Its funny because a lot of my friends (all 18-30) have been members for quite awhile and constantly speak well of MSCU. As soon as I mentioned that they we were trying to put together a committee of 20-somethings and younger they bailed on the idea. It isn’t that they won’t get involved, they just hate having scheduled involvement. It feels like work to go into a committee. Obviously we don’t have the strongest youth membership, but the youth that are here seem to love it. I’ve played with the idea of a contest, and am still considering it, but it has to have something worthwhile behind it. I don’t want to see lots of traffic during the contest only to become a ghost town once its finished. I suppose that all depends on the content of the site though.

@ Tim

I love the idea of being able to actively update account info. On the teller line I swear I had to get at least 3 overrides every hour for people with incorrect addresses and the like. There would have to be some major security surrounding the system, but it would be awesome and convenient both for the membership and employees.

I like the idea of permitting members to dictate the products and services to a point. Obviously there will be some kookie suggestions, but then you get something like Tim’s suggestion that seems so obvious that it basically slapped me in the face. I can do this at BofA but it is just an online form and the edits get made a few days later. Why cant my banking profile be like my Facebook profile where I can update and edit as I need to?

I have an idea. When I order checks, my credit union knows how many checks I have passed. Could I get a phone call or email or something from a MSR saying “Hey, we noticed that you are coming to the end of your supply of checks – would you like me to reorder some for you?” It is a minor inconvenience, but my office supply company does it all the time. They figure out how long it takes me to run out of paper and they start calling. Guess who gets my paper business?

I know it seems lame, but so does running out of checks and ordering them online and waiting.

Tony

I am constantly surprised at how the credit unions we work with lack even the basics. Up-to-date addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. This makes trying to communicate with members really tough.

We should be able to make the process secure and as simple as updating your info in Facebook and your data will be clean

We actually tried to form a group of youth here at MSCU that would give us feedback on what they would like to see out of a financial institution, but people showed zero interest. We need to rethink what a “committee” is. The traditional group that gets together weekly or monthly and drafts a report isn’t really working anymore, especially for the younger members.

I actually just wrote a post on this very subject. I’m currently in the process of working with MSCU to build a site dedicated to member-driven community involvement. I’ll obviously talk more about it once things get moving more, but its an exciting idea. I’m tired of having a dollar amount be the only indication we have a presence in the community.

http://theculoop.blogspot.com/2007/12/what-does-responsibility-mean-to-me.html