Last week we are hosted a Regional Training event in Kansas City for our users. I applaud our customers of the Square 1 Credit Suite for investing both time and money to spend two days learning more about the system they are using in their financial institution. I look forward to the valuable feedback I receive from our loyal customers on what we can do better as a company and what added features they want to see in our system. On the flip side, I will be asking our customers how well they utilize what they have now.
Like many people, I own a lot of technology devices in my car, home and office. I try to keep up with the latest and greatest by keeping all my TVs, Smartphone, computing devices, etc. on the most recent hardware and software versions. Every time I upgrade, there are more features and functions to learn. It is the nature of technology to keep advancing by layering in more features and functionality. The Square 1 Credit Suite is no different as we believe that after 20 years, we can always be better and do more in our software suite. I can honestly admit that I only use a fraction of the functions and features in all of my gadgets and devices. In other words, “underutilization” of most of my technology devices is occurring. The same likely holds true with the Square 1 Credit Suite. Only a fraction of our system is likely being used in your institution. Some are close to 100% utilization but far too many are only running (I would guess) between 30% to 50% of everything that could be accomplished.
Underutilization by definition is the state of not being used enough or not used to its full potential. The major reason for this underutilization is the gap between the people who developed and sold the technology or software and the people who buy the technology or software. In other words, training is needed to close the gap. When I don’t use the Smart TV or the remote at full capacity, it’s because I have not educated myself on the features and functions in the user guide or on screen tutorials. There are other reasons such as not being aware that a feature exists, the benefit of a feature is not fully understood, lack of time to train or the reluctance to change.
When you purchase the latest version of an IT gadget, computing device or software, one of the goals should be to improve efficiency in the process of whatever it is you are trying to accomplish. We want things to work faster and easier if we are going to invest in the latest and greatest. However, if you do not utilize somewhere between half to full potential of the newest device or software, you are likely negating the efficiency gains to a degree.
Which brings me back to our Regional Training. The emphasis is on educating each of our customers and users about the features and benefits of everything contained in the Square 1 Credit Suite with the goal of increasing utilization of the suite. Better understanding of how to use the system to become more efficient or to make work easier can go a long way to addressing resistance to change.
If you haven’t invested in our annual Regional Training events or other training programs such as our weekly Lunch & Learn webinars, or continuing education in web-based training, then you might check these out, especially if you feel you are not realizing the full potential of the Square 1 Credit Suite.
We appreciate your business and loyalty!
Duane Lankard
Suntell CEO
