There is a school of thought that believes that creativity cannot be rushed. It is something, they say, that comes in its own good time, and no manner of urging will allow it to come forth any more quickly.
The St. Petersburg, FL-based credit union services company PSCU, however, asserted recently that it was taking the exact opposite tactic for the third year in a row by hosting its annual "Knockout" competition. Knockout, notes an article in the Tampa Bay Times, includes creative minds in the credit union industry who gather for a 24-hour brainstorming session to attempt to discover the next creative industry idea.
Mike Kelly, president of PSCU, said the purpose is more about coming up with creative spins on traditional ideas rather than trying to reinvent the business entirely. "The idea of Knockout is create some energy in what is a mature industry: financial services generally and credit unions specifically," Kelly said. "These are not new concepts."
Despite the open-ended nature of the event, this year provided a focus on the millennial generation. The reason for the focus is that young people, who are becoming an increasingly large part of the workforce, are attracted and comfortable with the digital technologies that are a part of their everyday lives. This includes smartphones, tablets, and smart wearable devices.
Although not every new piece of technology is fit for use with credit unions, Kelly believes that mobile security is an issue that must be tackled if millennials are to find their way to working in such financial institutions.
Judges from companies such as Visa and Paypal actively participated and selected semifinalists from the Sept. 11 event. Winning entries have been passed on to PSCU employees, and they will take a week to vote for the overall winner.
The company is now rolling out last year's winning idea -- a "switch-kit" that allows users to upload photos of their driver's licenses. Teams this year went by names that included Team Pineapple, Team Eye of the Tiger, and Team Bacon. One participant, Cheri Cummings, said she helped prepare her team by mulling over solutions that related to complaints she received through her position at a PSCU contact center.