access, but
there are others who rely on being able to walk into a branch and do business
Banks
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DECEMBER 21, 2020
BANKING & FINANCE
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