Westerra Credit Union

Nomination Details

Westerra Credit Union is a financial institution based in Denver, Colorado. Our organization exists to teach one another to prosper, and our vision is to build a financial community where we all truly belong.  

The Source, which we've named our Expert system in honor of "the one source of truth" was launched to our internal stakeholders in February 2023. This was a significant transition from a massive Word Document library on SharePoint with poor search functionality and governance options, to an enterprise KM system with searchable and linkable resources and robust metrics. Not only was it a shift in content, but also mindset and practice – to lean on and explore the technology available and break down silos. 

This new platform establishes a framework for our organization to systematically capture, consume, and sustain formerly tacit knowledge from both a grassroots and enterprise level. It acts as a catalyst for employees to support our brand mission and foster quality member interactions and service by allowing faster access to information. Through these efforts, we can prepare for succession and mitigate the overall risk and effect of knowledge loss due to attrition, develop and deliver information more effectively and efficiently, reduce support costs, shorten the learning curve, and connect people with the knowledge they need, when and where they need it. 

One of our cultural tenets, “We value progress over perfection”, has been embraced from all sides. Externally, we continue to work with our CSM, Expert staff, and fellow Expert clients to identify new areas for growth and test out new features. Internally, we organize quarterly KM strategy meetings with stakeholders across the organization, host monthly Lunch & Learns welcome to all staff, and send out communications regarding new releases, upcoming projects, and monthly metrics. Through consistent communication and collaboration, our team continues to reap the benefits of what has already been accomplished and maintains an enthusiasm for what is possible next. 

Metamorphosis is an ongoing experience for Westerra Credit Union, one that will see our organization continue to evolve Knowledge Management and beyond.  

We’re always excited to try out new functions that Expert releases, and some of the features we’ve leveraged include: 

• Establishing a contributor workflow that utilizes the Review Request tool 

• Enabling Top-Level Navigation for improved users accessibility 

• Utilizing Find & Replace for content audits and efficient mass-updates 

• Designing custom callout box styles in the Site CSS 

• Creating Custom HTML templates for expandable lists, tables with search and filter, popular/recently edited articles displays, and optimized article layouts