A Journey to Embracing Banking Technology Solutions

This year, I hit the half-century birthday. It reinforced the importance of truly enjoying what I do in both my personal and professional life. Over my professional life, I’ve had two separate (but related) careers.  Starting in 1998, I spent 13 years as a legal assistant/paralegal using DOS based programs, typewriters, and a banking technology solution for bankruptcy deposit accounts.

I changed careers and spent the next 10 years in banking, where I was taught the value of banking technology solutions. And yes, even just 10 and a half years ago, some of it was still transitioning from DOS to Windows. I like to imagine you are nodding your head and even smiling a little because you can relate or remember what that was like.

At first, my team and I would voice negativity about the limitations of the functionalities in early banking technology solutions and the grind of our manual processes. However, we liked change even less. Looking back, I see that was initial shortsightedness and fear (there’s a whole leadership lesson in that, but that topic is for another time.)

So how did my attitude toward banking technology solutions change so much that I am now a Solution Consultant for Baker Hill selling a commercial loan origination platform?

There wasn’t a moment in time where I had that “aha!” feeling. It was a gradual journey that made me realize the value that technology solutions could bring to the individuals on my team, which would flow to a positive impact for our borrowers. And as a leader with the primary goal to improve customer experience as well as my team’s work environment, I owed it to them to be inquisitive and open to the possibilities. That seems like it should have been a no-brainer, but it took me time to embrace. If you can relate, keep reading.

It started as part of a completely unrelated partnership building initiative I was leading. I began to reach out and grow my business relationship with our IT Applications team. As we formed the relationship and built trust, we began having open dialog about our business lines, our teams’ levels of engagement, and general work environments. That open communication channel fostered a relationship of sharing knowledge and insights. They shared what banking technology solutions we had available, what the solutions’ purposes were, and even their ideas on how these solutions could help me and my team.

I started to view technology solutions as useful tools instead of a negative imposition. I began asking my IT partners questions like: “How else can technology solutions help me to help my team?” As my trust in that IT relationship grew, I felt the freedom to bring them a challenge my team and I might be struggling with and ask: “Is there something that will solve this issue?” I also just casually asked what they’d “heard” about in the tech world. Or, I’d just ask a completely open-ended question like “What other banking technology solutions should I explore for my team?” or, “Do we have a technology solution that will reduce errors and mitigate error risk?” I kept asking questions and they kept sharing information. From there, banking technology solutions became exactly that – solutions!

Soon, I was the one advocating for more technology. Certain banking technology solutions gave us the ability to automate and streamline antiquated processes (regulators and auditors love that!). We were able to eliminate redundancies throughout our workflow. We were given the ability to look at challenges through the lens of how technology solutions could solve problems instead of just throwing more bodies at it. We also showed our teams that they were valued by implementing the technology solutions that were available to us and we were even able to bring in a few more solutions.

Fast-forward to today.  What do banking technology solutions mean to me in my current role? Sure, I acknowledge that my primary job is to lead workshops demonstrating Baker Hill NextGen® and its capabilities.  However, what drives me is my honest belief in the power and value of Baker Hill NextGen®. It’s a comprehensive solution and the more I know about it, the more impressed I am with its capabilities and the fact that it gives a financial institution the chance to make real-life, tangible changes for the better.

Being on the inside of a financial software company, my desire is to help clients and prospects to recognize and achieve a higher level of employee engagement, a more meaningful customer experience, while also having the added benefits of scalable processes, improved efficiencies and reduced inherent risk associated with antiquated manual processes.

Implementing a modern banking technology solution like Baker Hill NextGen® will expedite an institution’s loan origination workflow. I’m confident that it will (and does) provide one your most impactful advances in driving scalable growth.  Think about what you and your teams could do with the time returned to them by eliminating redundant and manual processes.  That time could be devoted to sharpening personal skill relevance and allow more focus on value-added actions that, in turn, build deeper relationships with customers.

So, I’ll close with an invitation: If you are interested in starting a conversation and learning about Baker Hill and Baker Hill NextGen®, I invite you to send me a message or an email.  I’d love to talk with you and connect you to Baker Hill.

You Might Also Like:

Infographic: The Key Benefits of Baker Hill NextGen®

Whitepaper: Are Banks and Credit Unions Really Making the Most of Technology?

Blog: How to Personalize Banking with Lending Software

Resource Guide: 5 Steps to Choosing the Right Loan Origination System

Author Bio

After spending 13 years as a legal assistant and paralegal, Cacie Lunt spent the next 10 years of her career managing a special assets team. As a Solutions Consultant for Baker Hill, Cacie uses her banking experience to work with banks and credit unions to help them better understand the capabilites of Baker Hill NextGen® through consultation and personalized demonstrations of the platform.