Why do we do what we do?

Sometimes in our rush to do the latest trend we forget why we exist. I have been meeting with the all the branch managers of our organization this last month and the message I have been trying to get across to them is that FORUM exists to help members lead their lives. Our part is not glamorous or really that complicated. We are the facilitator for them. We are in the facilitation business not the lending or checking account business. Why do I make this point? Because we have nearly 30% of our checking account that are inactive. (Our definition is doing less than 10 transactions per month that change the balance.) When digging into those number prior to my meetings with the branch managers I came to the realization that our staff might have thought we were in the checking account business. Open as many checking accounts as possible even if the member really doesn't plan to use the checking account seemed to be the mantra. That works if you are in the checking account business. If you are in the facilitation business, you only open accounts that members are truly going to use because your checking account will help them live their life easier, less expensively, etc. And for that matter you only suggest accounts or services that help the specific member you are dealing with at that moment in time.

The problem is that we forget why we are in business. We are not in business to make loan goals or grow checking accounts. We are in business to help members buy cars and pay for groceries. Staying focused on the real reason for existence means that loan goals and checking account goals and any other goal will be that much easier to attain because every member at some point needs a car, to pay for food, to save for college or live in retirement. Have the goal of facilitating all aspects of your members financial transactions. That is why we should be doing what we do.