What do you do when you run into a brilliant, self-proclaimed “data geek” whose company is committed to helping CUs? You interview him! And you share some of that brilliance with your listeners.
That’s precisely what CRMNEXT’s Joshua Barclay did at the most recent NACUSO event.
Jamie Jackson, CEO at Arkatechture graciously agreed to sit down for a chat, and he shares some fantastic insights around data and the CU space—this week on CRMNEXT’s Banking on Experience.
Topics we covered include:
What Arkatechture is all about.
In a nutshell, Jamie’s company helps the CU movement by essentially enabling credit unions —large, small, at any stage in their journey—to be more data-driven.
Some of the biggest misconceptions CUs have around data
A big one is simply thinking it’s too difficult to deal with the tools needed to leverage data—that it’s going to cost too much, that the CU itself isn’t advanced enough, that making decisions that way is too complicated.
But, as Jamie puts it, “The irony is, it’s the complete opposite. What we’ve seen with the credit unions is that they’re faster to adopt. They’re faster to make changes in policies immediately that then have direct impacts for their book of business and ultimately all their members.”
And when it comes to the trepidation around learning how to utilize tools, Jamie is big on showing CUs how to use their own data in visualizations and predictive analytics in just the web browser. “Find them where they are and meet them there,” he says, “and then enable them to do their job on a day-to-day basis.”
Innovating and staying relevant.
Our expert believes CUs have been “almost forced into having to work with fintechs.” But this isn’t a bad thing in his opinion, as they offer some very specialized products and services to help credit unions.
Jamie’s suggestion? Adopt these solutions, yes. But also, challenge the fintechs you’re working with, look for more innovation, and build truly trusted partnerships.
Avoiding data intimidation: how data can empower the “average” employee.
Everyone’s using data in almost every aspect of life. But at a credit union, the manual steps—all that manual wrangling—can make it feel overwhelming. “They can’t get to that analysis aspect of things,” says Jamie, “and they see how challenging that is. So, if we break apart that problem and automate that and get it into one location, they’re going to turn that into insights.”
Jamie also points out the “journey of maturity” in terms of an organization’s culture. As he puts it, “You can throw the best technology at somebody who hasn’t had the opportunity to understand the way to adopt it, and it’s not going to do anything. It’s that culture aspect; it’s building a culture internally to trust some of the information and question the information to then get you to more of that predictive side.”
And lastly, our expert discourages reading “just the cliff notes” version of the tools. Instead, “read through the first few chapters” to get you and your organization equipped. Then—with that foundational trust—it’s not scary.
The skinny on dirty data.
“Data’s the new oil,” says Jamie. But, as he says, something like 84% of executives don’t trust the quality of their own organization’s data. And that’s across all industries. So, you know you need to be more data driven, but don’t trust the quality of your data? That’s a big problem.
Jamie shares some great solutions and tips on how to get (and keep) your data clean, and you’ll definitely want to listen in. But suffice it to say, in his words, “It’s a lifestyle change. It’s not a diet. With data quality, that’s something you have to embrace and own and govern on a go-forward basis.”
How to choose the right tools for your CU.
There are a lot of choices out there, so how do you choose? Once again, Jamie offers some stellar advice here.
But broken down to the barest of bones, he suggests:
- Check references.
- Talk to each other to see if it’s a fit. Identify some use cases that may already exist.
- Start small. Don’t worry about rushing into everything all at once.
Here’s to you, your CU, and to leveraging your data in the very best ways possible!
Find this interview, and many more by subscribing to Banking on Experience Podcast on iTunes. You can also find us on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or visit our page on Casted.
