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Future Branches Conference: Three Key Lessons

By Adam James, AIA

September 5, 2023
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This summer, DC attended the Future Branches Conference in Boston, Massachusetts for a few days to focus on the future of bank branches. The conference shares knowledge from peers in both the Banking and Credit Union worlds – addressing key issues in the retail banking environment. It was great to be part of these discussions and hear from financial institutions across the country on some specific topics. Read on to learn what our top three takeaways were!

 

Takeaway One:

The branch and physical channel for banks and credit unions across the country is an important part in connecting institutions to the communities they serve. Customers and members still want to have access to physical branches, especially in times of need or crisis. The key for both new and existing branches is understanding their ROI – does your branch handle transactions, provide a large loan or mortgage originations, or support the community with shared training space? Understanding this key metric for your branch and ensuring your design supports that is more critical than ever with the cost of construction. Our article on Crafting the Ideal Branch shares more insight into this specific topic!
Bank Small Conference Room
Bank Small Conference Room
SAFE Federal Credit Union Interactive Teller Machine Drive-thru

Takeaway Two:

Deploying Interactive Teller Machines (ITM’s) in branch networks is really gaining traction – and everyone is trying to learn from each other on best practices. We’ve discussed this previously as part of a successful transition from COVID-19 with branches, and it’s great to see how these ITM’s can be used successfully when planned out correctly. Even existing branches can apply these to their footprints, specifically in their drive-thru’s, but it does take careful planning at not only the branch, but also where the new remote tellers work from.
SAFE Federal Credit Union Interactive Teller Machine Drive-thru

Takeaway Three:

Employee engagement is another important topic of discussion, both in branches and at offices. A successful and engaged employee needs a branch, or office that compliments the work they need to be doing – and today’s banking is different than just five years ago! Complimenting their workspace will increase employee satisfaction, which positively directly affects the engagement scores of your customers and members.
Fort Financial Credit Union East Branch Teller Line
Fort Financial Credit Union East Branch Teller Line

It was a great conference with a lot of engaging discussions, case studies, and energy towards crafting the branch of the future for each institution. Having a design team that understands your goals, as well as the expertise in industry changes is critical. We are looking forward to next year’s conference already!

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