Welcome to 2021 and congratulations on making it through 2020... what a year, right? As we put the past behind us and move onto what's ahead of us, especially as we look at our business, we are confronted with a question. That question being "What should I bring with me into 2021 and what should I leave behind in 2020" 

This 2-part blog series will help to answer that question. This week we will focus on what to leave behind, and next we will be discussing what to bring with you.

As we move into 2021, here are 4 things you should leave behind in 2020:

1. A siloed service model.
Forget about tellers and bankers and greeters and loan officers and and and. Those ways of banking, where cold hand offs are required and everyone only has one or two roles they are able to complete, are far behind us. Universal associates that are cross-trained to handle everything a client needs is the way of 2021. And the easiest way to make this a reality is with tablet banking solutions like Nomadix, which place the transactions of a teller into the hands of an untethered associate.

2. A Copy & Paste Branch Footprint
With in-branch foot traffic decreasing and drive-thru and self-service solutions receiving more traffic, it is time to rethink your branches. It's not uncommon for most of your branches to be alike, from size to floorplan, because a lot of financial institutions build off of a set model or template. But only having one type of branch no longer makes financial sense (especially if they are big branches!), especially in the COVID-era. For example, micro branches and modular designs like JUNXION, can help decrease the size of branches in areas with significant loss in traffic, and flagship branches can be designed in communities that are still frequenting the branches on a regular basis.

3. Limited Transaction Options
Digital and mobile banking adoption rates sky-rocketed in 2020. So did use of ATMs, ITMs, and other self-service solutions (especially in the drive-thru!). This means that your clients are now familiar with completing a number of transactions without the assistance of a teller, and with familiarity comes expectation. In 2021, your clients are going to expect that you continue to offer them more convenient ways to bank. One solution: the NEXT machine, which has been built as a self-service, assisted-service, and full-service solution, meaning clients can complete what they need on their own, or receive help from a tablet-equipped associate with the click of a button.

4. Brochures & Hand-Outs
The days of paper marketing materials are over. Do everyone a favor and please just leave those dirty, outdated, non-eco-friendly, wrinkled pieces of information in 2020. Especially during a pandemic, nobody wants to ruffle through a pile of papers that others have also been ruffling through. A simple, cost-effective, and easy-to-clean solution: digital signage with touch-free QR codes for easy takeaway of information, as well as interactive screens that require nothing more than a wipe down between uses.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check back next week for part 2: "4 Things Financial Institutions Should Carry Over From 2020 Into 2021."