#12: ITMs: Virtual, with a Human Touch, Carla Higgins, SVP, Director of CX, CNB Bank

Carla Higgins has made a career in the banking industry and held many positions. She knows banking from the inside out. Today we talk about the evolution of banking and how Covid accelerated the rollout of ITM’s and how they may be a cost effective alternative to the traditional brick and mortar model. She breaks down the Interactive Teller Machines: What problem do they solve? How can they improve the customer experience? How can they reduce operating costs? What resistance did she experience? And the question burning in everyone’s mind - is there actually a bank branch in Punxsutawney, PA or is that just a rumor some groundhog made up? Meet Carla  Ms. Higgins joined ERIE BANK as a Community Office Assistant Manager in July 2006 and has since held positions as Community Office Manager, AVP/Regional Administrator and AVP/Commercial Lender prior to accepting the newly created position of CNB AVP/Quality Assurance Manager, for all divisions of CNB Bank, in September 2017. She was promoted to VP/CX-Quality Assurance Manager in June 2018, and SVP/Multi-Experience in October of 2021.  As SVP/Multi-Experience, Ms. Higgins oversees bank-wide strategic initiatives based on client and employee experiences. In addition, her early Client Experience accomplishments include the establishment of Multi-Experience Customer Service Center and service metrics, implementation of call recording, bank-wide phone conversion, live chat enhancements, ITM (Interactive Teller Machine) integration, implementation, deployment and adoption strategies, and ongoing ITM initiatives. Raised in Erie, PA, Ms. Higgins is a graduate of Mercyhurst Preparatory School, earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing from Edinboro University, and her M.B.A from Gannon University. She is also a 2017 graduate of CNB Financial Corporation’s Leadership Institute. She volunteers her time serving the Erie community on the Board of Directors as Chair for VisitErie, Board of Trustees Secretary for Mercyhurst Preparatory School, and a School of Business Advisor for Edinboro University. Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-higgins-301261195/ Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Podcast so you don't miss an episode: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Newsletter for practical tips and insights: https://www.empoweredcx.com/delightedcustomersnewsletter