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Dear FirstLight Members,
Recently, FirstLight has been on a journey to transform your Credit Union to better serve you and our community. As a not-for-profit financial cooperative our intent was simple…provide more value and convenience to you, our members. As FirstLight celebrates its 70th Anniversary this year, our goal is to continue to make a positive impact in our El Paso, Fort Bliss, and Las Cruces communities for the next 70 years and beyond.
From the pandemic to now, FirstLight has been adapting to an ever-changing financial landscape. A shift in member behavior and expectations accelerated our strategic plans to transform our delivery model, expand digital and virtual services, and shift employee roles to be financial advisors.
What are we doing?
We are renewing our commitment to the highest degree of member experience and ease of access. We have transformed our traditional branches to member engagement centers—leveraging technology to increase transaction speeds and expanded virtual hours of operation while creating universal employee representatives to provide personalized service. And speaking of our people, we invested in greater training and provided a pathway for employees to become Certified Financial Counselors, a designation enabling employees to help guide members through their financial journeys in fulfillment of our mission to improve lives.
We’re here to serve you.
If our service levels, member experience, or our people’s performance are less than expected, we want to know. If there is something that frustrates you or bothers you, and/or if you have an idea to make it better, email us at LetUsKnow@FirstLightfcu.org. This communication will go directly to our Executive Team. This is your Credit Union, and we want to hear from you on how we can make it better!
Again, as we celebrate our 70th anniversary, our commitment to our members is as strong as ever. With your help and support, we will continue to get better and become the local neighborhood credit union you deserve and continue to support you in achieving your financial dreams for years to come. It is an honor to serve you.
With appreciation,
Margie Salazar, President/CEO
Judy Deharo, Chief Lending Officer
Juan Gonzalez, Chief Information Officer
Jim Huff, Chief Retail Officer
John Caladim, Chief Financial Officer
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did FirstLight take away it’s teller lines?
The financial services landscape is rapidly changing and FirstLight needs to adapt to changing member expectations and become more efficient so that we can continue to provide high value to our members. Using technology to automate certain transactions provides members with more convenience and access as we are able to staff more effectively and expand the hours of operation via the ITMs and virtual delivery channels. It also allows our employees to focus on more complex needs for our members and serve as financial counselors. Improvement in efficiency can be passed on to members in the form of more favorable deposit and loan rates and investment in more robust products and services. Our ITM’s have added benefits of reduced human error and less risk of armed robbery since there are no cash drawers.
What happened to FirstLight’s Tellers?
None of FirstLight’s Tellers lost their jobs because of this transformation. In fact, most front-line employees earned promotions instead. We too provided additional training to help our team skill-up with many team members obtaining their Financial Counselor Certification and yes, they are still working in our Engagement Centers, administration building or virtually from home. They are now able to spend more time with members discussing their financial health to help them achieve their financial goals. As our team takes on these new roles, they find the work to be more meaningful and fulfilling as they make a difference in our members’ lives.
Is FirstLight only focused on young people?
Not at all. We love all our members, and we tried to be incredibly thoughtful about the needs of all our members. While we continue to roll out technology that is attractive and convenient for our younger members, we continue to staff our engagement centers with staff that are there to support all our members including those who prefer face to face interaction. We took a hybrid approach because we recognize the vast differences in member preference, and we want all our members to feel comfortable.
What are some of the other benefits of this transformation?
There are additional benefits to both our members and the community. First, we were able to expand our hours for our virtual team meaning that our virtual tellers and our video representatives are available M-F 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to assist our members. Our ITM’s also allow for most transactions to be done in self-service mode 24/7 at our drive-ups. An additional benefit is the introduction of our community rooms that are available for members and for our community to reserve free of charge. Many local non-profits and civic groups are already benefiting from these rooms. For more information, visit our website at:
Have additional questions? Email us at LetUsKnow@FirstLightfcu.org
