Objective/Metric Measured: Asset size and number of members were our two generalized areas we were measuring. Prior Measure:

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1 2016 CUNA Excellence in Operations, Sales & Service Award Sales and Service Management Entry Members Choice Credit Union: Excellence in Service through the Customer Care Chain From the onset we faced two large problems that any credit union faces- how to increase our size and how to serve our membership better. A more localized challenge was the knowledge that AK Steel, our founding and largest seg group, and CSX, our second seg group, were both going to be experiencing massive layoffs in their work force. This, combined with generally sluggish conditions in our local economy, left us with the realization that something more would be needed than just a standard rate change. At board, supervisory, and management meetings we went over the typical fixes we've used in the past: rate changes, promotional deals, new products and programs, etc. In late 2014 the decision was made to take a more holistic approach to the challenges we were facing. At the heart of things, we faced a generalized problem- how to grow in a depressed economic area. Our approach then, needed to be generalized as well-- our board and management decided that we would reinvent our approach to customer service. The rationale was simple: if we provided our members with the best possible service we could, we would not only see an increase in membership, but in asset growth. Our assessment would be just as simple. If we could grow in both asset size and membership over a two year period, then we would consider our program successful. We decided to call our new approach the "Customer Care Chain" and began implementing it in January of Our Customer Care Chain revolves around 5 primary areas: 1) Staying Connected & Current; 2) Continuous Contact with Our Members; 3) Clear Communication; 4) Community Collaboration; 5) Dealing with Challenges and Concerns. 1. Staying Connected & Current is associated with our efforts to retain and expand our membership. Exemplary and knowledgeable customer service allows us to encourage members to use their existing services with us more frequently. We train staff to look at what members are doing with our services, as well. This connection with individuals allows us to discuss new products and services with them and grow the amount of business they do with us. This involves our concept of the "Human Branch" (discussed below). 2. Continuous Contact involves MCCU's drive to provide member-focused evaluation and accessibility. By constantly examining our member needs and habits we are able to strategically plan the direction of our credit union. Providing them with fast, easy, and secure transactions gives them with the ease-of-use and protection they deserve...and it is something they notice, as well. From our board to our staff, we encourage and expect every interaction with a member to provide the "personal touch" to set us apart from competitors. We view personal banking as a way we treat our members. We ask about their family. We wish them happy birthday. We let them know that we value them in everything we do. 3. Clear Communication is our pledge to our members to keep them educated and abreast of everything that is going on at Members Choice. This involves larger things like open invitations to our annual meeting, attended by hundreds of people each year and our newsletters, sent to our entire 17,000+ membership. Our members have an opportunity to sign up for our regular s that keep them informed on what we are doing. We relay future plans and changes to our membership and invite feedback. On the smaller scale it is our directive that each of us, regardless of what we are doing with a member, take the time to thoroughly explain what is happening and give them a chance to ask questions. 4. Community Collaboration is one of our strongest areas. We strive to be THE financial institution for our area, and as such, we try to be a part of our community in as many ways as possible. As a corporate entity, this

2 involves things like our annual golf scramble to benefit the Jonathan Ferguson Foundation, our MCCU Scholarship Program, participation in Relay for Life, and a broad range of sponsorships in the areas we serve. More importantly, perhaps, is how our employees each serve as company "ambassadors" as they go throughout the community. Each employee is encouraged to pick a charity to support through our weekly jean fund and to submit ideas for fundraisers or MCCU-sponsored events. It is common for news reports on events in our membership to show pictures of our people wearing MCCU shirts and helping out. By collaborating with our communities we effectively advertise ourselves and make a difference that is recognized. 5. Challenges and Concerns: Not, perhaps, the most pleasant thing to talk about, but we feel like exemplary service involves being able to effectively address our members concerns. We have a dedicated and thorough process for handling member complaints, including keeping them informed the entire way of what is happening. We realize, try as might, that problems are going to arise. But we try to take what is typically a negative situation and turn it positive by attempting to strengthen our bonds with members by correcting where we need improvement and resolving any disputes to the best of our ability. One thing we have tried to promote in the Customer Care Chain is the idea of "The Human Branch". Members Choice has taken the position that each of our employees, at work or in the community, has the ability to help us grow in everything he or she does. Staff should be able to, at all levels, be able to discuss our complete range of services at any time. By being informed on everything we offer, and being willing to promote Members Choice when the opportunity presents itself, we find multiple channels for growth. MCCU also offers several training avenues for staff. In addition to tradition training approaches such as sessions and webinars, we have an effective mentoring program at all levels. Substantial funds are also set aside each year for employees who want to pursue training independently. A major factor in our growth is related to cross-training employees in several different jobs throughout the credit union. Nearly every employee is trained in multiple jobs. This accomplishes a few things. From an operations standpoint, it allows us to have backups for every position and solves staffing problems. As relates to this award, cross-training gives our employees a wide base of expertise and facilitates the "Human Branch" concept above. Our tellers are confident cross-selling/discussing products because they have had loan training. Loan officers are eager to discuss IRAs with loan applicants if they ask because they've previously had experience doing them. From an incentive standpoint, we have tried to avoid directly monetizing anything attached to the Customer Care Chain and have instead focused on a culture of excellence customer service that has other perks. We encourage our staff to be involved in the community; attendees at the recent Relay for Life events were given a few extra hours of PTO. Offices that receive excellent customer service reviews frequently get company-provided lunches. These little perks show we value our employees and the work they do without turning customer service into something they simply do to get a few extra bucks. That being said, we do set goals company-wise in several areas and provide bonuses with these. Last year, for instance, employees got a substantial year-end bonus because of our growth within different aspects of MCCU. As mentioned above, we used the broad goals of increasing both our asset size and membership number. In addition to these areas, we experienced growth in the following areas: deposits, mortgages, auto loans (significant growth), credit cards holders. Objective/Metric Measured: Asset size and number of members were our two generalized areas we were measuring. Prior Measure: We used December 2014 numbers as our baseline since we began implementing the Customer Care Chain in January In December 2014, our asset size was $197,793,

3 In December 2014, our membership size was 16,669. Desired Target: Asset size we set a goal of exceeding $200 million in an 18 month period. Membership size we set a goal of exceeding 17,000 members in an 18 month period. Result: We evaluated our progress at the one year point, with the following results: In December 2015, our asset size grew to $204,855,451.59, meaning we hit our goal in this category. In December 2015, our membership size sat at 16,956, nearing our goal. In the grand scheme, we knew we had technically met our goal as we had closed over 1500 accounts before conversion to our new IT system, but we still wanted to meet our goal in active members. At the 18 (17, actually) month period, our results were: Asset size was $210,393, (May 2016). Membership size was 17,066 (May 2016), so we met our goal in this area as well. Charting our growth, we notices that our biggest gains came in the last few months. It is our belief that as we continued building our culture of excellent customer service, and staff bought in further to our system, it payed increased dividends in asset size and membership growth. 1. In addition to our specific goals we measured, we saw growth in ALL areas of Members Choice. Our efforts resulted in a more solid financial institution, top to bottom. 2. An increase in customer satisfaction. Our complaints dropped 21%, and while we did not specifically measure it, all of us noticed a substantial rise in positive comments/praise from our members. 3. A more positive work environment. In some ways, this benefit was unexpected. But all of the staff here have a sense that we are doing something together, and our growth contributed to a sense that we all pitching in and moving forward as a team.

4 Members Choice Credit Union Growth Charts Since Implementation of Customer Care Chain in January 2015 Asset Growth 212,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, ,000, Asset Size Dec-14 Dec-15 May-16 Member Growth 17,100 17,000 16,900 16,800 16,700 16,600 16,500 16,400 Members Dec-14 Dec-15 May-16

5 Customer Complaint Form Customer Name: Customer Phone #: Customer Address: Customer Account #: Customer Would you like to be contacted further about this complaint? Yes No If Yes, which method would you prefer we contact you by? Mail Phone Complaint Information Complaint Date: Complaint Taken By: Please describe in as much detail as possible the nature of your complaint. Please provide or identify all know persons, documents, and witnesses to your concerns: What steps or actions do you feel would help us repeat the issue you encountered? Customer Signature: Date: Members Choice Credit Union s motto is People Helping People and our employees are dedicated to fulfilling this motto. We appreciate your business and will investigate your complaint.

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