Founded in 1935 by seven educators, Utah's Granite Credit Union has grown to serve over 35,000 members across 10 counties. As the digital landscape rapidly evolved, this Salt Lake City-based institution recognized the need to modernize its services while staying true to its motto, "Always there... So you can make life happen."
Granite CU’s goal was clear: redefine what it means to be "always there" in the digital age and prove that a community credit union could deliver cutting-edge service without losing its personal touch. To meet members where they are—whether online, on the phone, or in-branch—Granite CU set out to create a seamless contact center experience. Granite also aimed to supercharge rep efficiency and give leaders the insights they needed to continuously improve its operations.
However, transforming this vision into reality would require overcoming significant obstacles rooted in the credit union's existing infrastructure.
Granite CU's path to digital excellence was blocked by a tangle of outdated systems and fragmented processes. A patchwork of vendors created a disjointed member experience, while the lack of digital channels and a limited call center solution led to high abandonment rates. This, in turn, created lengthy handle times that stretched the patience of both staff and members.
For Granite CU's growing Spanish-speaking membership, these challenges were amplified by the lack of bilingual support, threatening the credit union's ability to serve its diverse community now and in the future. Behind the scenes, manual quality assurance processes drained resources and limited the scope for improvement.
These constraints didn't just hinder Granite CU's service goals; they threatened its ability to compete in an increasingly digital-first financial landscape. To truly embody its "always there" promise and thrive in the digital age, the credit union sought out a comprehensive solution to meet its members where they are, regardless of their preferred channel or language.
When selecting the right partner for Granite’s digital transformation, the choice was clear for Cindy Clark, Chief Information Officer: “We wanted a unified solution that could handle phone support, digital engagement, and multilingual service without the complexity of managing multiple vendors. Glia’s Unified Interaction Management (UIM) platform checked all of those boxes.”
Combining Glia Call Center (GCC) and Digital Customer Service (DCS) on one fully connected platform, UIM allowed Granite to replace its legacy phone system, introduce new digital channels, and offer a seamless experience for members and reps.
To further bridge the digital gap and enhance multilingual support, the credit union planned to launch Glia Virtual Assistants (GVAs) in both English and Spanish. These AI-powered virtual assistants would handle routine inquiries 24/7, expanding service availability and providing multi-lingual support to Granite CU's diverse membership.
Granite also recognized AI’s potential in unlocking significant new advantages for reps and managers. The credit union planned to roll out Agent AI tools from Glia Cortex, Glia’s distinct AI and automation platform, to help reps work faster, more accurately, and more efficiently.They also began to leverage Manager AI tools to give leaders the insights they needed to continuously coach and mentor reps.
By using these tools and unifying its phone and digital solutions on Glia’s UIM platform, Granite was ready to overcome legacy constraints and redefine "always there" service for the digital age.
Granite tackled its member service initiatives and efficiency challenges head-on, leveraging Glia’s tools to yield impressive results.
First, Granite deployed its GVA to offer 24/7 bilingual support, giving members a fast, easy way to address routine inquiries like PIN requests or statement balances.
“If a member wants to do their banking at 11 p.m., we can now offer them that ability,” says Cindy Clark. “We don’t need an agent waiting on the other side.”
Members clearly love accessing language-specific, “always there” assistance: Digital satisfaction scores have soared to an impressive 4.7 out of 5 across more than 8,600 chat interactions since Granite launched its GVA in late 2023.
Granite has also used the GVA to automatically handle routine inquiries with an average 60% containment rate, freeing up Granite reps to focus on more complex member issues. In addition, Granite has improved call routing and queue management using Glia Call Center. By more efficiently getting callers to the right rep at the right time, Granite has slashed call abandonment rates by over 50%.
At the same time, Granite has used Glia’s UIM platform to enable faster, more seamless interactions for both members and reps.
Before Glia, Granite relied on two separate platforms: one for its in-branch staff and another for its Financial Solutions division, which handled complex member issues over the phone. Two teams and two platforms added up to a slow, fragmented experience, forcing members to wait for a callback after their case was escalated to Financial Solutions. Furthermore, Financial Solutions lacked access to initial interaction records, forcing members to re-explain their situation after being transferred—creating delays and frustration for everyone involved.
Granite streamlined the entire process by using UIM to consolidate Glia Call Center and Digital Customer Service. By giving its contact center team and Financial Solutions division access to the same platform, Granite made it easy for staff to escalate assistance without forcing members to restart their journey or re-explain their issue.
“With Glia, our agents no longer need to move between different applications,” says Clark. “They’re able to do everything in one platform—from a digital engagement to a video chat or co-browsing or voice. This creates a seamless experience for members while making life much easier for staff, too.”
Already delivering faster, more efficient service via Glia’s UIM platform, Clark focused on another solution that would take Granite’s operations to new heights: Glia Cortex and its suite of AI tools.
In July 2024, Granite deployed cutting-edge Agent AI features to unlock game-changing efficiencies and ease for both staff and members.
Granite began by using Cortex Transfer Summaries to ensure smooth, lightning-fast handoffs between its GVA and agents. Cortex Transfer Summaries provide reps with rundowns of previous interactions before assisting members, eliminating redundant questions and enabling faster problem-solving.
"It's like giving our agents a head start on every conversation," Clark explains. "The GVA has already done the work, so we're seeing decreased handle times because agents get right to the heart of the fix.”
Since implementing Cortex Transfer Summaries, deploying the GVA, and using GCC to improve call routing, Granite has lowered handle times by 25%—and now offers more personalized support as a result.
“Before our Financial Solutions division even talks to a member, reps know if they’re going through a challenging life event, like losing a job,” says Clark. “Reps can immediately put that member at ease rather than asking them to re-tell a difficult story.”
Granite's agents have also taken advantage of a powerful ally in their day-to-day work: the Agent Assist tool. With real-time answer suggestions and agent coaching and prompting, the Agent Assist GVA helps agents work more efficiently and reduces onboarding and training costs.
The impact has been significant: Granite’s agents have used the tool to generate over 8,728 accepted suggestions since launch, expediting accurate responses to member inquiries while dramatically reducing time spent searching for information.
Rachel Winn, Systems Administrator, raves about Agent Assist’s impact: "Our call center manager used to have sticky notes all over her desktop. Agent Assist has transformed this into a virtual system, pulling in information exactly when it's needed. It's like having an expert colleague always at your side, ready with the right information at the right moment."
Encouraged by the successful implementation of Cortex Transfer Summaries and Agent Assist, Clark leveraged Cortex AI Interaction Wrap-up to address one of the most time-consuming aspects of call center operations: post-call documentation. Cortex AI Interaction Wrap-up automatically and accurately summarizes interactions in one concise, standardized format, allowing reps to quickly assist the next caller.
Implementing Cortex Interaction Wrap-up has helped Granite free up an astounding 1,400 hours of agent time in just four months, comparable to gaining a full-time employee without the added cost.
But Granite’s new tool didn’t just supercharge agent efficiency—it unlocked a goldmine of insights for Clark herself.
While Clark’s agents had long wrestled with the tedious process of post-call wrap-ups, Clark recognized a common pain point for contact center leaders: the time-consuming nature of quality assurance.
"So many of us are spending so much time listening to phone calls just for quality assurance," Clark notes. Granite tackled this challenge head-on by implementing Ask Cortex, a powerful feature of Glia Cortex Manager AI.
With Ask Cortex, managers now review the Interaction Wrap-Up summaries and extract insights by asking questions in natural language—no more laboriously listening to entire calls. Winn explains: "We can now review ten calls in the time it previously took to analyze one. We simply ask questions about the interaction in natural language, and the AI provides instant, unbiased insights."
This efficiency gain doesn’t just save time for leaders like Clark and Winn, it gives them the insights they need to optimize their operations. This is a key efficiency driver in an industry where many financial institutions run lean. As Clark puts it, "Now managers can actually manage rather than spending all their time getting the information they need to manage."
This shift allows Granite's leadership to focus on strategic decision-making and agent development rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks. The impact? Leaders provide agents with timely, constructive feedback, fostering rapid skill development and improving service quality. For members, this translates to more personalized, efficient interactions and quicker resolutions—helping Granite deliver on its initial promise of “always there” service, wherever members need it.
“We recognize some members still want that personal touch, while others want these digital tools,” says Clark. “Glia helps us to meet our members where they want to be—to communicate the way they want to communicate—now and into the future.”
As Granite partners with Glia to boost member service in the digital age, we’re here to help your organization chart its own course forward. Reach out today to find out what your institution can do with Glia’s fully connected UIM platform and Cortex AI solutions.
