Case Study: First Federal Bank
From Paper Mentality to Online Help

What the client wanted: To update 600 pages of banking policy and procedure in order to conform to the latest regulatory controls. The client did not have the manpower to perform the updates or maintain documentation to required standards.

Challenges

This was part of a phase project to update and standardize policies across the organization. The organization had long operated on a “paper mentality.” The outdated policy manuals were few, unreliable and inaccessible; therefore the organization relied on several key personnel to know current procedure. The amount of time spent researching policy, and the demands on certain staff, were monumental. Additionally, the electronic copy of the manuals was in an old word processing format, making updates horrible to confront. The client requested the updates in hard copy only, having given no thought to an online solution.

Performance

CKI interviewed key personnel in the organization to determine current usage of the manuals, and any other needs. Personnel with a customer would have to leave the customer, walk to the break room to consult a policy manual, and might still be unsure of the information. There was also no quick system for providing customers with branch information (addresses, maps, phone numbers, hours). Plus, image was of concern, since the customer’s perception of the bank revolved around how knowledgeable the customer service rep appeared, yet there was no way to adequately evaluate personnel knowledge without access to key policy and procedure.

Innovation, Growth, and Scalability

CKI moved the organization from paper to online. First we migrated the electronic manual information into a newer word processing format that would utilize style sheets and templates for efficient updates. We fully updated the manuals (including a three-step executive committee approval process), and then created an affordable, fully searchable online help system which made policy and procedure available to all personnel. There were two people who were responsible for the updates, and the new system allowed them to make updates easily and quickly. The updates were pushed to the online system, allowing all personnel access to the latest information.

The online system also incorporated a bulletin board for organization-wide messages and alerts, policy update notifications and incorporated an easy-access branch locator function with maps, services, phone numbers and hours of operation. CKI also developed training materials for documentation updating and for the online help system.

Value

The result was an organization fully able to utilize its policy and procedure that also gained other helpful tools to increase efficiency and customer service. The line personnel perceived real value from this, being able to access pertinent information from their desktop rather than leaving the customer to go find the necessary reference. The organization could now also evaluate organizational performance and customer service.