Why are effective partnerships so difficult?
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Credit unions and vendors agree on one thing: the partnership model isn't working well enough. They don't always agree on why.
Transforming Transformation puts credit union leaders and technology vendors on the same page — literally — and ask the hard questions about what's actually happening at every stage of the technology relationship. What happens when procurement drags, implementations stall, and operational relationships fail to capture promised results? The findings are frank. Vendors don't always understand the distinct nature of credit unions, and have difficulty managing sector complexity. Meanwhile, buying committee sophistication and consortium governance score poorly. Credit unions are honest about their own contribution to the friction: vendor relationship governance, proactive communication, and internal project management capacity all come in well short of where they need to be. The gaps this survey reveals are not primarily the result of bad intentions or ineffective staff. They are the result of a partnership model that was never deliberately designed — one that has evolved through habit, accumulated workarounds, and the path of least resistance. The good news is that structural problems have structural solutions. Transforming Transformation walks through what those solutions look like at each stage of the lifecycle: what credit unions can do individually to raise their game as procurement and delivery partners; what they can do together to build the shared infrastructure the sector has been missing; what vendors can do to close the preparation and communication gaps their credit union clients are clearly feeling; and what both sides can build together that neither can build alone. This report is a case for why that changes now, and a practical guide for how. |
About the authorsCarrie Forbes is CEO of Rockstar Advisory, which provides strategic advice and applied learning that helps fintechs and financial institutions build harmonious partnerships that work.
Doug Macdonald is a strategist and executive advisor to Canada's credit unions, payments providers, fintechs and challenger banks. DisclaimerThe research is fully independent and was not sponsored by any vendor, association, or institution. The authors' opinions expressed do not represent those of clients or employers.
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