At State National, we don’t see client relationships as a static part of our business; they’re a dynamic, evolving element that helps both our organization and our clients' organizations move forward. Our commitment goes beyond mere transactions; prioritizing and nurturing healthy client partnerships is vital to us, as they serve as the foundation of our company.
Since the very beginning, client collaboration has always been a key part of everything we do. By actively engaging with our clients on a personal level, we gain a firsthand understanding of their wants and needs, enabling us to better serve each and every one of our partners.
Additionally, receiving candid feedback from our partners has always been a critical part of our strategic planning. It’s why we conduct several ongoing surveys, including our Annual Survey of Service Quality, in order to measure all aspects of our service delivery and client satisfaction. Because our goal is to help our clients succeed, finding out what they need, how we can better provide it, and what we can do to better serve them, is always top of mind.
Client-Centric Innovation
We took a significant step toward this goal in 2018 by creating the State National Client Advisory Council (CAC). This council brings together some of our top clients to discuss issues critical to them — and therefore, critical to us. The CAC is a forum to share information, gain consensus on key topics, and collaborate with peers and partners to creatively pursue problem-solving strategies and growth opportunities for our council members' institutions.
Our intention in establishing the State National CAC was to create a thoughtful framework enabling us to carefully listen to the voices and concerns of our clients, cultivate an atmosphere where collaborative insights can emerge, and allow our strategy and product development to be guided by those who will be actively using it every day.
Thriving Together: State National’s Collaborative Journey With Our Members
Designed with our members in mind, the CAC offers two-year memberships, providing participants a unique opportunity for connection and collaboration with other leaders from credit unions across the country. The benefit to our CAC members lies within the with tangible, real-world tools they gain from their participation, including timely information from expert speakers on emerging financial industry topics and early access to proprietary research from credit union-focused organizations.
But don’t take it from us — here’s what some of our current CAC members have to say about their experience:
“I never fully understood the depth of services offered through State National and the CAC has given me better access to those services. The resources and the people I’ve gotten to know through my participation in the CAC have been incredible. State National has always been so responsive to issues, questions, and concerns that may come up at our credit union, and now I have connected with even more people I can reach out to — people that are experts in different aspects of all the things that happen at State National.” – Louie Delk, Chief Member Experience Officer, River Region CU
“My time on the CAC has shown me how much State National promotes a collaborative environment with their clients. They bring a lot of different credit union leaders together to connect with each other and they provide interesting speakers. It has really shown me how much State National does care about their clientele.” – Tim Mullen, SVP Branch Operations, Members CU
What’s in it for State National?
Investing time and resources in this in-depth, collaborative ongoing group experience deepens our relationship with our partners, helping to align our organization with precisely what our clients need. It provides us with the opportunity to listen to our members’ accomplishments and challenges in their own institutions, arming us with knowledge and insights to continue to develop and provide effective solutions for all credit unions.
We know that we’re successful when our clients are successful — and the more we contribute to our partnerships, the more it creates a positive upward spiral that elevates us all.
The CAC Brought to Life: Highlights From Our Latest Meeting
During our latest council meeting at State National’s headquarters in Texas, members from across the country gathered to collaborate with SNC leadership, tour our home office to see some of our latest innovations, and learn from this quarter's expert guest speakers. Our main goal is to provide our members with valuable, firsthand tools to bring back to their credit unions to implement new strategies and better serve their members.
The first of our industry contributors, Dawn Denton, Chief Growth Officer at Filene Research Institute, discussed the dynamic landscape of credit unions and offered key strategies for adaptation. Next, Tim Kelley, President of Auto Financial Group, took a deep dive into residual based financing, providing valuable perspectives on how this innovative solution can serve both credit unions and their members effectively. 
Following a knowledge-packed day of discussion and learning, we all joined together for an evening of relaxation and a hands-on, private cooking class, where we worked together to prepare a mouthwatering Italian meal. The spirit of group collaboration and creation followed us into the evening — but here it was flour flying instead of business ideas, and it was onion and garlic being sliced and diced instead of financial insights! One of the most enjoyable facets of face-to-face meetings with our council members is sharing fun and laughter together as we get to know them better as individuals.
Once the event was over, our CAC members returned to their credit unions, bringing knowledge, insights, and advice back with them to leverage within their institutions. As for State National, we listened to the information our members provided us with during our time together and began the process of strategizing solutions for the challenges they and their members face in today's ever-evolving financial and member service ecosystem.
Thank you to our council members — past, present, and future — for your trust, your enthusiasm, your creative contributions, and your invaluable partnership!
Discover More
Are you a credit union professional interested in networking with like-minded individuals and organizations to make an impact on the financial industry? Contact Heather Clyde, State National’s Client Advisory Council Program Director, at HClyde@StateNational.com to learn more about the CAC and see how you can get involved.
