On March 12, we emailed Customer Pulse survey invitations to half our customer base. The survey measures overall customer engagement and our customers’ willingness to refer business and to retain and expand their relationships (their “Net Promoter Score”). We will also use feedback from the survey to identify opportunities for North Shore Bank, as well as our needs. We will share the survey results in a few weeks. We are aiming to score higher than our last survey results, which were:

• Engagement Score: 81.6 (score within 5 percent of best in class in the industry)
• Net Promoter Score: 56 (A score greater than 50 indicates a very likely willingness of customers to refer others to bank with North Shore.)

External customer feedback correlates directly to our “Together Achieving More—SOAR Together” customer service promise:

Smile and create a positive first and lasting impression, that shows care and appreciation.

Offer personalized solutions based on the individual needs of the customer.

Actively listen to hear and understand the customer’s needs and goals.

Respond promptly and knowledgeably with answers that build confidence and trust.

We will use scores from select survey questions to determine how well we are living up to our customer promise statements. Below are scores from our September Customer Pulse survey. These scores will be the benchmarks we use to measure customer engagement in the future.

How can we collectively improve our performance and increase customer engagement?

From survey responses, we know customers appreciate helpful service and friendly individuals who take the time to offer advice or suggest banking options. Customers also have a high expectation for customer service, including that staff greet them by name, are personable, are knowledgeable, and go the extra mile.

Customers have also told us they appreciate more in the categories of advice or options, ATM and account fee relief, and electronic services. Specifically in regard to wanting more information about banking solutions, customers reported that:

• 52 percent of them appreciate advice they have received.
• 2 percent want advice, but have never been asked.
• 30 percent have either never been offered advice or have not asked for help.
• 5 percent of them find that employees do not listen to their needs or are pushy or misinformed.

Since our last survey, mobile deposit capture is now also available. In July, we redesigned our intranet to improve navigation. As of February, we have 716 users and have accepted 2,127 deposits. That is more than 5 percent of all check deposits accepted through the branch network. This is the size of a small branch!

We continue to communicate the benefits of Money Pass, with free ATM access at more than 23,000 ATMs nationwide. Our imaged-deposit ATMs are popular with customers, thanks to how easy it is to make deposits and withdrawals with them, at the eight locations where we have them. Since we installed an imaged ATM at El Rey, around 1,000 more customers have begun to use the ATM for self-service transactions.

There are opportunities to expand our questioning to help more customers with banking needs, as they appreciate advice. As an organization: Ask questions to determine needs and then handle the requests that result from your asking, or involve a business partner. Lastly, follow the SOAR Together customer promise statements whenever you interact with an internal or external customer.