Execution, communications, and training are key to achieving successful transformation.
One of the nation’s largest credit unions has over 8 million members and $90 billion in assets. Lending, and especially providing real estate loans, is a $19 billion part of their business, impacting nearly 2000 employees and customers.
So when the credit union needed a new loan origination system (LOS), they called Celerity to help drive the large change management effort required to ensure increased collaboration, efficiency, and a superior member experience across all loan origination channels.
Getting to the heart of change management
In order for any organizational change initiative to be successful, you must first understand the “why” behind the change. Once stakeholders understand the why, they are more likely to invest themselves in the how. With that in mind, the client wanted the new system to maximize mortgage staff productivity and decrease the cycle time to process, underwrite, and close loans. They also wanted to increase the quality of loans and reduce the number of people involved in the loan process.
With the complexity of the mortgage lending industry, the new LOS would affect multiple processes and roles across various business units. Working together with the client, Celerity leveraged our own SEALSM framework to interview and inform the stakeholders and include them in the vision-setting process. This helps establish trust, confidence, and buy-in, which, in turn, helps achieve critical deadlines and results. After establishing the vision, we worked together to create a plan to communicate that vision, engage the organization around the change, align behaviors to achieve the change, and link it to a future path.
To facilitate this, we worked with the client to identify a change network made up of key stakeholders across multiple business units. This step was critical because it ensured voices from across the organization were heard not just throughout the change management effort, communications plan, and resulting training, but through the LOS development and customization as well. This group lent their perspective, enlightened us on their roles and processes, and helped us identify capability gaps to inform the client’s training initiatives, act as ambassadors of change, and advise us throughout the process.
All the activities and plans we put in place were supported with defined deadlines, next steps, and clear ownership of each task. Frequent check-ins were used to monitor and ensure progress with the transition. As feedback was gathered and received, Celerity worked with the client to incorporate the lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
195+
procedures that needed to be followed to process any new loan
30
total roles that have a primary or secondary responsibility for each procedure
Making the transition from change to enthusiastic adoption
As with any large-scale change, success hinges on stakeholder voices being heard throughout. It depends on employees’ openness and understanding of change. And it requires role-specific product training.
Celerity was able to increase the trust and confidence needed among critical stakeholders to drive and achieve the critical deadlines and results around the new solution. By clearly identifying and communicating the vision, we helped facilitate various sessions with business units to align their vision with the program’s vision. And we created a customized communication plan that provided clear and compelling “whys” to the organization.
By involving stakeholders so significantly, we have paved the path to successful adoption of the LOS so it can improve productivity, decrease cycle times, and improve the overall quality of the loans. As development progresses, the impact of the change management process on adoption and productivity will become even more apparent.
Before Celerity
Change management often an after-thought of change
No alignment of communication, training and product roadmap
No prioritization of communication, processes, or training initiatives
Stakeholders loosely involved in organization’s change management process
With Celerity
Clear + compelling case for change was made throughout the process
Well-planned communications strategy aligned and informed all aspects of change
Structured SEALSM framework identifies priorities and responsibilities
Stakeholders inform communications plan, development and training
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