GreenStone is always working to make sure the cooperative is providing the best service experience possible for customers. Part of that is keeping the equipment and systems up-to-date and easy to use.
In October 2022, GreenStone launched Journey+, a new state-of-the-art customer relationship management system. The system is internal, and made for our employees to best serve our customers. The road to this launch started long before that morning in October and took the dedication and hard work of dozens of GreenStone employees.
The Road to Journey+
Efficiency is important, and based on feedback from employees, it was time to upgrade the fifteen-year-old system used to process loans, run credit checks, and communicate with customers. Brett Dutcher, VP of Enterprise Architecture for GreenStone, led the drive to improve efficiency and service.
“We wanted to move a lot quicker and be way more efficient to improve our customer’s experience,” said Brett.
The search for a vendor started in 2020, and by March 2021, a system was chosen, and the project began. These project meetings weren’t held around a big table in a conference room, though, we were launching a large project in the middle of a pandemic – so staying communicative with one another was more important than ever.
“Building a process for communications and project management was vital,” said Brett.
“We were well into Covid-19 and working remotely. Trying to do an initiative that large while remote was not easy. Making sure everyone was aware of what was happening was crucial.”
Crucial – because the team was large. More than 100 team members at GreenStone worked on this initiative over the one-and-a-half years and were instrumental in its launch. It was important to have staff members from every part of the company to make sure this new system worked correctly and efficiently for every job role and customer service need.
“We had people from all different segments of the business working several days, months, and even years on this initiative,” said Melissa Humphrey, Senior VP of Regional Sales. “It was really cool to see people set aside their own preferences when it was necessary to make sure the program worked for everyone.”
Melissa led a team of sales staff to provide feedback and make decisions about what that team needed from the new system. The biggest focus was working towards automation and efficiency to simplify the manual work for staff in order to create consistency and speed for the customer.
Prior to Journey+, a financial services officer had to key in information from a customer into one system, a customer service representative would take that information and key it into another system, and so on and so forth. The goal was a one-stop shop to make serving customers quicker, more accurate, and seamless -- and that’s exactly what was delivered with Journey+.
“Now, as the loan officer, they start the process, and if they type in good information on the front end, their teammates can use that information throughout the process without having to re-enter that information,” said Melissa.
Journey+ isn’t just helping loan officers be more efficient at their desks, but also in the field – allowing all staff to better assist customers wherever they are.
“The launch of Journey+ also brought on a mobile app,” said Melissa. “Staff have access to information on the go. If they’re out in the field meeting with customers and need to look up a customer address or phone number, or check on loan details for the customer, or any sort of customer-centric information, they can do that from their cell phones.”
Another person thrilled to see more automation is Eric Smith, who throughout this project, served in his previous role as Assistant VP of Credit Operations. Eric has since been promoted to VP of Loan Syndications.
Eric served as a liaison for GreenStone’s credit team to make sure they got the most out of this system, as well. Like Melissa, he’s excited to know that the efficiency of this one-stop-shop system is going to allow the team to assist customers much more quickly than in the past – especially through the loan credit approval process.
“It’s all flowing in from one place. It’s a more seamless pass-through of information,” said Eric. “It’s going to help GreenStone serve its customers more efficiently and it’s only going to get better.”
And getting better is the goal.
The Journey Forward
For weeks, staff trained on the new system to make sure they were ready to use Journey+ to effectively serve customers. When the switch was flipped on that Saturday morning in October, it was go-time and a new chapter at GreenStone began.
“The launch went far better than how I could have expected. It was something people were nervous about because it was a huge change and we didn’t want our internal system and process improvements to result in any delay or complication in our service to the customer – we wanted their experience to be seamless,” said Melissa. “To be able to walk away from the project and see the launch going better than expected, it’s awesome. The staff caught on quick and have been eager to take advantage of the enhancements.”
“We hit insurmountable milestones throughout the project,” said Brett. “It’s not one person, it’s a team. Such a large team put in the effort to make this happen!”
From day one GreenStone staff saw a smoother and quicker customer journey through the loan and service process, and that customer experience is only expected to get better.
“I think we hit the name exactly right. It’s a journey – both for staff and for the customer,” said Eric. “There are a lot of things that we really enjoy, and there are improvements to be made. The great thing about Journey+ is that we can work together, push the envelope of what we think is possible and make it better.”
Making loan processing, crop insurance, and tax and accounting services as seamless as possible is important to GreenStone. As the team continues to learn the ins and outs of Journey+, customers and staff alike can be confident this new chapter will be the best one yet.
GreenStone is true to its values – getting involved, doing what’s right to put the customer first, and delivering quality. The team stood by those values throughout this project, and is putting in the work so you don’t have to.
“The culture at GreenStone allows everyone to roll up their sleeves and get things done regardless of their job title,” said Eric. It’s a culture unmatched by any organization and truly appreciated by GreenStone’s team.
And in the words of Brett --
“It’s only going to get better!”
This article was originally published in GreenStone's 2022 annual report. You can view the annual report in its entirety here.
