News & Resources
Press Releases
LRA Worldwide Consults with Farm Credit Canada on Enterprise Integration and Innovation Program
Leading Canadian Agricultural Lender Launches Enterprise-Wide Program to Improve Customer & Employee Experience
REGINA, Saskatchewan, Canada/HORSHAM, Pennsylvania; USA; October 3, 2005 - Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Canada's leading agribusiness lender, is partnering with LRA Worldwide, Inc. to help facilitate its ongoing enterprise integration and innovation initiative. When completed, FCC will have revamped its internal and external operating systems and procedures with an eye towards creating a more unified, efficient, differentiated, and engaging experience for their customers and employees. LRA – a pioneer in the field of Customer Experience Management (CEM) – is helping shape strategy, facilitate the task force charged with reengineering and improving the customer and employee experience, and develop the complementary training content to help the new "experience" come alive in FCC customer interactions.
LRA's primary focus is to help design the "optimal FCC customer and employee experience" at the experiential touch points across all channels, including web, call center and over 100 field offices across Canada, of the FCC enterprise. The work mirrors projects that LRA has successfully completed in the lodging, food service, gaming, insurance, travel and sports and entertainment industries.
"We are undertaking quite an ambitious and daunting task, but one that is crucial for the continued success and growth of Farm Credit Canada," explained FCC President and CEO John Ryan. "By bringing LRA into the project, we have ensured ourselves an expert voice at the table. LRA has studied the design and implementation of a service-oriented culture in companies across many industries, and has demonstrated the ability to execute complex projects of this nature. LRA will provide one of the steady hands to guide us through this rigorous initiative."
"Designing all experiences from the customer and employee perspective is the foundation of FCC's business strategy to differentiate our product, and grow our business profitably," added Sophie MacDonald, FCC's Vice President of Enterprise Integration and Innovation. "We value the partnership and collaboration with LRA as we implement our strategy throughout the organization."
Given the scope of this project, particularly the degree to which it will touch every aspect of the FCC enterprise, LRA will work closely with the FCC Enterprise Integration and Innovation Team assigned to the initiative to align business processes, IT, Human Resources and more. FCC's and LRA's mandate throughout the project, however, is clear – every decision must be made with the customer and employee experience in mind.
"This is an exciting project for LRA because the entire Farm Credit Canada organization is engaged in this process from the top down," said Rob Rush, CEO of LRA Worldwide. "We're finding more and more global and regional financial institutions focusing on 'service' and 'customer experience' as ways to differentiate themselves in what is essentially a commodity business. FCC management has thoroughly prepared for the launch of this program, so they are going to find themselves on the leading edge of this movement. With our background in the hospitality industry – which has been mindful of guest service and experience for years – we are helping FCC navigate the inevitable pitfalls and keep the project focused on the customer."
About Farm Credit Canada
Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is a federal Crown corporation that is financially self-sustaining. Operating out of 100 offices located primarily in rural areas, FCC lends to all sectors of agriculture across Canada. Funds are raised through domestic and international capital market borrowing programs. Profits are reinvested in agriculture, developing products and services to benefit the industry. FCC is dedicated to helping farmers and agribusiness grow and diversify; FCC's healthy portfolio of $10 billion and 11 consecutive years of portfolio growth is a reflection of its customers' success. FCC continues to expand to meet the changing needs of the industry, offering customers a variety of customized loan products and business services. Supporting primary producers is FCC's main focus through all three lines of business – farm finance, agribusiness and alliance partnerships.
To learn more, visit the FCC website at www.fcc-fac.ca.
About LRA Worldwide, Inc.
LRA Worldwide, Inc. is a leading consulting, organizational development and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM). LRA helps companies and brands design and deliver the optimal customer experience across all key touch points using an integrated suite of services that measure and improve service quality, customer satisfaction, employee performance, loyalty, customer advocacy and profitability. LRA specializes in "operationalizing the brand" - turning brand promise and customer strategy into operational reality. LRA's CEM practice areas include CEM Strategy Design, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, Research and Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping; these are either deployed together in a strategic manner to continually monitor and improve the customer experience or deployed individually to address a specific tactical client need.
LRA's clients include some of the world's leading companies and brands, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and First Niagara Financial Group. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com
# # #
