Executive Summary
Since its founding in 1934, Kemba Credit Union has been committed to enriching the financial lives of its members through exceptional service. As membership grew and financial needs became more complex, Kemba recognized the need to evolve from delivering excellent transactions to intentionally building meaningful member relationships at every interaction.
To accomplish this, Kemba partnered with ServiStar Consulting to build a comprehensive member experience strategy centered on leadership development, coaching, performance measurement, and member feedback. Together, they established consistent service standards, implemented Voice of the Member surveys, equipped leaders with coaching tools, and developed Kemba's internal Learning & Development team to sustain the work for years to come.
"What makes this work so valuable is its lasting impact on our culture. It has aligned our leaders and frontline teams around a common approach to service and coaching, enabling us to deliver member experiences that are more consistent, intentional, and connected to our mission."
— Amy Daniels, Chief Experience Officer, Kemba Credit Union
Since launching the program in 2025, Kemba has consistently exceeded peer benchmarks for member experience, demonstrating that intentional leadership and a shared coaching approach can create measurable business results.
Q2 2026 Benchmark reporting reflects:
- Branch Experience NPS: 82.45 (Peer Benchmark: 80.10)
- Contact Center Experience NPS: 73.16 (Peer Benchmark: 70.3)
- Branch Overall Satisfaction: 9.54 (Peer Benchmark: 9.50)
- Contact Center Overall Satisfaction: 9.22 (Peer Benchmark: 9.14)
The Challenge
Kemba's rapid growth over the past decade brought tremendous opportunity—but also new challenges. As branches expanded through organic growth and mergers, maintaining a consistent member experience became increasingly difficult.
While exceptional service had always been part of Kemba's culture, they lacked a common framework for defining, measuring, and coaching the behaviors that create lasting, sincere member relationships. Leaders were using different coaching approaches, service expectations varied across locations, and there was no consistent process for gathering member feedback or measuring the impact of improvements.
Kemba knew their next stage of growth would require more than good intentions. They needed a way to create consistency without losing the personal touch that had always defined the credit union.
The Turning Point
Rather than searching for another training program, Kemba looked for a strategic partner that understood the unique philosophy of credit unions and believed that relationships—not transactions—drive member loyalty.
That's when they partnered with ServiStar Consulting.
What stood out wasn't simply the curriculum—it was the approach. ServiStar took the time to understand the organization, the members, and the long-term goals before recommending solutions. Instead of asking Kemba to fit into a predefined model, they helped build one that reflected Kemba's culture and vision for the future.
The Solution
Together, Kemba and ServiStar built an integrated member experience strategy designed to create consistency across the organization while developing leaders from within.
Key initiatives included:
- Establishing shared service standards centered on relationship-building.
- Developing leaders through Vertex Leadership and Coaching for Performance.
- Implementing Voice of the Member surveys through Member Loyalty Group to capture meaningful member feedback.
- Introducing frontline observations and performance metrics that provided leaders with measurable coaching opportunities.
- Mentoring and certifying Kemba's Learning & Development team to independently facilitate Service Excellence, Becoming a Sales Champion, and Coaching for Performance.
As Kemba's internal capabilities grew, the partnership naturally evolved from implementation to mentorship and strategic collaboration, ensuring the work could continue long after the initial rollout.
The Results
Kemba's investment in creating a consistent, relationship-centered member experience has produced measurable improvements in employee behaviors, member engagement, and organizational growth.
Beyond improved service experience scores, Kemba has established a stronger foundation for sustaining excellence. Leaders now share a common language for service and coaching, utilize consistent performance expectations, and leverage member feedback to continuously improve the member experience.
The shift has also transformed how frontline teams engage with members. Through ServiStar's Service Excellence and Becoming a Sales Champion programs, employees are moving beyond transactional interactions and having intentional conversations focused on members' financial needs and goals.
In the first six months of 2026, Kemba Branch employees achieved:
- 5,385 member conversations identifying products and services that could enrich members' financial lives—more than double the 2,561 conversations recorded during all of 2025.
- 578 partner referrals connecting members with Insurance, Investments, Business Services, and Financial Counseling.
- 135 qualified or closed partner referrals, helping members access specialized financial solutions.
- Nearly 2,500 new memberships opened through Kemba's branch network, with 70% of new members establishing a checking account as the foundation of their financial relationship.
These results demonstrate that a successful member experience strategy extends far beyond service scores. By equipping leaders to coach effectively and empowering frontline employees to have meaningful financial conversations, Kemba has strengthened member relationships while achieving measurable business outcomes.
Lessons Learned
Looking back, two decisions made the greatest difference.
First, Kemba chose a partner who customized the journey instead of asking them to adopt a one-size-fits-all solution. Every credit union is different, and the flexibility to build around their culture made implementation far more successful.
Second, they invested in developing their own people. Certifying Kemba's Learning & Development team created long-term sustainability, while allowing employees to learn from facilitators who understand their culture and members firsthand. At the same time, participating in ServiStar's certification community gave their team valuable opportunities to collaborate with and learn from other credit unions.
The advice to other credit unions is simple: don't think of member experience as a training initiative. Think of it as an organizational strategy. When leadership, coaching, measurement, and member feedback work together, cultural transformation becomes sustainable—and the results follow.