Independent Banker - April 2022 - 28

PORTFOLIO
One reason core changes happen
so infrequently is that they tend to be
large and disruptive undertakings.
" Changing out the core provider is one
of the biggest technology projects that
a bank can go through, " says Deborah
Matthews Phillips, senior vice
president of payments and technology
policy for ICBA. She notes that a core
conversion typically takes anywhere
from 12 to 18 months of planning and
implementation, making managing
such a project " a critical activity. "
During a conversion, employees
may understandably resent being
asked to wear two hats as they
simultaneously perform their regular
jobs while also mastering a whole new
technology system.
" A conversion is a lot of work, " says
Wang. " But having buy-in makes
everything easier. It's better for people
to believe in the process and have a
stake in the eventual outcome. "
The strategic " why "
When Del Norte Bank in Del Norte,
Colo., switched core processors three
years ago, the thought of making
such a momentous change without
employee input never crossed Michael
Hurst's mind.
" There's a lot of work to be done
that the CEO really doesn't do.
There were lots of extra hours, "
says Hurst, who is president of the
$117 million-asset community bank.
" If you [as an employee] were not
included in the decision process, it
would feel horrible. "
Because the brunt of a core
change falls on employees, it's
important to begin communicating
as early as possible. " The bank has
to communicate from day one why
we're changing, " says Charles Potts,
executive vice president and chief
innovation officer for ICBA. He notes
that creating buy-in takes vision and
focus, as well as " a strong 'why.' "
Hurst is convinced that articulating
the strategic reasons for changing
core providers made his bank's core
conversion palatable to his employees.
" The pain point was very high, "
says Hurst. " With [our old provider,]
we were on a legacy system, and they
had bolted on new components. It
was always very unwieldy, " he says,
noting that the new one " provided
an integrated, seamless software for
the core. "
" A conversion is a lot of work. But having
buy-in makes everything easier. It's better
for people to believe in the process and
have a stake in the eventual outcome. "
-JAMES WANG, ASIAN BANK
26 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q April 2022
He also notes that the new core
offered more advanced features at a
lower price point-features Del Norte
Bank's customers were demanding.
Del Norte employees involved in
the decision-making communicated
these benefits to their front line
teammates, who immediately grasped
How have attitudes to core conversions changed?
We will change our core processor
when our contract expires
We changed our core
processing vendor
We considered changing our
core processor but did not
We did not consider changing
our core processor
9%
5%
16%
16%
42%
33%
33%
46%
0%
2016
10% 20% 30%
2020
Source: 2020 ICBA Core Processor Survey
40%
50%
Independent Banker - April 2022

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