Above and Beyond Service

Brandi and Navy Federal’s Executive Vice President of Branch Operations—and former U.S. Navy Blue Angel—Keith Hoskins, take a closer look at the world-class service members find at their local branches, and the relationships they build as a result. Hear how passionate we are about going above and beyond to support our members. 

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[MUSIC PLAYING] BRANDI GOMEZ: Hi. Welcome to our podcast, MakingCents brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. I'm one of your hosts, Brandi Gomez. And I'll be taking your questions to the experts to help you make sense of your money, pun intended. It's Military Appreciation Month where we show extra care and support for those we serve, the military, veterans, and their families, really taking the extra time to appreciate how they go above and beyond for all of us.

And nothing better than having our very own Keith Hoskins, who serves as the executive vice president of branch operations for Navy Federal Credit Union with us today. He's also a veteran. But I'm going to pass it over to him. He does a much better job of telling us his experience. So Keith, tell us about your time in the military briefly. And what led you here to Navy Federal?

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah. Thank you so much, Brandi. And yes, I am a proud Navy veteran. I served in the Navy for 27 years. I started my career in the Navy in 1989, completed flight training, and received my Wings of Gold in 1992 and was selected to fly the F-18 Hornet. So I was a fighter attack pilot for most of my career in the Navy and did several tours overseas, several shore assignments as well.

I'm happy to say that probably the most prestigious job that I had while I was in the Navy was I was blessed with the opportunity to serve on the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Blue Angels from 1999 to 2001, which was definitely a childhood dream of mine. But serving in the Navy was a true honor to serve with so many amazing men and women that dedicated their lives to the service of our country.

And it was truly an honor for me to be able to serve for 27 years. And as a veteran, as I transitioned out of the Navy in 2016, I had to take a pause and think about, what am I going to do in the next chapter after the military? And as a veteran, I thought I had this opportunity to serve with so many amazing men and women that truly understood the mission every single day, wearing the cloth of the nation with the American flag on our shoulder.

I said, where can I find that? And I eventually found Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal Credit union definitely offers that every single day for me. Every day I show up to work here at Navy Federal, all 24,000 employees, they understand our mission. Our members are the mission. And this is the place that really allows me to stay connected to the military, to those veterans, and the families as we continue to serve them in their financial needs.

BRANDI GOMEZ: Well, thank you. Thank you for your service and everything that you have done. I know, having grown up seeing the Blue Angels fly in the sky, I feel like a little kid every time I get to see them. So I love that connection. I love that you've been able to find your own fulfillment after service here at Navy Federal. And one of those connection pieces, I feel like, which is key to the role you play here is in our branches.

We've got over 350 branches across the world serving our members. And those connection points to our members, those personal stories is what makes, I feel, Navy Federal's service to our members so special. We'll kick things off a bit differently this time and hear from a member of our own, Sherry. This is a letter from her, so I will do the best I can to share in her words. "Every afternoon, my husband, Gil, 84, heads out for his daily walk in our neighborhood, a small town North of San Diego.

A veteran of two tours in the US Air Force, Gil's regular strolls keep him active and upbeat and connect it to our community. Our friends affectionately call him Mr. Mayor because he always stops for a leisurely chat with our neighbors. One afternoon this past winter, Gil went out for his usual walk, but he didn't come home. At first, I assumed he was taking his time looking at the holiday lights, or maybe he was just knee deep in another long conversation with our neighbor.

Darkness began to fall, and still, no sign of Gil. I began to worry. I jumped in the car and drove around the block, but I couldn't find him. I drove by the strip mall, but no luck. So I headed back home, but I didn't see him there either. Then I noticed a small crowd gathering down the road. To my great relief, Gil was the center flanked by a police car and the actual mayor of our town, Natasha Johnson. Natasha had been on her way to the grocery store when she noticed Gil, whom she recognized her days as a manager a tour of our nearby Navy Federal branch to which we've belonged to for decades.

Gil looked lost and confused, so Natasha pulled over and asked him if he was OK. He said he was, but he couldn't remember his name or address and didn't have any identification on him. He sometimes went out for casual strolls without a phone or even a wallet. Natasha couldn't remember his last name either, so she called the police to see if they could help. She then waited with him, comforted him, and tried to spark his memory, describing their encounters in the town and their local Navy Federal branch.

She also reached out to her Navy Federal colleagues in hopes that they might be able to help. Sometime later, after lots of discussion and questioning, Gil had a moment of clarity, common among patients in the early stages of dementia, and remembered his last name and birthday, which enabled Natasha to perform an address search. That's when they found him. What a relief. I can't imagine what would have happened if Natasha hadn't stopped to help.

The authorities probably would have gotten involved, which would have been frightening for all of us. And who knows how long we would have wandered around town aimlessly? Natasha gave up her evening and her trip to the store, but her service didn't end there. A few weeks later, she sent Gil a set of dog tags and a silver ID bracelet. I can't explain how grateful I am to Natasha and the Navy Federal team for their service, support for their gifts, and ultimately, for bringing Gil home.

I know he's safer now. And he enters his new chapter of life. And I look forward to many more walks together with me and his new bracelet on his arm." Wow. I read something like that, and I think about how special that was that Natasha had formed that connection with him and how unique it is to be able to have that experience because she recognized him from going into the branch. And that's one of many stories that we have the privilege of hearing about. Tell me, Keith, how does that feel for you?

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, the story about Sherry and Gil, I think it really demonstrates how our team members that work in our branch, they're always looking for ways to make that personal connection with our members. And it's just not about banking, helping you with your financial success. It's building relationships. It's building connections. And that's what we're all about. That is rooted into our brand strategy. And I can tell you that that is something that we focus on every single day because our team members want to go above and beyond in the communities that they live and that they work. They go beyond the doors of the branch to support our members and their communities.

BRANDI GOMEZ: They really do. When we talk about service that goes beyond banking, hearing about Mr. Gill and Sherry, that's just one example. But I think about-- when I have talked to our branch team members, for some of our members, this is part of their daily routine. It is what they look forward to, coming to the branch, seeing their favorite member service representative. Can you tell me a little bit more? You've gone on a lot of branch tours to get to know our team members and the communities where we have branches. Tell me some more about that experience. And is there a story that maybe sticks out to you?

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, so I have had the opportunity. Out of our 355 branches, I've been to close to 285 of those branches so far. And it is always such a treat to go visit our branch team members. Every time I go, it's like I get plugged in and energized because of the great team that we have on the front lines. When we see our members of the mission, you walk into a branch, and in some of our branches, you will actually see that stamp on top of our teller line in big words when you walk in, so our members know the they're going to get world class exceptional service from our member service representatives at every turn when they go into our branch.

And my experience is when I visit the team, one thing that I could say that is consistent across all the branches that I visited is our team members are passionate about member service. It's what they thrive on. It's truly what makes their day. And I've heard numerous stories. But I love hearing the stories of those members that come back to the branch after years of maybe joining Navy Federal Credit Union, maybe when they joined the military at age 18 or 19. And then they come back to that duty station, or they come back to that branch after an extended amount of time.

And we have a member service representative. One of our team members still works at that branch. And you have that member come up to that team member or MSR and say, you probably don't remember me, but you helped me 10 years ago. And you set me on the right track. And I just want to say thank you. Those are the stories that really touch me because we started the conversation. We started the relationship. We truly learned our members. And we helped them on their financial journey towards success. And they came back to say thank you. That's what it's all about.

BRANDI GOMEZ: I love that. And you said something that really resonates with me. I have the honor of working with a lot of branch team members across the world when it comes to how we give back in our communities. They're always the first ones to raise their hands to say, put me in. How do I help? And how do I get involved? And along with that, they're also the ones that form those personal relationships with our members. And it's so special. It's something that you can't quite get out of a digital platform. We have amazing world class service when it comes to those digital experiences as well. But tell me about what differentiates the branch from going and calling or visiting us online.

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, you mentioned digital. And I would say that our digital platforms at Navy Federal Credit Union, it's the main driver of how our members interact with us. And we've definitely invested into that space. But also, we're investing into the brick and mortar into our branches because our members want that face-to-face interaction with us. That gives us the opportunity to sit down with our members, to go over their finances, to have a clear picture of where they are now, where they want to be in terms of what are their goals and how can we support them in achieving their financial goals?

Again, building that relationship with our members. So face to face is very critical to our strategy moving forward. The physical presence of where we build branches, we hear from our members through surveys and through interactions that they continually want that face-to-face interaction with our branch team members. They also want to have deep-rooted conversations. They want that direction to greater success in their financial planning.

But also, they want to be able to fall back on the digital platforms. So in the branches, yes, we do the face to face. And we also educate our members on how they can interact with us digitally as well. So when they want to have self service where they don't want to come into the branch, we provide that education. But of course, when they want to come into the branch, we will provide that face to face. And then furthermore, if I can make one more point, when you look at the data on how many branch visits we had from members in 2023, we had over 22 million visits.

BRANDI GOMEZ: Wow.

KEITH HOSKINS: That's 770,000 more than what we had in 2022. And the one part of that that I'm very proud of as we continually see more of our members in the branch, we were able to maintain a 92.4% satisfaction rate from our members.

BRANDI GOMEZ: That's incredible.

KEITH HOSKINS: That's impressive.

BRANDI GOMEZ: Very impressive. And you spoke to something when it comes to our members and their feedback. We take that very seriously. We are building our branch strategy around what it is we're hearing from our members. Can you explain a little bit more about what is that strategy and where we decide to build? Is it in military communities? What are our members telling us? What do they want from us?

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, that's a great question. And when you take a look at the various markets where we have branches, we have a high density of members that live in those particular areas. And those members have told us, we want branches where we can go into the branch and we can get the detailed assistance that we need. And we listen to that. We also listen to where our members are working, where they're moving, where they're relocating, wherever they commute within the community.

These communities continue to grow into certain areas if it's-- and I'm just going to give this as an example, the Dallas market or the Atlanta market. We've seen a lot of growth in those types of markets. And we have to be able to evaluate and listen to the feedback from our members because ultimately, part of our strategy, how do we meet our members where they need us the most? So that is very important. And that is at the forefront of our strategy.

BRANDI GOMEZ: And I think it connects back to freedom of choice for service, so whether you want to start your mortgage application online, but then have those really intentional conversations in the branch. Can you walk me through, what does that experience look like? If I were to go online and apply for a mortgage loan and then they come into the branch, how are we going the extra mile above and beyond, if you will?

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, so we have specific member service representatives in the branch that are trained specifically, in your example, on a mortgage loan. And we don't take the loan process from start all the way to the end. We have the ability then to transfer that member to a loan officer or a mortgage specialist that works specifically in our mortgage department. So we don't work in a vacuum. We're working with our business partners.

We're working collaboratively, so that we can meet the needs of our member. If we don't have the answer, we're going to find the answer. I like to say in branches, there's two things that we're doing all the time. Number one, we're better supporting the member. Number two, we're supporting the team member to better support a member. And that's what we're focused on every day.

BRANDI GOMEZ: I see that come to life even in the work that I collaborate with them on. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how branch team members, they go above and beyond to even provide financial education in the communities where we're located, going into schools, partnering with the local recruits. They're there. They're providing the financial education that I, myself, wouldn't have had while I was in high school or getting ready to start my career.

But they are consistently-- that's the lens that they have is constantly thinking about, how can I set them up for their success? Whether it's today, they want to buy a car or long term, they want to think about retirement, they are the partner in the financial journey from start to finish. We also-- I feel something that makes us so special, and it's nothing new to you, is that we have the honor and privilege of serving the military in the community around them. Tell me a little bit more about how our branches are doing that for those that we serve.

KEITH HOSKINS: Yeah, I can tell you that that is an area that we're very focused on and serving those that serve this great nation of ours. And it's not unique for some of the needs that our military members have when they come into the branch and they want to get more guidance on their finances. Family members will come in. Maybe they have a loved one that is deployed, and they need support, and financial education, and understanding loan processes, how to do auto bill pay, how to use our digital services, just various questions that they have. And we take great pride in that. Military is at the core of what we do. We want to be the primary financial institution that serves active duty military veterans, and of course, their families.

And we take great pride in that. I talked about the fact we have 355 branches worldwide. 175 of those branches are on or near a military base. That's almost half of our branches that we have in very close proximity to our active duty members. And it is so comforting for an active duty service member or a family member to know that they have 355 branches worldwide to meet their needs if they're relocated, or if they're on a detachment, or a deployment away from home that they can find a Navy Federal branch near them to support their needs.

BRANDI GOMEZ: Absolutely. And while we're on the topic of military and serving them, with it being Military Appreciation Month, I know the credit union gets extremely excited for this month. For us, it's that concentrated time while we appreciate our members all year, 365, 24/7. This month, especially for us, we try to make sure that we are always on. We're sharing on social media. We're giving opportunities for those to get involved in our Military Appreciation Month communications or Campaign.

And so we're inviting our members to participate in this month's campaign. So whether it's cooking for a military family, volunteering at a veteran organization, or sending a care package to deployed service members, we want the chance to recognize how our members are also going above and beyond with us. And the way that you can get involved in that is by uploading a video on missionbeyondthanks.navyfederal.org.

And then you can share your content on your own social channels by using the hashtag #MissionBeyondThanks. And winners will be selected at random to have the opportunity to win a $1,000 Navy Federal gift card, so another perk to being part of this force for good with us here at Navy Federal. And Keith, this has truly been a wonderful conversation with you. I want to make sure that we touched on everything that you were hoping to share. Anything else that you feel like we missed?

KEITH HOSKINS: Brandi, thank you so much. And I love the opportunity to talk about our amazing branch team members here at Navy Federal Credit Union. But one thing I just want to kind of end on is the fact that we're really a relationship-driven organization. And I talked about that being at the core of what we do. And from a credit union perspective, that's really what differentiates us is we're really relationship driven.

And I think that if you want to build that relationship with your financial institution, Navy Federal Credit Union, we've got that figured out. And that's what we want to do to better serve our members. We want to build the relationship with our members, understand where they are right now, understand where they want to be. And we want to be there alongside you at that financial journey to ensure your financial success.

BRANDI GOMEZ: I couldn't say it any better. Again, to all those listening, if you're serving, if you are a veteran, if you are a spouse holding down the fort at home, please we appreciate you and all the ways you go above and beyond. And thank you for your time, Keith.

KEITH HOSKINS: Thank you, Brandi.

SPEAKER: Navy Federal Credit Union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. This podcast is intended to provide general information and shouldn't be considered legal, tax, or financial advice. It's always a good idea to consult a tax or financial professional for specific information on how certain laws may apply to your individual financial situation. References to and participation with the military community does not constitute organizational endorsement. Navy Federal is an equal housing lender. Navy Federal Credit Union are members of the mission.

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