Three Choices Emerging Among Credit Unions Using The Strategy of “Automate and Elevate”

As more credit unions begin the practice of unifying all their member interactions (phone/voice, digital, and virtual assistance), the results on the economics of operating their call centers are shockingly stark. By automating the interactions in which a customer has a simpler need, the reduction in live call volume is now approaching 50% for some. In fact, the most progressive credit unions are seeing volume drop by more than half! 

This puts contact center leaders in an unprecedented–yet very welcome–position. Instead of constantly playing defense, you could now begin instituting new initiatives you’ve always wanted to take on, but there was never enough time or bandwidth to even consider.

What would you do if this started happening at your credit union?

It happens fast

The legacy history of your call center was based on handling thousands and thousands of phone calls. Sure, the introduction of digital functionality a decade ago reduced some of the volume, but nowhere near the impact and pace caused by automation. 

However, once companies begin unifying their interactions, they are able to take much greater control. By identifying each customer’s issue type at the outset, it is now possible to proactively offer virtual assistance for those customers who only need an instant answer to a simple inquiry, thereby eliminating the need to call and speak to a live agent.

And the results begin occurring the moment the switch is flipped. So, again, the question: what would you do?

Three choices: pick one or any combination

If your call volume dropped by half, your labor costs to answer all those calls will drop as well. This is allowing credit unions to choose from a variety of new options that were never available before. 

As you build out your AI strategy for 2026 and beyond, consider which of these is most appealing to you, and most likely to achieve the highest buy-in from your C-suite executives and other key leaders:

Reinvest

• Spending more time on the development of frontline teams and supervisors
• Train agents to handle more complex, high-value member interactions
• Enhance performance coaching and career development
• Increase pay rates to attract and retain higher-quality talent

Rightsize

• Slow the pace of recruiting and hiring for entry-level frontline positions
• Halt the continuous backfilling of positions left open through attrition
• Promote top-performing agents to capitalize on their skills
• Reduce overtime or mandatory extended shifts during peak hours

Reallocate

• Shift some team members to outbound campaigns to drive revenue growth
• Build a deeper bench of Tier II/III agents to handle complex or escalated issues
• Create a team to reach out to at-risk members as part of continuing research
• Assign some agents to monitor online forums, guiding members to solutions 
• Create innovation labs to experiment with new member engagement strategies

Reinvest in your members

Despite the darker impulses that have some contact center leaders thinking to themselves, “AI is here to take our jobs away,” it’s becoming quickly apparent that AI is here to change our jobs, and in most cases, to make our jobs that much easier and more fulfilling.

Think about it this way: By reinvesting, rightsizing, and/or reallocating, you are helping to elevate the entire profession of member service and member experience. That might have seemed like a pipe dream just a few years ago, but thanks to the maturity of AI tools for credit unions that are drastically reducing call volumes, new opportunities are now well within your reach. 

So, what would you do?