Find out how two FIs created efficiencies and raised the service bar in their call centers
It is no secret that financial institution call centers are facing several ongoing challenges—high call volumes, staffing limitations, rising abandonments, and costly legacy call center systems, to name a few. Call center leaders are feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to solve these continuing challenges.
Two of your peers found a way—Silver State Schools Credit Union and Service 1st Credit Union. Each of these institutions faced similar issues and, with AI-enabled Glia Call Center, modernized their call centers easily and realized rapid, impactful results.
Silver State Schools Credit Union
The challenge
Silver State Schools Credit Union (SSSCU) noticed a shift from in-branch support to phone support. Routine inquiries were taking the majority of its frontline representatives’ time and driving up average wait times. Not only that, but the credit union’s legacy IVR system was creating caller frustration and digital use was increasing, leading to more phone inquiries for guidance. SSSCU was looking for a way to better manage both the phone and digital areas of its call center to set itself up for success with its members, without adding staff.
The AI call center solution
SSSCU found the right solution with Glia Call Center. Not only did the credit union replace its legacy IVR, but also was able to provide a higher level of service with an AI-powered phone virtual assistant built for banking. This conversational chatbot handles routine inquiries and seamlessly transitions to human support, when needed. Glia’s ChannelLess® platform unifies calls and digital so the credit union didn’t need to compromise the member experience for efficiency. SSSCU could provide concierge phone service and streamlined workflows. And, the results show this:
- $41,600 saved monthly
- Decreased AWT by 59%
- 33% of calls contained
“Our members have been gravitating more toward remote service options, yet we saw that our channels were disjointed. Digital solutions were bolted onto the call center, not baked in,” said Ariana Hites, VP of Digital and Payment Services for SSSCU. “We realized we needed a new approach that would provide a seamless experience for all members, including those who prefer to call in and those who want to interact digitally.”
Service 1st Federal Credit Union
The challenge
Service 1st Federal Credit Union started to explore digital options for its members during COVID. And, even after COVID, branch activity had decreased, so the credit union needed to enable the best way for members to interact with its frontline team, whether digitally or over the phone. Furthermore, Service 1st CU had an outdated IVR solution that lacked analytics and was difficult for members to use, and the call center staff was getting burned out.
The AI call center solution
Using Glia for its digital interactions since 2021, it was a natural next step for Service 1st FCU to unify the digital platform with phone calls. In 2023, Service 1st FCU implemented Glia Call Center to further improve the member experience. Since phone is the primary channel used by members, it was no surprise to see a tremendous boost in interactions—once Glia Call Center made phone interactions easier.
To further streamline interactions and elevate the member experience, the credit union added an AI-enabled virtual assistant for phone in 2024. This conversational chatbot contained one in three calls, which made a big difference for the staff handling an average of over 10,000 calls per month. The chatbot answers routine questions such as “What is my current balance?” and “How do I improve my credit score?” And, the credit union can still provide the human touch easily, when needed. Service 1st FCU experienced impressive efficiency results with Glia’s AI call center solution, such as:
- 32% decrease in calls handled by a service rep
- 88% reduced abandonment
- AWT dropped 73% to 44 seconds
“Having everything in one place is the beauty of having a very engaged and combined interactive (call center) system,” states Chris Court, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer for Service 1st FCU
Modernize Your Call Center
If your institution is looking to replace its tired phone banking system, now is the time to choose the only AI call center solution built specifically for FIs—Glia Call Center. As a part of a Unified Interaction Management platform, Glia Call Center brings calls easily together with digital interactions for a seamless and efficient call center solution. With turnkey, responsible AI, Glia Call Center helps FIs avoid unsafe, risky responses that negatively impact customers, members, and representatives. And, transfers to a live rep happen immediately with context so no one ever needs to start over, allowing you to increase efficiency while improving the customer or member experience.
For more in-depth information on how these institutions modernized their call centers, read the SSSCU success story or listen to the on-demand webinar with Service 1st.
