Sharpen Technologies Helps Vibrant Credit Union Improve Member Services

Vibrant Credit Union has improved member services and increased operational efficiencies using Sharpen Technologies’ agent-first omni-channel cloud contact centre platform.

Vibrant has used the Sharpen platform to create video kiosks at its branch locations. The kiosks enable members to interact with video tellers who provide personal banking, lending and mortgage services.

“Because of the Sharpen-powered video kiosks, we’ve reduced member wait time at our branch offices by 90 percent,” said Vibrant’s vice president of member experience, Joanie Dean. “Currently, our wait time is less than half that of the industry standard.”

The kiosks have also resulted in more efficient staffing and improved quality of service.

“Using video tellers has enabled us to centralize our loan officers at our corporate centre,” Dean said. “Since members can access lending services via the kiosks, we can now serve our membership with 15 loan officers instead of the 20 we previously needed. This has allowed us to better use our time and better serve our members, all while adding seven branches.”

Having centralized bankers has also made it easier to train staff and manage performance. “A centralized lending team has resulted in improved compliance and better service,” Dean said.

Sharpen’s call routing capabilities have led to additional benefits.

“We’ve used Sharpen to route overflow calls to branch staff,” Dean said. “This has helped us maintain service levels during spikes in call volume. And because our branch locations often have opposite times when they’re busy and slow, we’re optimizing staff availability for even greater efficiencies.”

Vibrant has also used Sharpen’s analytics and reporting features to get more insight into contact centre metrics.

“Sharpen has given us a lot more insight into data and it’s easy to manipulate so we can see at a glance the KPIs that are most important to us,” Dean said. “This has helped us better coach agents, which has further improved member services.”

Today, Vibrant uses the Sharpen platform to support its more than 200 employees across 17 locations.

“Since initially replacing our Cisco system with Sharpen, we’ve come a long way,” said Caleb Randol, Vibrant’s member call centre manager when the purchase decision was made. “The Sharpen platform has enabled us to take our contact centre to the next level with automated features such as pre-set holiday messages and so much more.”

Vibrant cites the Sharpen team as adding additional value.

“The Sharpen team has proven reliable and quick to respond when we’ve had questions,” said Tarre Kroft, Vibrant’s business analyst. “This, combined with the platform’s omni-channel features, in-depth insights, and ease-of-use, have ensured a fast return on investment and peace of mind that we can provide the best member experience possible whatever the future holds.”