This year, GVR embarked on a significant initiative called Service Reimagined, focusing on transforming how the organization provides service, support, and value to its members. The effort involved building strong foundations, fostering trust, and creating momentum for future improvements.
Key Takeaways
- Foundation Building: 2025 was about establishing the technological and operational groundwork for enhanced member experiences.
- Member-Centric Approach: GVR actively sought member feedback to shape new services and tools.
- Digital Transformation: Key initiatives like the Account Executive model and the new Member Portal aim to modernize service delivery.
- Unified Experience: Bringing different service centers together creates a more consistent and efficient member interaction.
- Future Focus: Continued evolution in 2026 will bring more self-service options and expanded service channels.
Building Trust and Momentum
Ash Anil, Chief Membership Officer, described 2025 as the year GVR built foundations, trust, and momentum. This involved setting up the technology and guiding people through planned changes to improve the member experience. Building trust also meant actively engaging with members, asking for their advice, and listening to their needs. This groundwork is set to pay off in the coming year with more planned synergies and improvements.
Shari Wallace, Chief Information Officer, highlighted the close partnership between her and Ash's teams. While Ash focuses on understanding member needs, Shari's team works on the delivery side, retooling infrastructure and systems to better support members. She noted that while some deliveries happened in 2025, 2026 will see a more rapid rollout of new features, like dominoes falling into place.
The Account Executive Model
One noticeable change for members, particularly brokers, was the introduction of the Account Executive model. Ash described this as building presence, trust, and intelligence. It’s about being where the brokers are and having open, two-way conversations. Instead of just presenting what GVR is doing, the account executives engage in bilateral exchanges, gathering feedback to help GVR develop better tools and provide more relevant value.
Shari added that this model aligns with modern technology development, which often involves prototypes and pilots. This allows for feedback and adaptation, leading to more robust, member-focused products. For brokers, this means more clarity and a dedicated point of contact within GVR, fostering a stronger partnership.
Modernizing with the Member Portal
The Member Portal is another significant part of Service Reimagined, led by Shari's team. The goal is to modernize how GVR serves information to members and how members interact with the organization. Current feedback indicated that while the existing portal is information-rich, members want to do more online, on their own time, and from any device.
The new portal will be service-based. The initial launch at the end of the year includes the "My Profile" feature, with more services to follow. For a period, both the old and new portals will run in parallel. This phased approach, expected to take about six months for full transition, allows for gradual migration of services and continuous feedback collection for improvements.
Members got a preview of the new portal with the rollout of payment processing earlier in the year. This was an early test to gather feedback, with a completely different online experience expected by mid-2026.
The Unified Engagement Center
Another key initiative is the Unified Engagement Center, which consolidated various call and service centers into one consistent member experience. This was driven by the need for speed, consistency, and confidence in service delivery, allowing GVR to scale effectively.
This initiative brought together teams like member relations, MLS support, and the help desk into a single point of contact for members seeking answers or solutions. The aim is to provide faster, cleaner, and more confident service. GVR is taking an agile approach, learning and adapting as services are deployed, based on continuous feedback loops with members and managing brokers.
What to Expect in the Year Ahead
Looking forward, the key themes for members are more consistent, efficient, and personalized service. Shari mentioned enabling the back-office support teams with tools like a knowledge database. This will ensure smoother, faster service as more team members have access to shared resources, even if a specific individual isn't available.
Ash highlighted the opening up of more service channels, including options like WhatsApp and text messaging, while maintaining speed and consistency. There will be more self-service options, reducing the need for direct human contact for certain tasks, such as credit card transactions. The focus is on service delivery at scale across multiple channels.
Service Reimagined is an ongoing evolution and modernization effort. While not everything can be covered, the initiatives discussed show GVR's commitment to improving member experience through technology and a member-centric approach.
