2 minutes
By Lisa Hochgraf
If your existing branch is well situated geographically but out of date--or if you just inherited a bunch of older branches through a merger--you might want to renovate these locations to make them on brand and more efficient.
Consider the case of $1.5 billion Lake Trust Credit Union (formerly Detroit Edison CU), Plymouth, Mich., which recently jumped from having just one branch to having 22 as the result of several mergers. To guide its efforts to make all its branches reflect its brand and more efficiently serve member and staff needs, Lake Trust CU created a prototype location for the rest to follow: a fully branded, 3,700-square-foot new headquarters branch in Ann Arbor. (The photos in this post depict the application of ideas from the prototype to the CU's Grand Haven branch location.)
The advantages of having a prototype include being able to replicate an effective branch design in more locations, buy supplies in bulk, and think creatively within the overall strategic branching plan about how to best handle the unusual features of the existing branches, says Tom Montchai, design architect for DEI Inc., a CUES Supplier member based in Cincinnati, which is undertaking Lake Trust CU's renovations. For example, one existing building had an large vault that wouldn't be incorporated into a new branch design these days. Since the vault was heavy and couldn't easily be removed, it has become a natural storage space.
Motchai advises designing branch prototypes with as little hallway as possible. This way the maximum possible square footage in all your branches can be dedicated to serving members or to providing workspace for staff.
If you're looking at siting new branches on line or updating older locations, you might want to consider a prototype approach. Has any of you done this already? What tips do you have to share?
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
