Need Assessment Project

David Boyd

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Organization

Hawaii Financial (pseudonym) is one of the largest credit unions in Hawaii, proudly serving over 130,000 members statewide. Committed to empowering families and businesses, Hawaii Financial helps members achieve their financial goals and build lasting prosperity.

Opportunity

Hawaii Financial is committed to evolving from a transactional service model to a consultative, member-centric approach. To achieve this transformation depends on members adopting enhanced tools, particularly the enhanced Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). These tools are designed to free up branch personnel from routine transactions, allowing them to focus on higher-value financial guidance and relationship-building.

Problem

However, a critical performance barrier stands in the way: low member adoption of enhanced ATMs. Despite strategic investments in self-service technology, many members continue to rely heavily on traditional, in-person transactions. This behavior limits the organization’s ability to reallocate staff time to consultative roles, hindering progress towards its strategic goal of providing financial wellness to the island communities it serves.

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To remain on track with its strategic plans, Hawaii Financial is targeting an increase in ATM adoption by 20% over the next calendar year.

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Data Types and Sources

• Semi-structured interview with client
• Recorded and converted into a transcript.
• Interview questions aligned with Chevalier's Updated BEM.
• Designed to provide an initial big picture of the presented problem and existing gap.
• Extant data: Solicited member feedback
• Excel sheet of 592 member feedback instances.
• Collected via member feedback surveys from 11/2024 to 1/2025.
• Extant data: Unsolicited member feedback
• Excel sheet of 65 member feedback instances.
• Collected by branch employees from 11/2024 - 1/2025.

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Data Analysis

• Semi-structured interview with the client highlighted:
• We are not providing members with quality service, which misaligns with Hawaii Financial's mission and strategic objectives.
• Some staff and members are unaware of ATM capabilities and limitations.
• A lack of incentives for members to adopt digital tools.
• Early issues with ATMs eroded member trust and prevented adoption.
• Solicited customer feedback highlighted:
• Positive feedback on high-value, member service interactions.
• Complaints about long wait times.
• Unsolicited customer feedback highlighted:
• Reoccurring resource issues: faulty ATMs.
• Member frustration with digital tools.
• A misalignment between member expectations and our current offerings.

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Performance Gap

• Average monthly deposits (11/2024 - 1/2025): 2,313
• Goal: 3,500 (20% increase)
• Gap between current performance and goal: 1187 deposits

Why the Gap is Worth Closing

• Aligns with Hawaii Financial's strategic shift from transactional service to consultative engagements.
• Allows staff more time to foster consultative relationships with members.
• Increases operational efficiency.
• Supports the following strategic objectives:
• Increasing Engagement and Advocacy
• Raising Workforce Capital
• Driving Financial Sustainability
• Delivering Service Excellence

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Cause Analysis - Member Focused

Cause Analysis - Member Focused

Cause Analysis - Member Focused

Cause Analysis - Member Focused

Member Interventions

Immediate Implementation

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• Clear motivators
• ATM Reporting Log

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Long-term Implementation

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• Solicited Feedback for ATM Transactions

Organization Interventions

Immediate Implementation

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• Consistent messaging about ATM capabilities and limitations
• Staff or branch incentive program

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Long-term Implementation

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• ATM Uptime and Fix System Issues
• Digital Advocate Role with Cafe Style transactions leveraging ATMs

Barriers

During early discovery, the client identified several operational and technical issues affecting member trust and adoption of the ATMs:

• ATM Issues
• Check and cash deposits are reportedly rejected at times for unknown reasons.
• $500 per withdrawal limits with a maximum withdrawal of $500 per day are inconvenient, creating points of friction for members.
• The ATM occasionally runs out of large denominations, leaving only small bills available, despite supporting all denominations.

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These early insights shaped the initial understanding of potential barriers to ATM adoption and guided the focus of the needs assessment. They served as a starting point for deeper analysis, which is detailed in subsequent sections of this plan.

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Limitations

While the discovery and data collection efforts provided valuable insights into potential barriers to ATM adoption, several key limitations constrained the ability to conduct a comprehensive analysis:

Gaps in Member Usage Data

• Cash Withdrawals: No data was available regarding typical member cash withdrawal needs. It remains unclear whether the current $500 daily limit meets the average or expected transaction amounts. Further, it is unknown how and where members are informed of this limit (e.g., at the ATM screen or elsewhere), and whether this communication affects usage.
• Cash Deposits: There is limited data into the volume and flow of cash deposits, specifically how much is deposited versus withdrawn via ATMs. Additionally, occasional holds placed on cash deposits raise concerns about consistency and trustworthiness of ATMs. It would also be helpful to understand the breakdown of the percentage of denominations deposited.
• Check Deposits: Variability in check processing across channels emerged as a concern. It was noted that hold times for ATM-deposited checks may be longer or less transparent than those handled in person, which could further discourage adoption.

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Continued…

Operational and Technical Constraints

• ATM Downtime and Stocking: Limited access to vendor data restricted analysis of ATM uptime and cash availability. It is unclear whether the stakeholders uptime target of 98% is realistic. ATMs will need to be reprogrammed to adapt cash denominations that better fit the business and member needs. Similarly, the feasibility of increasing ATM stocking frequency to prevent running out of larger bills remains undetermined and will also require new contract requirements.

Benchmarking and Compliance

• No comparative data was available to assess Hawaii Financial’s ATM withdrawal policies and how they align with industry standards. Additionally, questions around compliance constraints (raised by the client) were flagged but not resolved and out of scope of this analysis.

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Continued…

These limitations highlight the need for continued inquiry, improved data access, and further engagement with both internal and external stakeholders. Areas where member experience intersects with operational policy and vendor capability remain critical to address as they play a significant role in sustaining the current performance.

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