“I know this is a really uncertain time, and many of you will be trying to make decisions about the right way forward. Let's face it, none of us has ever really had to contemplate what would happen in the event of a pandemic. No policy document in the world prepares you for what comes next.
“For us, working remotely isn't a reaction to a pandemic - this is just normal. I'm not going to pretend this will be easy - we've made some significant changes, including a daily 20 minute call with each team, which takes place between 09:00 and 10:20, followed by a daily Senior Management Team meeting from 10:30 - 11:00.
“For you, there will now be changes you need to make, some of which may feel daunting. We are here to help in any way we can. Please just ask. You are our partners and our friends, and at times like this, there are no boundaries and rules as to how we engage to get through this.
“I hope you don't mind, but I thought it might be useful to share some experiences of the biggest challenges. I'm not trying to pretend we have the answers, but hopefully this will help.
Remote working - many of you will have teams which have never worked remotely, and it can be a difficult transition. Be patient and expect to have to micro-manage the teams a lot in the first weeks.
We use tools such as Slack for instant messaging and group discussions. Microsoft Teams or Google Hangouts are also really good.
We use video conferencing, so we have face-to-face contact where possible
We've set a structure for every update call to be "Yesterday, I did...", "Today I will be doing..." and "The things which will challenge me are..." - it means everyone has a structure and is prepared, so meetings are short and to the point
Sickness - inevitably some staff will be off sick. However, if people are self-isolating, they may be doing that because a family member is sick, or they actually feel well enough to work. Remote working will help with this. However, you need to plan for 20% reduction in capacity, even if this is temporary.
Parents, older or vulnerable staff & volunteers - I know many of you may have staff who are parents, older or in a vulnerable group, or rely on volunteers to work in branches, and at this time it will be difficult to guarantee their availability or time. This will certainly be the case now that schools are closing and vulnerable groups will be asked to self isolate for several months. The only way to handle this is to reset expectations with your members about your opening hours, communicate changes early and recognise that it is everyone's interests that we get through this with the lowest possible risk. Make sure you can deal with people away from the branch. We can set up online banking and mobile app within a few days, if you need to do this quickly.
Infrastructure - We use a company called Soho66 for our telephones. We can route calls to mobiles so your members don't know the difference. We're not recommending them specifically, but if your search for VoIP telephone providers in Google, you'll find providers who offer the same. You may also be having issues accessing your systems from outside the office. Our platform is designed to allow your staff to access the system and work from any device, anywhere, so if you need help quickly, please do let us know in good time.
Demand - it is likely that your existing members will start to increase their demand to withdraw and/or borrow money. Now that payday lenders have pretty much gone, it's likely that people will be looking for alternatives - you'll obviously want to serve your existing members as a priority, but there is an opportunity to build strong future relationships by helping people who might not otherwise have heard about you. The big challenge with demand is your capacity to deal with it. If you need help with joining or loan applications, including automation of decisions or withdrawals, again, please just ask. We have Open Banking, credit referencing & auto decisioning available now.
Access to cash - for many community Credit Unions, you'll be facing the issue that your primary method of paying in or out is cash. This obviously has a significant impact if you can't be physically present in the office - the one benefit is that if you can't neither can your members, so it's really looking at new ways of working. The quickest solution is making direct payments from your bank. If you have issues, we have a recently launched relationship with Clear Bank, who can support this.
Control - when you can't be in the same room as your staff or members, it's really important you can see what everyone is up to. You need up to date information and the ability to control and limit what people are doing, most especially because you need to maintain good audit and security. Your staff and volunteers are awesome, so you need to protect them by making sure you and your board can demonstrate good governance, even at a distance. The platform can do all this for you, including sign-off limits on loans, limits on withdrawals and audit trails of all transactions.
“Apologies if this reads like a shameless plug for incuto. It isn't. If you need our help to get this in place quickly, to help you maintain service to your members, it's literally what we do!
“It's going to be a tough few months, but just reflect for a second that in the past 15 years, you've survived a major financial crisis, the threat of payday lenders, growing financial exclusion and tough regulatory change. If nothing else you've proved to be a community with heart, spirit and resilience. Goodness always wins, and we couldn't be prouder to serve and work with you.
“If you need anything, no matter how small, we will do everything we can to support you. We'll be here, as usual, on hello@incuto.com or 01943 262101.”
Andrew Rabbitt, CEO, incuto