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Connect & Collect Podcast - Season 2, Episode 8
In this episode of Connect & Collect, we're joined by our very own, Sasha Bordonaro and Jordan Greenberg who have a chance to connect and speak with incredible credit unions (small and large) daily. We discuss the key trends and challenges faced by credit unions we're speaking with today.
They highlight the importance of adopting technology to meet the changing needs of consumers, and the need to find solutions to address staffing shortages in the collections departments.
What we're talking about in this episode:
- Embracing technology to adapt to members' evolving communication preferences.
- The power of self-service payment options and analytics-driven decision-making.
- Ways to combat staffing shortages, hiring challenges and improve employee well-being.
2024 is the year where a lot of credit unions are saying, "We can no longer wait." Because delinquencies are rising to a point that, a lot of people, come 2023, were telling me, "You know, we'll see what 2024 looks like. Hopefully it looks better." And unfortunately, you know, we're 25 days in and it's not looking any better. - Sasha Bordonaro
Guest Profile:
Sasha Bordonaro - Connect with Sasha on LinkedIn
Jordan Greenberg - Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn
Read the Transcript:
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Connect and Collect podcast brought to you by Lexop. Connect and Collect is a podcast created with the credit union professional in mind. Our goal is to bring you the latest innovations and trends in the industry by speaking with incredible credit union leaders so you can hear what's happening at the ground level.
[00:00:21] Here's your host, Michael Pupil, Vice President of Sales at Lexop.
[00:00:26] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Hello everyone and welcome to season two of Lexop's Connect and Collect podcast. My name is Michael Pupil. I am the Vice President of Sales for Lexop, and I am joined today with two of my colleagues, Jordan Greenberg and Sasha Bordonaro. I'd love for you guys to give a quick introduction about who you are and just a quick little thing before we jump in, because I think this is the first time that I have you both on the podcast.
[00:00:51] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Hi, my name is Sasha. I'm an account executive here at Lexop. I've been with the company going to be on my second year this year. I'm really excited to be part [00:01:00] of this podcast today.
[00:01:01] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: Hi, guys. So, I'm Jordan. I'm a senior account executive here at Lexop, and I have also been here for two years. I should say, jumping into also my second year. Also stoked to be on our first episode of Connect and Collect 2024 with my colleagues. Should be fun.
[00:01:17] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Amazing. So if you've seen any of the connect and collect podcasts before, and if you haven't clicked into them, our aim at Lexop was to interview a number of subject matter experts, leaders in the field in finance and collections and technology to kind of provide some insights.
[00:01:32] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And so we had discussed internally how we were going to kick off Season 2 of connect and collect. And what we had decided was, the group of us to kind of get together, talk a little bit about the year in review of 2023, what we're expecting in 2024, and some of the trends and some of the frequently asked questions or frequently had conversations with our credit union partners. And individuals that we're talking to about what the industry is [00:02:00] having.
[00:02:00] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: So setting the stage as to what we're going to be diving into today. I definitely have a lot of thoughts around this. I know both of you have a lot of thoughts as well, knowing how many credit unions you guys speak to. And so I'll launch the first volley and I'll fire at you, Sasha first.
[00:02:18] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: What have you seen in 2023 and what was sticking out? And talk a little bit about your year in review and in last year's economy and work.
[00:02:27] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Definitely. Thank you, Mike. So, I think for me last year, a lot of the things that I saw were that credit unions are now looking to adopt different forms of technology and now seeing because they were getting a lot more of a younger membership that is coming on board. They want to make sure that they have the right tools in place to assure that they're giving the best payment options.
[00:02:48] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And that also for me, something that's truly important and something that I know is very important to my credit union is definitely the analytics. You know, we talked a lot about this last year. This was a huge subject for us in saying how [00:03:00] important it is for them to understand their memberships, payment preferences, their memberships' behaviors. And having that data, really helps them be able to curate their messaging to be able to, again, know what type of different tools to invest in.
[00:03:15] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So, for me, last year, it was a lot of figuring out what the credit unions wanted to do to better their membership for their younger generation for sure. And also seeing as to what they were doing today and how it was affecting their collectors. The different workloads, you know, we talked a lot about burnout last year.
[00:03:34] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So for us, it was really trying to empower their collectors in an empathetic approach. So how we did that? We had different sessions, we had different events that we went to, and really, that was always the topic of our conversation is always saying, "How can we do this in the most empathetic way possible?"
[00:03:52] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And Lexop has always had that framework as well. So for us, it was a lot of different topics that we discussed and again, trying [00:04:00] to empower the member with and how the credit union can do that.
[00:04:03] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Yeah, absolutely. I think you bring up a really great point at the beginning, which was, credit unions that are looking at the demographics of their members and looking to swell the ranks with new and upcoming members and new generations. I think in a lot of our conversations, and you guys would probably agree, there are probably more credit unions than not that have an aging population with between their membership.
[00:04:26] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And they're struggling to find that groundswell of attracting new members to the group. Some have done a phenomenal job at staying tied into the community. A lot of work with public service and charity events in order to get the name out and really invest back into the community, which has helped tremendously.
[00:04:44] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: But you're right, that piece of empathetic communications, communication in the channels of choice, especially for the younger demographics of live, eat and breathe on this device that we're all, attached to.
[00:04:55] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: So, Jordan, what would you kind of echo or add to that piece in terms of what you [00:05:00] saw most prevalent in 2023 in the conversations you've had?
[00:05:03] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: It's not just 2023, but also the conversations that I've even been having the last couple of weeks of what these credit unions are keeping an eye on for 2024 and what's it going to be like, that focus. And there's definitely a connection, like everything that we're talking about from 2023 is being pushed over into the new year.
[00:05:21] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: So I would say one of the top things that I've seen on my side is a lot of conversations on how to reduce the cost of payments. And also how to scale quickly. So I think the short answer to this. And again, these are just based on conversations that I've been having is really to embrace technology.
[00:05:39] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And it goes back to what Sasha was saying. But more specifically, investing in more modern tech that really streamlines payment processes. So that's been huge. I know there's a lot of buzzwords out there like, AI and automation and whatnot, but implementing automation to reduce manual work is a very real thing.
[00:05:58] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And it's something that credit unions [00:06:00] are very much focused on in 2024. And also just reduces overall human error, right? I mean, we're dealing with teams that are under the gun and super stressed. So if you can implement some sort of automation, then you're really gonna not just save time, but again, that human error piece. Also to echo with Sasha was saying is just using analytics.
[00:06:21] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: Analytics to gain insights into areas like payment trends, member behavior so that you can really make data driven decisions.
[00:06:31] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And sort of help optimize payment processes and really enhance efficiency as well. So that's been, that's been huge.
[00:06:39] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And I think that kind of goes back to, to something that we circle on about a lot in terms of saying that self cure piece. and being able to see that a lot of these members wants the ability to self cure because they're in these situations that they don't want to pick up the phone, talk to a collector about, and they want to be able to do it themselves.
[00:06:58] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Even though we have the websites [00:07:00] in place, there are mobile apps in place, sometimes those steps just become a little bit too difficult for different people because they're not, let's say, as evolved with technology. And making it easier for them and allowing them to self cure and then being able to talk to those members who really do need that handholding.
[00:07:16] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: What we've heard back from credit unions is how much that's made an impact on their membership. So we're always thrilled to hear that.
[00:07:23] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Yeah. I know you guys have obviously heard me speak quite a bit, and I've spoken at a couple of events that the scenario that I love to bring up over the years, and I've worked at a couple of different organizations selling different types of technology.
[00:07:35] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And the first place that I started was mobile app security. And this was at the time that mobile applications were not necessarily as prevalent as they are today. And I can remember the immediate pushback from credit union saying, "Well, we already have a website. Our members could just go to www dot..." And, advance the clock just a little bit more in that ease of use and the member experience just being such an easier, a faster and a better one.
[00:07:59] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And now [00:08:00] everybody has a mobile application, right? That objection has stopped then advance the clock, and I was going in with signatures for agreement automation. I always say this and it is my favorite thing that I've ever been told, but I was told, "Mike, with all due respect, we value the relationship of our members and we want them to come into the branch in order to sign for their auto loan."
[00:08:19] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And now COVID aside, everybody is using and utilizing electronic signatures for the ease of use of the member. And being able to still have those conversations and service the member in the right way, but allowing them to get through the transactional part from A to B and then move on with life and kind of tackle some different things.
[00:08:37] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Now, what I'm seeing is an interesting trend now in 2023 and certainly pushing into 2024. Everybody across the board has started to agree that delinquencies have gone up comparatively year over year. The cost of servicing those loans to your point, Jordan, has increased. There is a greater flex on the workload of those member service teams.
[00:08:59] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: [00:09:00] So they're handling more files with getting less contact, meaning there's a higher stress level. So to the burnout piece that you guys were both kind of referencing. And it's interesting because the number 1 piece that I'm seeing again for the third time now with the adoption of technology is kind of, "Well, let's just wait and see what happens in 6 months." And almost like, "Let's not do anything."
[00:09:21] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And we feel like it's going to write itself. And I don't know if that is a strategy that has ever worked at any point in time with anything. And so I hear you guys saying about some credit unions really digging deep in terms of utilizing technology, looking at how they do things, trying to modernize the stack because sometimes, the fix to this is not just hire more people. And I don't know if anybody has those budgets. We're seeing a lot of budgets decrease as well.
[00:09:47] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: So Sasha, if I had to ask you, you know, what is the one thing that is most prevalent in the conversations? Like, what's the most important piece from leaders in the collection space that you're talking to? What did they [00:10:00] bring up the most? Is it the analytics? Is it the member experience? Is it the cost alone service? What seems to stick out to you? And maybe you have one or two that are really tied for the lead. But what sticks out to you?
[00:10:10] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Yeah, so I definitely think for me, and any credit union who's dealt with me in the last 2 years knows that I always focus hard on the analytics because I know that credit unions don't have that information today. And if they do have that information, they need to pull it from so many different places, and they don't necessarily know the best days that their members want to pay, and they don't necessarily know why there was a failure in payment. And they don't necessarily have all of these different numbers that if they did have, they'd be able to then send out a campaign and be able to attract more collections in terms of saying, "Okay, we sent it out on Tuesday at a specific time and we were able to get so many more payments." But for the last 100 years, we've been going a different route and we haven't been gaining any results.
[00:10:55] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And to your point and saying, some people say, like, "Should I hire another person?" And [00:11:00] a lot of credit unions are coming back to me and saying, "Sasha, it's not everybody who wants to apply to be a collector." That option as much as it has been an option in the past, it's becoming less and less of an option to the point where they're telling me that even tellers in branch is becoming more and more difficult to find people.
[00:11:16] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: It's not as common as like it was before. And I think that's due to COVID and due to people being able to work from home, having different job options. Being in person, they've gotten so many different options now that they're saying, "Do I want to choose a job that I'm going to be a collector?"
[00:11:32] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So, credit unions are facing that as an issue too, and saying hiring somebody else is not necessarily an option all the time to find the right staff. Somebody who has also that empathetic approach, they have to do empathetic training. There's so many things that go with it. To me, a collections manager and a collector, out of all the credit union jobs that you can have, those are, to me, the two hardest jobs that you can have.
[00:11:55] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Having to understand people's struggles on a day to day basis, wanting [00:12:00] to help them to the best of your ability, but at the end of the day, still having to make sure that you collect a certain amount of money for the organization, it puts you in a very difficult position. So allowing them to be able to make a decision on, "Do I have to put somebody else in this seat again?
[00:12:15] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Or, can we implement technology, allow the members to self cure and be able to know what the best formula for that is?" So, to your point, people are saying, "Let's wait, let's wait six months, let's see what happens. We waited last year, we waited during COVID, we've been waiting."
[00:12:30] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: 2024 is the year where a lot of credit unions are saying, "We can no longer wait." Because delinquencies are rising to a point that, a lot of people, come 2023, were telling me, "You know, we'll see what 2024 looks like. Hopefully it looks better." And unfortunately, you know, we're 25 days in and it's not looking any better.
[00:12:48] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So, a lot of people are, are starting to have those conversations and starting to say, like, we don't know which technology, and I can understand why that can be difficult and saying they don't know which technology they want to implement, whether it be [00:13:00] allowing them to text, not every credit union has all the phone numbers available, So having the ability to email them and is there going to be a good response?
[00:13:07] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: I can understand the fear and the hesitation there. And that's why we're, we're very empathetic with the credit unions who haven't implemented technology yet and saying, "Okay. Let's do it. Let's crawl, walk, run. That, that's always been our strategy."
[00:13:20] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And to your point, when those resources get a little scarce, they get a little bit more expensive. And so, anybody who is hiring today in those teams, knows that to find the right candidate is a challenge, but also the cost of which has become incredibly important.
[00:13:33] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And this is where you can leverage technology and have that data driven analytics side to understand that i f you have a team, or you're managing a team, or you're part of a team that is reaching out to members, you're right. What gives you the best chance of success to connect with the member?
[00:13:49] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And that's the whole point of why we send letters in the mail. Send emails, send text messages, have phone calls, have branch open hours so that people can walk in and have a [00:14:00] conversation. It's why we have a multi channel approach to communication because there is no single way to ensure that we're going to have a back and forth to be able to make sure that we do what we do. Excellent insight.
[00:14:13] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Jordan, same question to you. What's the, the thing that sticks out most in your mind that speaking to the credit unions, what's their key focus?
[00:14:21] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: Pretty much is the same thing, to be honest with you, Mike. I mean, Sasha hit the nail on the head and it's a perfect segue because I'm hearing a lot of this difficulty in terms of staffing shortages. We kind of mentioned this before, but identifying candidates that have, I would say, the right balance of assertiveness, which is still important in a collections position.
[00:14:42] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And of course, that empathy piece as well. Again, it's a stressful job, involves dealing with members who may be in financial distress and they have certain challenges. Obviously, this is the type of position and department that can really lead to higher turnover.
[00:14:57] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: I mean, it's emotionally taxing, we've already said it [00:15:00] like, that's a huge piece to this. And I don't think, unfortunately, it's going to get any better in 2024. I wish I could say different, but I spoke with the credit union yesterday and they're losing their senior collector and she's actually not leaving the organization. She's just moving to a different department.
[00:15:15] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: She loves the organization. She loves the culture, the values that they bring. But it's that specific role, and it's that specific department that she just finds, is just too much. And this is someone's been there for many, many years. And so, you're absolutely right when you adopt technology, when you introduce technology to make it easier and lighten the load on your teams, you won't have those types of situations.
[00:15:37] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: I think another thing that sort of has been coming up as well, and this kind of ties into that, is because of the nature of the job, it's addressing or prioritizing employee well being, and how does that contribute to the efficiency and the success of your collections team.
[00:15:56] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: So, I think one thing that's super clear across the board, and [00:16:00] we all know this is that, credit unions care deeply about their members. But when you have a collections team or an agent that are completely burnt out, it can definitely affect or directly affect the member experience.
[00:16:13] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And I think, I've seen there, there are sort of these two situations that are happening. Either of those team members, again, they leave, then you're stuck with, as you guys mentioned, finding the right candidate. And it's even harder, like you said, Mike, with those tighter budgets. Or, that person stays, but all of a sudden that fine balance that we talked about between patience and empathy and assertiveness is then thrown off balance.
[00:16:37] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And so, when you have someone that is just off balance and dealing with your members, well now, what does that member experience look like? And will it be a positive one? And chances are, unfortunately, it won't be.
[00:16:48] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Yeah, well said. You know, to transition to that, one of the trends that I have seen myself personally in these conversations is, every credit union has agreed that [00:17:00] data driven decisions is the right strategy. And I think that's true of every department and collections and member services would not be different from that path.
[00:17:09] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: You know, the use of technology can absolutely amplify the effectiveness of what it is that they're doing. The struggle has been, are they able to implement it? And is this a tool that they know how to use and be able to get the benefit out of.
[00:17:24] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I am personally guilty of certainly buying things that I have no idea how to use and therefore it becomes an expensive paperweight, digital or in real life. I'm one of those people that during COVID, I bought an exercise bike. It is the most expensive coat rack that I have ever purchased in my life.
[00:17:43] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: I think we all did. I think we all did
[00:17:45] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: It's in my It's in my basement and I hang my jacket on there. And uh, I think I may have used it twice. I would say it's the exact same thing for technology, right?
[00:17:53] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: The idea behind having something that can automate the process and give you data driven people, like, everything [00:18:00] sounds great. And I don't think anybody would disagree. But then, it's learning how to use it and use it effectively so that you get the benefit of what it is that you've done.
[00:18:07] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I can wholeheartedly say that I have not realized the benefit of that exercise bike that sits downstairs in the basement. That is my own fault, but we're all guilty of that.
[00:18:16] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: What I would love to do is, if you're listening to this podcast and you're sit on a credit union and you're part of a team, or manage a team and you're responsible for it, I'd love to throw the question to you. How do you onboard technology?
[00:18:29] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And now what I'm going to do is, flip it both to you Jordan and Sasha on, what is the work that you do with the credit unions that we're speaking with, to help them put together that business case, whether it's Lexop or not. I think we're all committed to making sure that, groups are all moving in the same direction, which is try to do more with less.
[00:18:47] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Use the automation that is in there. And if Lexop is a selected partner, fantastic, but it is more important for us to create those relationships to make sure that the collection teams are moving forward. So, what do you guys do specifically [00:19:00] with the conversations that you're having to help credit union leaders look at technology and how to implement it?
[00:19:05] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Jordan. I'll start with you.
[00:19:06] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: Yeah, sure. So I think, Mike, it starts with just listening instead of just pushing ideas and what it is that we can do. It's more about what are the challenges that you're facing? And I think, that's kind of the theme of this podcast, right?
[00:19:20] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: Is, we don't want to talk about what we think. We want to talk about what we're hearing from credit unions.
[00:19:25] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And so, my conversations usually start with "Well, what are you doing right now? And what are your strategies? How are you using technology? So are you sending out emails? Are you using text messages? What are in those messages?"
[00:19:38] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: If it's just a, "Hey, you're late for your bill payment." What's the difference between that and sending over a letter?
[00:19:44] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: You're just mailing out a digital version essentially of what you've already been sending. So what type of information is in those communications, your emails and your text messages, if that's what you're using. And what does that look like? What does that flow look like? What do those messages say? [00:20:00]
[00:20:00] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And so by gathering that information, we're able to come back with a business case and suggest like, maybe you should incorporate some sort of digital payment solution. Maybe you should have a link within your communication where it brings them, or I should say the members to a payment portal, for example, where they can take care of their loan in five or six clicks.
[00:20:20] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: What is your collections team doing now? Like, what is the flow? And when do you start reaching out to your members? So for me, it's really about listening to what it is that they're doing, understanding their challenges, and then building out a business case from there using technology. And like you said, whether it's Lexop or something else.
[00:20:37] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: We need to understand where we're starting or what we're starting with.
[00:20:40] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Good one. Sasha. What about you?
[00:20:41] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Yeah, to Jordan's point, it's definitely understanding where the credit unions are at today. And, at Lexop, we like being that bridge between, you know, a lot of credit unions sometimes often feel alone and what they're going through, whether that be an upgrade that's happening with their core, whether that be any integrations that they need to be doing, and they don't know anybody else who's [00:21:00] going through the same struggles as them.
[00:21:01] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Why is this taking a certain amount of time and us having all of those conversations with other credit unions and being able to give them back that information of saying, "Hey, you're not alone." Other credit unions are also doing these things are also facing these issues. And this is what they've done.
[00:21:14] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Sometimes, they're not ready to implement technology right away. And sometimes, you know, us just being there and letting them know, "Hey," Like Jordan said, "What are you doing today?" How can you help in terms of your membership allowing them to self serve? Allowing them to be able to have different options, to be able to make payments, to be able to have that empathetic approach, to be able to look at different credit unions and saying, "Okay, what is the different suite of technology that I have in place today?"
[00:21:43] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And is it really working? Is the technology I have in place actually having a worse effect on my business? Because it is driving more call volumes, like, what is the goal in being able to make sure that it's a successful year? And for [00:22:00] us, it's always like Jordan said, is listening. But what's the goal for you guys this year?
[00:22:03] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Is it bringing down the cost of loan servicing? Is it being able to lower the, or not have to necessarily hire somebody else. Is it to say, we want to offer more tools? You know, there's so many different things and collections is just one piece of it. There's so many different tools that some credit unions have to implement.
[00:22:20] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: I had a credit union last year who had never implemented electronic signature yet, even going through COVID and everything. And that was something that for them was a goal for last year and making sure that that was something that they implemented right away. And we are always going to say, those are things that you have to put in place even before you can put us in place.
[00:22:39] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: Always validating the concerns of credit unions, being able to offer our support, them saying, "Okay, we're looking at changing our core." And us just being like a soundboard, if you want to say, to being able to say, yeah, other credit unions that have the same asset size as you, same membership size as you, this is what they're doing also, and being that gap.
[00:22:58] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So for me, it's [00:23:00] really making them feel that support and also feeling like when you're going to implement this technology, you're not going to be alone. We make sure that we have the training in place. You get assigned the customer success manager to make sure that anything that we can automate, we will automate from the get go.
[00:23:14] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So you no longer have to look at it afterwards and assure that those results are going to happen, but also make sure that we're always there and being at events, we always get to see our credit union. So it's always fun for us to be able to collaborate with them. We're on a couple of boards now, so this, that's also great.
[00:23:28] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And, I think this, this podcast this year will help connect us a lot more as well.
[00:23:33] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Yeah, we've certainly been very lucky and blessed that we're getting a lot more invitations this year than the years prior. And I think that's a testament to us kind of staying neutral in these conversations about what it is that we're seeing, how we're tackling this.
[00:23:48] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And of course, anybody that's listening, we are all part of Lexop. And so, of course, we would love the opportunity to be able to kind of work together or work for you.
[00:23:57] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I will give a little bit of a shameless plug. A little [00:24:00] bit of a tip and trick that we've been working with our credit union partners, and that is to get involved as early as possible, including pre-delinquency. And I have yet to speak with a credit union. I see you both nodding and I think you both know where I'm going with this.
[00:24:14] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I have yet to come across a credit union group that says, "No, we don't want to get involved earlier. We want to get involved later in the delinquency." Right? And so there are, depending on the product, a range of dates when communication starts.
[00:24:28] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Day 7, day 15, day 21. I've heard everything under the sun, but very rarely before it is due. And oftentimes not right after, like day one to day three. Day 7, day 10, day 15 tends to be the grace period, and that's when we're going to start. And then sometimes, there's an outsourced calling group that will get involved.
[00:24:49] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And then it's written. The portfolio is returned back to the credit union at a certain point in time. if I'm saying this and it's speaking to the listeners that are hearing this, if you agree that [00:25:00] getting involved at an earlier stage or automating that process in order to help get those that need to be nudged, the only reason why you don't today is because you don't have the technology or the manpower in order to do it.
[00:25:10] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And that needs to change. It's that adage of an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure. It's kind of like, if you have a toothache, well, you don't want to just close your eyes for six months and pretend like it's going to go away. You need to get involved early, in order for that pain not to exacerbate. Not to make it a direct relationship to a cavity or something that is that painful, but it can be catastrophic to an individual.
[00:25:33] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I think that's the biggest trend that I've been seeing is, how is this implemented, and what will it mean for the workflow today. Because it should be different if it's the exact same, "Well, then what's the point of doing it? You're just going to get the same, the same result."
[00:25:48] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: I think my biggest tip for this year is a lot of people sometimes want to wait. I think my biggest tip for a lot of credit unions this year is just start looking at different options. Start investing a little bit of time, doing a [00:26:00] little bit of demo, seeing what's out there.
[00:26:01] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: And a lot of times people, and we get it every time we're at events, people pass our booth and they'll be like, collections. And we know it's not something you want to talk about all the time. But doing that, that little bit of research and saying, "Okay, you know what, what is out there?" Because you may not know and that's why you're not implementing different technologies because you don't know what you don't know.
[00:26:20] Sasha Bordonaro - Account Executive, Lexop: So my biggest tip, I think, and I think for all of us, what we'll all say is just do the research a little bit, see what's out there, see if there's things that can help you, see if there's different technologies that you can implement, and then make your decision from there. But doing the research and not, like Michael is saying, neglecting it, and seeing what else is out there right now is something that I think all credit unions should look into for 2024.
[00:26:41] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: So mine is also just, I think it also revolves around education. So a big trend that has been popping up or that discussion that I've been having recently has been, it's great to implement technology and absolutely to Sasha's point, you should be looking at tech, whether it's Lexop or anything else.
[00:26:59] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: [00:27:00] But to also not educate your membership on what those options are once you implement them. So to Mike's point, it's one thing to implement technology. It's another thing to actually have the internal team use it, but then have your membership use it. So inform your membership of, "Hey, we have this new tool."
[00:27:17] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And I know a lot of credit unions, maybe they don't text yet. They don't email yet. And they're wondering, "Well, how do we get this started?" It's actually an amazing opportunity to show, "Hey, we want to provide you with more options. We are embracing technology. We are moving forward in our membership experience."
[00:27:33] Jordan Greenberg - Account Executive, Lexop: And so now you have other options. You can self cure in this way. You can use this digital payment channel. So I would say, education to, not just your internal teams, but also to your membership, is going to be, or should be a strong focus for 2024.
[00:27:47] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Awesome. Well, I'll wrap this up with my tip and trick that I'll put out there into the universe. If you're listening and you're part of a credit union and you are dedicated towards financial literacy or financial education to [00:28:00] the membership, then I've got a little tip and trick for you because it does and can be very effective when members hit into collections. Just coming from this space, when somebody is late on one bill, there is a very high likelihood that they're late on multiple bills. And understanding if the member has a, just a small time crunch, maybe there was a couple of birthdays or travel or vacation or holidays, where it's a short term cash crunch where they're not able to make all their obligations on time and they need a little bit more time or a few more paychecks to come through to catch up. Or, is this potentially a catastrophic part of the portfolio where there's a lot that are going to go bust and a much more impactful? A negative kind of path that is there by getting involved early with members that are late and getting into that when you start to recognize that there are parts of the portfolio or members that have this cash crunch.
[00:28:53] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: When you reach out to those members about a financial wellness check in 2024 or helping [00:29:00] them understand things like budgeting or what is going on, you will stand a higher likelihood of an open rate and an engagement rate, which is always difficult to have because what you're discussing is an opportunity for them rather than reaching out because they are late on a bill.
[00:29:16] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: That is a much harder and lower open rate to that. And so, if your goal as a credit union is to provide that financial literacy to the membership, and of course, to communicate with members, there is a way to use tools like Lexop in order to engage the members in the right topic at the right time, even if it isn't necessarily just collections. That would be my tidbit that I throw out to the group.
[00:29:39] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Jordan. Sasha. It is always a pleasure. It's not like we don't talk 75 times a day every day and have become more of a family than anything else. But it is a pleasure to steal a few minutes of your time.
[00:29:51] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: Thank you for joining today's podcast. I am incredibly excited about 2024. I know you guys both are.
[00:29:58] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: I love seeing the smiles on your face when we [00:30:00] talk and we discuss what it is that we're doing. For those of you interested, what we'll do at the bottom of this podcast is actually post a lot of the events that we're going to and speaking to this year in 2024. I know all three of us will be on there as well as other Lexop members.
[00:30:14] Michael Pupil - VP of Sales, Lexop: And we look forward to receiving your feedback on the podcast and hopefully seeing you face to face at some of these events as well. Thank you so much for joining and see you next time.
[00:30:26] Thank you for listening to the Connect and Collect podcast. Find show notes and other resources for this episode at Lexop.com. And if you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe, like, share, and comment.
