Did you know that CRA professionals spend an average of 8,000 minutes per year reviewing service hours for CRA eligibility? That’s 133 hours or 16 work days each year.*
Whether you spend more or less time than that, you likely don’t have time to spare. And reviewing service hours for CRA eligibility is not at the top of your “things I enjoy doing” list.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend hours each week or month reviewing service hours for CRA eligibility? Here are some ideas on how to save time doing just that.
Have a Clear, Documented Process
First of all, you need to have a clear process for reviewing service hours and marking them CRA-eligible or not.
Without a documented process, you’ll lose time remembering what your next step is or where to find the needed information. Literally write your process down so it’s always available to you and whoever joins the bank after you.
Your documented process should include the following information:
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What are the CRA “rules” for marking a service hour eligible or not? What makes a service hour eligible?
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How does your bank collect service hours? What information do you collect?
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Where does your bank track and manage these hours? Spreadsheets, binders, Kadince software?
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Who is responsible for reviewing service hours and determining eligibility?
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Does more than one person review hours or does it all fall to you? Do different service hours require different reviewers?
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How often are service hours reviewed?
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What happens if submitted hours are missing information?
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What documentation is required to prove eligibility? Where is this documentation stored?
Download this fillable PDF to document your process and get a head start on this step.
Download Service Hour Documentation Process
With a clear process, you’ll save time reviewing hours. Everything will be in one place, and you’ll always know where to go if you forget a step or have questions. And if someone new joins your team, it will be super easy for them to jump in and see exactly how your bank’s service hour review process is organized.
Get All Service Hour Information Up Front
Nothing’s more frustrating than finally sitting down to review CRA service hours only to find that information is missing. You have to pause, follow up with employees, and ask for more details. And as you well know, getting employees to remember those details (or even getting them to respond to your message) can be challenging. Before you know it, you’re spending hours each month just tracking down missing information and trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.
Instead of playing this dangerous game, come up with a system that ensures you receive all necessary information upfront. This may mean using an online form to collect service hours, training employees on exactly what you need from them, and setting proper expectations for service submissions and follow-ups.
You should collect the following information for each service hour submitted:
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Employee Name and Title: Who performed the service?
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Date of Service: When did the service take place?
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Number of Hours Volunteered: How much time was spent?
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Organization Name: What nonprofit or qualifying entity was served?
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Organization Type: Is it a 501(c)(3), government agency, CDFI, etc.?
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Service Activity Description: What exactly did the employee do?
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Was the Service Performed in a Professional Capacity?: Did the activity use the employee’s job skills?
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CRA Service Category: Does the activity fall under one of the four community development “hooks:” affordable housing, community services, economic development, revitalization/stabilization?
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Target Audience: Who benefited from the service? (e.g., LMI individuals, small businesses)
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Geographic Location: Where did the service occur? Include city and census tract if possible.
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Supervisor or Event Contact Information: Who can verify the activity if needed?
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Supporting Documentation (if available): Flyers, sign-in sheets, photos, etc.
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Employee Comments: Optional, but can be helpful for context.
This may look like a lot, but each detail is important in determining whether or not the service qualifies under the Community Reinvestment Act.
There are several available platforms and systems that make this data collection simple. Instead of relying on the employee to find or remember all the details, some of the above information can even be automated (like census tracts, contact information, organization type, etc.). Do what you can to make this process as easy as possible for both you and your bank’s employees. When this process is simple, you’ll have a lot more success in receiving the information you need upfront, rather than having to follow up and hope for the best.
Train Employees So They Know What You’re Looking For
The less employees know about what’s expected of them, the more time you’ll spend answering questions, updating information, and tracking down more service hour details.
Instead of just assuming employees know what they’re supposed to do (we’ve all been there), come up with a specific training plan that covers:
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CRA Basics and Regulatory Impact: A brief overview of what the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is, why it matters, and the potential implications of noncompliance for the bank.
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Introduction to Your CRA Team: Who serves as the CRA Officer or is part of the CRA team, and how employees can contact them.
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Exam Process Overview: How the bank is examined for CRA compliance and what that process typically involves from a high-level view.
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Previous CRA Rating: A summary of the bank’s most recent CRA performance rating.
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Service Hour Basics: What makes a service hour eligible? Who should these service hours impact?
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Service Hours Tracking: Guidelines for reporting their service hours, including what details are needed and where to find them.
Simply put, everyone at your bank—from the front-line tellers to the back office employees to the executive team—should know what’s expected of them when it comes to how they perform and report service hours.
While it may take some time to train employees, this information is vital to their success in understanding and reporting service hours. And the more they understand and report the correct details, the faster you’ll be able to review those hours for qualification. Plus, the more hours employees will submit, and you’d never turn away a service hour, right?
Track Everything In One Place
You know what takes a lot of unnecessary time? Switching between various spreadsheets and systems to find all the information you need to determine a service hour’s CRA eligibility.
Employees submit hours in one system, then you move those hours to a spreadsheet (that let’s be honest, has seen better days), then you upload supporting documents to an internal drive, then you have to track down tract details and update the spreadsheet, then, then, then….
With such a complicated system, it’s no wonder you’re spending hours and hours each week qualifying service hours for CRA eligibility. Instead of wasting time in so many systems, you should have one place where service hours can be submitted, managed, qualified, and reported. (Bonus points if the system also tracks other CRA datapoints, like loans and investments.)
Which system you use is entirely up to you, although we think Kadince is pretty cool. No matter what you choose, make sure it’s easy for your team to use, easy for you to manage, and easy for examiners to access. By consolidating all your service hour data into one place, you’ll save time and sanity.
Automate Where You Can
You’ve heard it before…automate, automate, automate.
Anything you can make happen automatically is one less thing for you to spend time on. From reminding employees to submit their service hours to finding tract details to writing CRA rationales to building reports, automate as much of the process as you can.
Automation typically means investing in software or tools. This may be easier said than done depending on your bank size and priorities, but these automation tools are well worth the cost. Instead of spending unnecessary time qualifying service hours, your institution can spend some dough and give you back much of your day. Imagine what you could do with all the extra time! You probably have some ideas.
Use Kadince CRA Management Software
Speaking of automation, tracking everything in one place, and getting all information upfront, have you ever heard of Kadince?
Kadince software is built specifically for financial institutions and can help you collect, qualify, and report your bank’s service hours.
Collect service hour data with online forms
Employees can submit their hours through a customized online form, so you always get the information you need. Some details can even automatically populate, like contact information, tract details, organization type, etc. This means employees can spend less time and effort completing these forms.
Track everything in one place
With Kadince, all service hour data is tracked in one place so you don’t have to switch between multiple systems. Kadince even earns bonus points by letting you track and manage your other CRA data, like loans and investments. Seriously, track it all!
Automation for the win
As for automation, Kadince is full of it! Customizable workflows let you route service hours to the correct person for review, reports update in real time so you always know where your bank stands, and artificial intelligence tools inside the software help you determine whether hours qualify. It even helps you write CRA rationales!
In fact, our research shows that Kadince customers spend up to 52% less time reviewing service hours for CRA eligibility! Instead of spending 133 hours per year, Kadince customers spend less than 66.* And that’s just using Kadince automation tools. Imagine how low that number might be when combined with the other ideas above!
Ready to save time reviewing service hours for CRA eligibility? Schedule a demo with Kadince.
*This data is from a study conducted by the Kadince team in 2023.
None of Kadince, Inc., its affiliates, or its respective employees, directors, officers, and agents (collectively, “Kadince”) are responsible or liable for any content or information incorporated herein. Read full disclosure.
