How we help you
Financial services organizations are facing challenging economic and regulatory landscapes, and many are still struggling to meet changes in customer expectations in the digital age. To stay competitive, organizations need to adapt to new technologies and new ways of doing business — all while balancing risk.
Create a vision for your organization’s future.
Develop and implement an agile strategic plan.
Select the right technology.
Improve your processes and profits.
Get support for managing critical initiatives.
Overcome present challenges and build for future success
We look at your challenges from all angles — strategic, digital and cultural — to help you implement the changes you need to optimize operations and improve profits.
Explore our strategy and operations services
Whether you need a plan that helps you sustain performance, make changes to meet your future needs or revolutionize the way you do business, Wipfli can help. Our industry- customized strategic planning can include:
- One-on-one interviews.
- Comprehensive financial analysis (including custom peer group analysis).
- GPS survey (online key stakeholder strategy assessment).
- Meetings with the board of directors, CEO and/or planning committee.
- Facilitation of on-site strategic planning meeting(s).
- Development of a written strategic plan with action plans for implementation and execution.
- Technology alignment to help ensure that your systems and human capital stay aligned with strategic objectives.
Wipfli’s services don’t end with deployment. We know that optimization is a continual process, and we’re ready to help you evaluate progress and re-strategize when needed. We also know that a key element of achieving your strategy is understanding enterprise risk management as well as identifying the experience you provide customers, clients and members.
Our strategy support services include:
- Ongoing accountability support.
- Customer, member and technology mapping.
- Enterprise risk management, risk identification and assessment.
- Strategy implementation.
Wipfli’s digital advisory team can help you create a technology strategy capable of helping you accelerate your vision. We apply holistic planning and ideation to help your organization transform with services, including:
- Human-centered planning and ideation to help you envision the future of your organization and develop a strategy to achieve it.
- Technology initiative assessments and readiness benchmarking to help guide you through the software selection process.
- CIO advisory to shape your organization’s digital strategy at the executive level.
- Program management designed to help you coordinate multiple technology initiatives.
Reach out to our team
From strategic planning and digital alignment to operational excellence, our professionals are ready to help.
Insights and resources
ARTICLE
How financial institutions can compete in today’s economy
The financial services business climate is faster and more complex than ever. Today, traditional community financial institutions must compete for customers with not just each other, but fintech companies and new digital payment options, all while breaking through the noise of countless other demands on customers’ attention. How should an institution’s CEO adjust its growth strategy to succeed in this environment? Keep reading to find out, plus why doing so also requires a new approach to managing risk. How should community financial institutions adapt to compete in today’s attention economy? Winning customers’ attention, in today’s attention-starved environment, doesn’t mean creating a flashy ad campaign. Instead, it’s about meeting your customers (and potential customers) where they are by blending new technology, such as online account opening, with timeless community banking fundamentals. It’s this combination that helps your institution stand out from the plethora of large national banks, fintech companies and other digital payment alternatives competing for your customers’ business. Here are key actions CEOs can push to help drive growth and customer retention: 1. Win on customer experience Customer experience (CX) is what a customer experiences during their every interaction with your financial institution, including marketing, account opening, customer service and branch visits. CX is the single biggest strategic asset for community and regional financial institutions, because smaller institutions are better positioned than big banks and fintechs to build long-term, human relationships with customers that lead to organic growth. 2. Understand your customers better than ever To deliver that superior customer experience, you also have to understand what your customers want and need. To do this, do a deep dive into your customer data: Develop data-based personas, map your customer journeys, explore how you can provide more automated personalization and offer proactive services rather than waiting for your customers to come to you. 3. Use AI when it makes sense AI can help you analyze your data to learn about your customers more deeply. But you can also create customer-facing AI tools that provide instant answers to questions and personalized recommendations for products or services that fit a particular customer’s specific needs. Leaning into AI also helps give your employees more time to focus on the human aspects of their job, like customer relationships or complex problem-solving. However, you can’t just throw AI on top of ineffective processes or bad data and expect it to perform miracles — your foundation has to be solid before you add in AI . 4. Reduce friction wherever you can Friction kills CX. Nobody wants to wait for a slow app to load, navigate a clunky UI or struggle to set up a password for their new bank account. Reduce friction in your customer service experience wherever you can, as this is often an area where newer fintech companies will shine. Conducting a friction audit can help you accomplish this goal. During the audit, you’ll identify specific friction points within your customer experience and prioritize which ones to solve based on impact. 5. Offer a consistent omnichannel experience Whether a customer is stopping in the branch, opening a new account online, or calling your contact center to apply for a loan, they should feel like they are having a consistent, cohesive experience. This omnichannel approach is both a powerful branding exercise and an implicit promise that you will always come through for your customers. 6. Measure whether you’re delivering for your customers How quickly and smoothly can you deliver what your customers want? This is the essential metric you need to track, measure and seek to improve on, and someone in your C-suite should own it. 7. Earn (and keep) customer trust By taking the action steps above, you’ll also start earning meaningful customer trust. This is a long-term differentiator for community and regional financial institutions: The sense you’re looking out for your customers in a way that a fintech or a Wells Fargo never could. A frictionless omni-channel experience is also especially effective at building trust. While this might surprise you, how you manage risk and compliance also affects customer trust. And right now, the moment is ripe to change your approach to one that fits better with today’s business climate. Financial institutions should pivot to a risk-based approach to compliance and risk management Even as technology, markets and customer expectations are evolving faster than ever, regulatory agencies have pulled back on some of their traditional compliance oversight responsibilities . As a result, financial institutions have new flexibility to reallocate their compliance and risk management budgets from a compliance-based approach to a risk-based approach. Rather than approaching compliance as simply a box-checking exercise, a risk-based approach is more adaptive and better suited to navigating today’s risks and business realities. This strategy seeks to: Broadly assess your risks and compliance challenges. Identify risks as high, medium or low based on potential impact to your institution or customers. Prioritize mitigating risks that are higher impact so that you allocate your resources more effectively. Implement new or more effective controls to mitigate higher impact risks. Conduct ongoing monitoring and reassessment to ensure that your risk-management and compliance efforts continue to focus on where they’ll do the most good. A risk-based approach protects both your institution and your customer experience Risks are evolving as fast as the rest of the business environment is. By following a risk-based approach, your institution is able to constantly adapt as new risks emerge rather than getting locked into a compliance checklist that may no longer adequately reflect the latest risks in areas like cybersecurity or AI. Taking a risk-based approach is also a powerful tool to help protect your reputation with customers. Essentially, a risk-based approach goes hand in hand with your growth efforts by mitigating your risk of incidents that could hurt your customer experience (or draw attention to your institution for the wrong reasons rather than the right ones). Read more A short guide to vCISOs for financial institutions How should financial institutions respond to the federal compliance pullback? Minus a data strategy, financial institutions will fail at AI
ARTICLE
Succession planning gives financial institutions a strategic edge. Here’s how to strengthen yours.
Most financial institutions recognize the importance of succession planning. However, in today’s rapidly changing business environment, where technology and consumer demands are constantly evolving, a static documented plan alone is no longer enough. Institutions that treat succession planning as an ongoing strategic process rather than an annual exercise are better positioned to strengthen leadership pipelines, adapt to change and execute their long-term vision. A proactive approach to succession planning can also strengthen organizational resilience, support strategic priorities and position financial institutions for long-term success. Let’s explore more about that, plus how to get started with a proactive succession approach. How does reactive succession planning harm financial institutions? Passive, reactive succession planning actively makes it more difficult for financial institutions to achieve their strategic goals. Institutions that put succession planning on the back burner risk not only a last-minute scramble after an unexpected exit, but a workforce that’s unprepared for tomorrow. Poor succession planning often leads to: Talent and knowledge gaps: Deprioritizing succession planning exposes you to the risk that your workforce can’t adapt to tomorrow’s challenges because it doesn’t have the necessary skills and training. Individuals holding critical roles also often possess regulatory knowledge, customer relationships, expertise and awareness of institutional history that is difficult to replace. Business continuity risks: Succession planning involves identifying mission-critical roles and building a bench to fill them. Without an active succession plan, you risk operational disruptions and general uncertainty should an essential role become empty, even temporarily. Reactive hirings: Financial institutions often start succession planning only after someone in a critical role starts preparing to depart. This leaves you at the mercy of a last-minute scramble for talent where you’re forced to settle for whoever’s available rather than prioritizing fit. Falling employee morale: Reactive hiring can also lead to uncertainty around leadership continuity. This can harm morale and lead to an unfortunate ripple effect where one departure triggers others. Strategic misalignment: If you don’t actively develop future leaders, you may struggle to meet tomorrow’s strategic needs by keeping up with changes in customer expectations, workforce demographics, regulation and technology. However, making succession planning a more active process helps turn these weak spots into organizational strengths. How does succession planning give your financial institution a strategic advantage? Active succession planning is a key tool that financial institutions can use to connect talent development with strategic goals. Engaging in succession planning as an ongoing process rather than an occasional event creates growth opportunities within your team, builds a talent bench for critical roles and helps ensure that your talent will meet your strategic needs for years to come. Better retention and employee experience If you have an active succession planning process, your employees are more likely to stick around and enjoy their jobs. This is because succession planning gives your team a clearer sense of how they fit into your overall organization — and how they can move upwards. Don’t just plan for executive roles, either. Positions like teller, while lower-level, are nonetheless essential to the success of your institution and should be considered in your planning as well. This approach makes succession planning more exciting for your whole team, not just your future leaders. Clear and actionable career paths Good succession planning creates clear, actionable careers for people working within your organization. This gives talented team members the opportunity to progress their careers and also helps them understand how to align their development with your institution’s future plans. Develop institutional knowledge, skills and abilities Creating an internal talent bench helps preserve your institutional knowledge, which plays a key role in keeping your operations running smoothly. You’ll also be able to draw on a higher level of in-house capabilities, making it easier to promote internally. Create cross-functional exposure across silos Aspects of succession planning like coaching, mentorship and stretch assignments help your top talent learn to think about your institution more holistically. When that talent moves into higher roles, they’ll do so with a clearer understanding of how your various functions and departments work together, and how their decisions will impact your institution as a whole. Build a deep, capable talent bench to maintain business continuity Finally, active succession planning means you are prepared for unexpected departures in critical roles. If your CEO suddenly decides to take up windsurfing in Tahiti, you’ll be much more likely to have capable talent ready to step in on either an interim or a permanent basis to maintain continuity and help ensure your strategic priorities remain on track. Here’s how financial institution leaders can implement a proactive succession planning strategy Proactive succession planning involves identifying your mission-critical roles and actively preparing internal talent to fill them. To be most effective, succession planning should align with your overall strategic goals, so your team is ready for tomorrow as well as today. Here’s how financial institutions can start implementing an active succession planning strategy: 1. Get support from your board Nobody wants to ask when the CEO plans to retire. It can be an uncomfortable conversation, but that discomfort risks leaving your institution vulnerable should that retirement come with less of a runway than expected. Lean on your board to help facilitate conversations around succession planning with key leaders. Board members are often better positioned to raise the issue than day-to-day employees and should understand that taking a hand here is part of their fiduciary duty to the long-term health of your institution. 2. Identify critical roles Identify the essential, mission-critical roles inside your institution — roles where an unexpected departure would cause genuine disruption. These are typically roles essential to serving customers, managing risk, executing strategy or maintaining operations. Don’t assume that a lower visibility role is less important here, as people working in those roles may possess valuable institutional knowledge or customer relationships. For example, if only one person on your IT team knows how to keep your aging servers running, you could be in a lot of trouble if that person leaves. 3. Align with your long-term strategic planning Consider how talent fits into your long-term strategic planning. Specifically, what roles will you need to fill over the next five years or so? How are your most critical roles likely to change during that time frame? Think of succession planning as a tool to deliver a workforce that fits into your long-term strategic needs and an opportunity to focus your talent investments. 4. Integrate succession planning into your performance management process Make succession planning an integrated element of your existing talent processes — like recruiting, performance management and talent reviews — rather than a standalone effort. This helps you identify and develop a pipeline of emerging leaders and other high-performers and also makes it harder to fall back into a passive succession approach. 5. Account for change management Succession planning is a key tool to align your workforce with the changing needs of your institution. Develop talent with an eye towards promoting people who can weather change, especially during an era when it’s happening so rapidly. 6. Don’t overlook your unique strengths Is being closely tied to your local community a core part of your financial institution’s appeal? What about your culture, specialized expertise or customer service? Take these types of unique strengths into account when succession planning, especially because institutions that rely on a particular strength to stand out in the market may find promoting from within helps maintain that differentiator over time. 7. Begin well ahead of time Proactive succession planning allows you to take your time, avoiding a last-minute scramble and reducing your risk of rushing a promotion or making an offer that doesn’t work out (which can be expensive and damage your strategic progress). By giving your institution a longer runway, you’ll also find it easier to maintain business continuity and act with confidence even if the unexpected happens. Read more Can traditional banking avoid losing Gen Z to fintech? Financial institutions need proactive general ledger certification Ransomware attacks on financial institutions: What to do
ARTICLE
What financial institutions should prioritize in a CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms have evolved far beyond simple contact databases. For financial institutions, the right CRM can become the foundation for sales, marketing, customer and member experience and operational efficiency initiatives. But not all CRM platforms are built to address the unique challenges that financial institutions face. Regulatory requirements, complex customer journeys and fragmented technology environments make CRM selection especially important. Keep reading to learn what features and functions your financial institution should prioritize when selecting a CRM. Why do financial institutions need a CRM that fits their operations? When employees must move between multiple systems to find account information, service history, marketing activity and loan details, productivity suffers. Data silos make it difficult to understand customer and member needs, identify growth opportunities and provide consistent service. A modern CRM, such as Creatio , helps eliminate those barriers by bringing critical information together and making it accessible to employees when they need it. More importantly, the right platform should provide flexibility to adapt as business needs, regulations and customer expectations evolve. Financial institutions are also looking for ways to improve operational efficiency while delivering more personalized experiences. As AI and automation capabilities continue to mature, CRM platforms are becoming important tools for helping institutions accomplish both goals simultaneously. Valuable CRM use cases for financial institutions A modern CRM can create value across nearly every department in a bank or credit union. Customer service and member experience A CRM gives employees the information they need to deliver faster, more personalized service. Key functionalities include: Unified customer profiles : View account relationships, service history, product holdings and previous interactions from a single screen. Service case management : Track and manage customer issues, inquiries and follow-up activities in one place. AI-powered knowledge assistance : Help employees quickly find policies, procedures and answers to customer questions. 24/7 chatbot support : Provide customers and members with immediate assistance during and outside of business hours. Marketing and customer engagement CRM platforms help marketing teams deliver more relevant outreach based on customer needs and behaviors by providing: Audience segmentation : Build targeted marketing lists using customer demographics, product usage and behavioral data. Marketing automation : Trigger email campaigns, reminders and personalized communications based on customer actions. Data-driven personalization : Use AI and analytics to anticipate customer needs and recommend relevant products or services. Campaign performance tracking : Measure campaign effectiveness and identify opportunities to improve engagement. Business growth Relationship managers and frontline staff can use the following CRM tools to identify opportunities to deepen customer relationships: Next-best-offer recommendations : AI analyzes customer data and suggests products or services that may be relevant to a customer’s financial needs. Lead and opportunity management : Track prospects through the sales pipeline and monitor follow-up activities. Cross-sell and upsell insights : Identify opportunities to expand relationships based on customer behavior and account activity. Relationship visibility : Give employees a complete view of customer interactions across departments and channels. Employee productivity and operational efficiency One of the greatest benefits of a CRM is reducing manual work, allowing employees to focus on higher-value activities. Valuable functions include: Workflow automation : Automate repetitive tasks, approvals and handoffs between departments. AI-driven document processing : Reduce time spent on document validation, data entry and administrative reviews. Integrated systems and data sharing : Eliminate the need to search through multiple applications for customer information. Mobile access : Enable relationship managers and frontline employees to access key customer information from anywhere. This format makes it much easier for executives to quickly see how CRM capabilities align with customer service, marketing, revenue growth and operational efficiency objectives. What features should institutions prioritize when selecting a CRM? While every organization has unique requirements, several features deliver value to all financial institutions. When looking for a new CRM platform, prioritize the following: No-code architecture in a highly regulated industry Banking processes are inherently complex and frequently impacted by changing regulatory requirements. Institutions need technology that can adapt without requiring extensive development resources. No-code platforms allow business users to configure workflows, forms and processes through visual interfaces rather than custom programming. This drag-and-drop functionality enables institutions to make quick updates when compliance requirements change or operational improvements are needed. The ability to modify workflows without lengthy development cycles can significantly reduce implementation timelines and help your institution adapt quickly. AI-driven automation Many financial institutions still rely on manual processes for document review, data entry, workflow routing and administrative tasks. Modern CRM platforms increasingly include AI capabilities that automate routine activities and reduce operational bottlenecks. Examples include loan document validation, intelligent case routing, data analysis and workflow management. These capabilities allow your employees to spend less time managing processes and more time building customer relationships and delivering strategic value. Unified front-to-back-office operations Marketing, sales, lending and service teams often operate within separate systems and processes. This fragmentation can create disconnected customer experiences. Institutions should prioritize CRM platforms that support both customer relationship management and business process management. A connected environment allows information to flow seamlessly between departments, reducing handoff delays and improving visibility. For example, a marketing campaign can generate a lead, notify a relationship manager and initiate the next stage of a lending or onboarding process without requiring manual intervention. Usability A CRM only delivers value if your employees actually use it. Many CRM projects struggle because users view the platform as an administrative burden rather than a tool that improves their work. Institutions should prioritize intuitive interfaces, mobile accessibility and automation features that reduce manual effort. When employees see how easily they can find information and complete tasks, adoption rates will improve. 360-degree customer view One of the most important CRM capabilities is the ability to create a unified customer profile. Financial institutions often maintain customer information across multiple systems, including core banking platforms, lending systems, card platforms and service applications. A CRM should bring together relevant information from these sources to create a comprehensive view of each customer relationship. With a 360-degree view, employees can access account information, product relationships, service interactions, communication preferences and other relevant data from a single interface. This improves service quality, informs decision-making and helps identify new relationship opportunities. Read more Financial services complaint management: How to handle compliance for customer or client complaints Could an outsourced CIO help your financial institution boost growth and manage cybersecurity risks? You just got the call every financial institution’s CIO dreads. Now what?
LET'S CONNECT
See how Wipfli’s collaborative approach can help your organization turn regulatory, operational and technology challenges into opportunities for growth and resilience.
