Independent Banker - July 2024 - 52

No digital transformation will run
100% smoothly, but banks can iron out
any bumps through advance planning.
Commencement Bank, for example,
planned for more than a year.
Banks also need to be getting-and
listening to-constant feedback during
planning, building and implementation.
It helps to " be open minded about what
you're being told
from a vendor or a
consultant, because
they're exposed to
[the technology] way
more often than you
are, " says Jordan of
Jack Henry.
" We're at the point that
having the best possible
digital experience is no
longer just a cool thing
that sets you apart from
your competitors. "
-JOSHUA JORDAN,
JACK HENRY
Of course, digital
transformations can
take a year or longer,
so it also helps to
have " quick wins, "
says Toussaint, to
keep momentum
going. That might
mean looking for
ways to " wrap [new
technology] around
old technology and
still deliver that
value, " which will be
different depending
on the bank, the
technology and what you're trying to do.
Bell Bank worked to ensure that
everyone at the bank was committed to
the digital transformation project, and
that it stayed a top priority instead of
something pushed onto one group and
checked in on every now and then.
" We needed that continued support
across the organization to be excited
and proud of what we're doing, and also
understand that we can't take our foot off
the gas or we will not heed the deadlines
we established, " Orcutt says.
New technology is also easy to test
before going live, says Jordan. Banks
can do that by utilizing a " sandbox
environment, " where people can test
software and check out how a customer
would interact without actually affecting
how they're banking right now. Jordan
suggests having employees and their
friends and families test out the
technology to get feedback from people of
different backgrounds and generations.
All on board
A digital overhaul will mean a shift for
your customers, but it's also a big-maybe
even bigger-change for employees.
Commencement Bank made sure the
task force leading its project focused on
communication with employees, which
included letting everyone join projectrelated
huddle meetings.
" Anybody who was impacted became
part of the process, " Manolides says. The
community bank created newsletters
with updates on progress and held bankwide
meetings addressing the conversion
and including trivia games about product
knowledge, with prizes for winners. " We
tried to make it as fun as we could and
not be intimidating, " he says.
The community bank created
an internal employee website
with information about the digital
transformation, whether they had missed
a meeting and wanted to catch up or were
looking for more information about a
specific aspect of the project. It was also
part of employee engagement surveys-
which asked questions about
what was frustrating, what
didn't work and what
about the process might
have created fear-so
that the bank could
address those issues as
quickly as possible.
Bell Bank took a
similar approach and
engaged employees in the
process. That engagement was
reinforced when the new website
launched, says Orcutt. " Just visually as
soon as you see [the new website], you
say, 'Oh it looks clear, it looks crisp, it
doesn't look like three different people
put together one page.' "
Read about
change
management
best practices
on page 54.
52 // ICBA Independent Banker // July 2024
Independent Banker - July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - July 2024
