With the constant advancement in technology, digital banking is the way many people choose to handle their finances, and at Leaders, we are a digital first credit union. On this episode of Pocket Change Podcast, we talk to Latoya Ingram, Director of E-Branch Operations at Leaders, to hear how the call center is always staying ahead of what you need.
“Most financial institutions have digital banking nowadays. At Leaders, it’s an experience. It's a way that our members can see banking from a different aspect. It's innovating, it's exciting. We're constantly able to create the future. It's on the go. It's fast, convenient,” Latoya said.
Digital banking adds a convenience to your financial journey because you can do everything that you can do in a branch on the phone or online. However, at Leaders we like to emphasize the importance of maintaining a personal touch in the digital banking experience. Latoya Ingram oversees various teams that handle customer calls, processing, and sales. The E-Branch handles thousands of calls each month, addressing a wide range of member needs, from handling fraud to assisting with loan applications to opening a checking or savings account.
Building trust and providing members with the tools they need for their financial journey is at the top of Latoya’s list as she is managing her team. The E-Branch team is referred to as "the Gym" because it's a place for hard work and collaboration, where the team exercises their minds to address various issues. The culture in the E-Branch is described as fun and supportive, with outings, celebrations, and team support.
If you would like to contact our E-Branch, you can call them at 731-664-1784. You can check out all the digital banking Leaders has to offer through our website or in our app.
Shea:
Hey, this is Shea.
Maddie:
And this is Maddie.
Shea:
Welcome to the Pocket Change podcast.
Maddie:
Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest and take control of your financial journey.
Shea:
So, Maddie, we've heard the term digital banking. Everything is going mobile these days, so we can do a lot of what we can do traditionally in a banking branch on a mobile app or over the phone digitally. And so we're excited to dive in a little bit more about digital banking, what that looks like.
Maddie:
Yeah, and it really adds a convenient and easy to use touch to banking. But here at Leaders, we really want to add a personal, human touch to the digital banking experience. So we're excited to welcome our guest, Latoya Ingram, who is the Director of E-Branch Operations here at Leaders Credit Union to Pocket Change today. Welcome to Pocket Change, Latoya.
Latoya Ingram:
Thank you for having me.
Maddie:
So tell us a little bit more about yourself and about your role here at Leaders.
Latoya Ingram:
Absolutely. So I am a mom of two boys. I've been married to my husband now for seven years. Our boys keep us on our toes. I have been at Leaders for four years now. So right now, I currently oversee our service team, which is our agents that receive the calls when you call in. They’re the first point of contact. Inbound sales, outbound sales, and our processing team.
Shea:
So, Latoya, with your role on the E-Branch, what does digital banking mean to you and for your team?
Latoya Ingram:
So most financial institutions have digital banking nowadays. At Leaders, it’s an experience. It's a way that our members can see banking from a different aspect. It's innovating, it's exciting. We're constantly able to create the future. It's on the go. It's fast, convenient. So that's digital banking.
Maddie:
So what services does your team offer to members at Leaders?
Latoya Ingram:
So we do it all. We do what type of fraud that you may have on your account. We transfer the balances, we make payments towards your loans. Any purchases that you may have, whether it's a new car, whether it's a motorcycle, RV, a new lawnmower. We can take care of that for you. Any type of account that you're seeking, whether it's saving or checking, we can open that up for you as well.
Maddie:
So really, anything you can do in our branches, you can pretty much do over the phone.
Latoya Ingram:
We can do it on the go.
Shea:
So if I've got a transaction on my debit card and I found out it wasn't me, I can call in and y'all can help me with that.
Latoya Ingram:
Absolutely. Absolutely. We can call in. We can stop that debit card for you. Stop the fraudsters from using your information even more.
Shea:
So Latoya, in the E-Branch, can you tell us what kind of volume the E-Branch handles during a month's time frame?
Latoya Ingram:
Absolutely. So it's a very fast paced environment. Our service team, which handles our inbound calls, they typically handle between 15 to 20,000 calls a month. Our average speed of answers is between a minute and 15 seconds. So it's really speedy to get in and serve our members and get their solutions found. Our loyalty team handles roughly 100 to 150 checking accounts each month.
That includes our employer partners. So we're excited about that. We handle over 1,000 outbound calls, to deepen our relationships within our community, just making sure everything is good to go and checking in on our members, and our processing team handles all of the credit unions documents. So any type of loan document, skip pay documents, things like that, they take care of it.
Shea:
So the E-Branch is a huge operation. Different, I guess, departments within the E-Branch handling the outbound calls, calling out, the calls coming in, facilitating documents and everything. So that’s huge.
Latoya Ingram:
And I left off - our sales team handles roughly 1,000 applications in sales each month.
Shea:
So loans - 1,000 loan applications each month are processing. So that's huge to help our members and their auto loan, personal loan needs, things like that.
Latoya Ingram:
You know, credit unions have better rates.
Shea:
That's right.
Maddie:
So you really get to interact with a ton of members throughout with your team. And whether it's you personally or just you supervising your team. So what are some of the most meaningful conversations that you've had over your time at Leaders or a moment that sticks out to you with a member?
Latoya Ingram:
Honestly, every day is unique. All of our member situations is unique. I don't have a member that just really sticks out because our members trust us. They trust us for the birth of their children. They trust us for their new homes. Whether if it's a divorce or death or they just need someone to talk to. So I don't have a member that really sticks out.
But I do appreciate all the members that we have that just really trust us to handle their banking.
Shea:
I think that's important because there's a lot of times money is associated with those big life stages or changes and it can be, you know, daunting in some cases or it can be just uncertain. And so being able to talk to that person that you trust and you know - have that relationship with - I think is very important. And it shows what we're trying to build at Leaders.
If you've had, you know, anything happen throughout your life, whether you're looking to, like you said, buy that first home or get the kids to college or in their first car, I mean, that can be so crucial to have someone you trust and you know that you can talk to and go through those processes, whether that's over the phone or in a branch.
So just making sure that it's available digitally, I think it's so important.
So why is it so important for your team to build those relationships with our members at Leaders?
Latoya Ingram:
So it's our job to really listen to what the member is needing because constantly we're creating new products for our members that they may not be aware of. So whether it's, “Hey, I need to put a transmission in my car.” “Well, Shea, have you thought about an auto loan? Maybe that will help you out”. So, it's our job to really stay ahead of what you're needing.
If not, then we're not providing you with all the tools that you may use.
Shea:
Yeah, I think that's helpful too, because I may not know what I need or what's out there and so having someone that I can trust to guide me and lead me as a financial champion, if you will, helping champion my financial story and my journey. I think that can really help our members when they call in asking those questions.
Maddie:
Yeah, and we really want our members to know like we're a safe place, you know, like we're not going to judge you. We want to help you in your financial journey and you know your team does that so well. Thank you for doing that. So here at our campus, we refer to the E-Branch as the Gym. And so tell us a little bit about why we refer to it as the Gym.
Latoya Ingram:
Well, the Gym is just a light place to really just get hard work done. I always think of it as just a place where we exercise our mind to do hard things. It's an open space to really collaborate with each other and collaborate with the entire credit union. It is a light atmosphere. Our agents do move around. They have cordless headsets, things like that.
Shea:
Yeah, they'll be walking and talking on the phone, going through there.
Latoya Ingram:
Absolutely. So that's the reason for the Gym. It’s just kind of really to exercise your mind to do whatever the credit union needs to conquer.
Shea:
And I like to say, you know, it's a place we can workout any member's issues. You know, if they call with an issue, it’s a place they can work that out, if you will.
Latoya Ingram:
Let’s work it.
Shea:
You know, calling it the Gym. But it's a fun space. It's, you know, very intense. You know, you're answering thousands of phone calls a month and so high volume, but high productivity and high energy too. So we enjoy having the gym team over here in our campus and all that they do for our members.
What's the, you know, what's the culture like in that space? You know, it's a little different than a typical branch office or location or, you know, cubicles. So what else do y’all do over there?
Latoya Ingram:
Well, you mentioned the fun, but the fun includes music, lots of food. We have team outings. We go bowling. We went to the ballpark here recently. We have a patio where agents can go out and just catch fresh air if they need to. We celebrate each other. Right now we have an agent with a baby on the way. We have three marriages that's scheduled to happen here shortly. So we have a ton-
Shea:
It’s growing over there!
Latoya Ingram:
Yeah, Yeah, we're definitely excited. Life happens, you know, so we make sure that we're there to really support each other. We have a lot of different projects going. The E-Branch is really the area. It's the birth of the credit union.
Latoya Ingram:
So anything that’s created, whether if it's the digital side or whether it's the front line side, is normally tested with us.
Maddie:
So our last question for the day, it's really a fun one. So if you had any extra pocket change in your pocket, what would you do with it?
Latoya Ingram:
So this is actually my favorite question of the podcast. I would go to the greatest place on Earth, the mommy-free-time-headquarters. Target.
Maddie:
Target! We love Target.
Shea:
What would you get?
Latoya Ingram:
I don't know. I'm sure I could find something there. I don't need.
Shea:
Exactly. You'd come out, you go in for one thing, and...
Maddie:
You come out with a cart full of stuff.
Shea:
Ladies come out with the cart full.
Latoya Ingram:
But it's fulfilling to just come out with your Target cart.
Shea:
But they do have those $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 bins. So, you know, you could come up with some pretty good stuff.
Latoya Ingram:
You sure can.
Maddie:
Well, thanks for being on the podcast today, Latoya. We really loved having you.
Latoya Ingram:
Oh, well thank you both for having me. I really enjoyed this.