Lisa Jacobi
SVP, Chief HR Officer
COCC
Episode 339
Culture isn't a cost, it's the engine of customer success.
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleJanuary 21, 2025 · 11:41
Thesis
“Investing deeply in people and workplace culture is not merely a 'nice-to-have' but a direct and measurable driver of business success, customer satisfaction, and long-term organizational growth, especially in complex, service-oriented industries.”
Show notes
At COCC — a fintech company serving community banks and credit unions — the pitch that wins deals isn't the technology. It's the people. Lisa Jacobi, Chief HR Officer at COCC, has built her people strategy around that reality: the institutions that choose COCC do so because they trust the humans behind the platform. Winning that trust starts with hiring and developing people who genuinely embody a client-first mindset, and it requires HR leadership that doesn't wait to be asked what the people strategy should be.
Lisa traces the turning point for COCC's culture to a deliberate decision to invest more deeply in people — and the data that followed is hard to argue with. Turnover went down. Engagement went up. Client satisfaction scores hit their highest levels. The correlation between people investment and client outcomes gave HR the evidence it needed to make culture a business conversation rather than a soft-skills sidebar.
Her stance on HR foresight is direct: nobody is going to knock on the HR leader's door and ask for the people strategy. If you're waiting for that invitation, you've already fallen behind. The best HR leaders anticipate — automation trends, talent market shifts, rebranding implications — and bring a point of view before anyone else has thought to ask for one.
- Culture as a measurable business driver — the direct correlation between people investment and client satisfaction at COCC
- Talent development in complex, service-oriented tech — onboarding fast and building readiness for a high-expectation client base
- Client-centric culture across every function — why every employee, regardless of role, needs to understand their part in winning and keeping business
- Proactive HR leadership — anticipating business needs before the C-suite asks, and arriving with a point of view
- Rebranding without losing culture — how to communicate why change reinforces, rather than threatens, organizational identity
What you'll take away
- 1Culture as a Performance Driver: Directly link investment in people and culture to tangible business outcomes like reduced turnover, increased employee engagement, and improved customer satisfaction scores.
- 2Proactive Talent Strategy: In complex, service-oriented tech environments, develop talent and onboard new hires quickly and effectively to ensure readiness and maintain a competitive edge, rather than reacting to talent gaps.
- 3Service-Oriented Culture: Ingrain a client-centric mindset across all departments, ensuring every employee understands their role in gaining and retaining customers, even if it means challenging internal 'no's.
- 4Strategic HR Foresight: HR leaders must proactively define and evolve the people strategy, anticipating future business needs and market changes (e.g., automation, AI, war for talent) without waiting for requests from other executives.
- 5Brand Identity and Culture: When undergoing organizational changes like rebranding, laser-focus on communicating *why* the change is happening and how it reinforces (rather than diminishes) the core culture and future readiness.
What most organizations get wrong
- •COCC's approach of 'finding ways to say yes when they want to say no' to client requests, even if it frustrates employees, pushes back on a purely internal-focused employee experience in favor of ultimate client satisfaction.
- •Lisa Jacobi states that HR leaders must proactively drive people strategy without being asked, challenging the notion that HR's strategic input is often reactive or requested by other executives.
In Lisa's words
“We needed to put a lot more fire into how we handle people. The benefit that I've really carried through my journey here is that we have built this business through people. We truly have.”
This highlights the fundamental belief that people are the bedrock of business success, emphasizing a human-centric approach to organizational growth.
“When we started to invest in people, there was a direct correlation of the turnover going down, the employee engagement going up, and our report card ratings, which is a huge component of our success, going to a higher level than we ever had.”
This quote provides quantifiable evidence of the direct business impact of investing in workplace culture, linking it to concrete metrics.
“The expectation that our smaller banks and credit unions or the size of banks and credit unions that are in our wheelhouse, they kind of expect us to be thinking ahead. They expect us to be having talent within all facets of our business to be ready to help them.”
This connects talent strategy directly to external client expectations and competitive advantage in a highly complex and regulated industry.
“You get the conversation, you get the phone call because of the technology, but you land the deal because those institutions learn about who we are and learn about the people. And it's the people that sells. And it's the people that wins.”
This reframes the competitive differentiator from technology alone to the critical human element and relationships built on a strong internal culture.
“I think folks in our seats on the HR leadership side have to constantly be thinking ahead. It's— no one's going to come to us. There's never been anyone in my tenure that's knocked on my door and said, hey, tell me about your people strategy and what you're going to do next year.”
This underscores the proactive and strategic imperative for HR leaders to drive the people agenda, emphasizing foresight rather than reactive responses.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employee financial well-being: Covering monthly expenses is a top concern for employees, highlighting a need for benefits that offer tangible financial relief.
- •Maintaining talent readiness in complex, regulated environments: The challenge of rapidly developing and onboarding talent to meet evolving client expectations in a high-stakes financial technology sector.
- •Balancing internal employee satisfaction with intense client-centric demands: HR teams must navigate employee frustration when prioritizing client needs over internal convenience.
- •Evolving organizational identity during rebranding: The difficulty of changing a company's name or brand without alienating employees or clients, or perceived as a sign of internal problems.
- •Proactive HR strategy development: HR leaders often lack explicit mandates from executive leadership to define people strategy, requiring them to independently drive and anticipate future talent needs.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
You can share a little bit more about your career journey
Exploring Your Career Journey
COCC made a pivotal decision to invest heavily in workplace culture over 10 years
COCC's Commitment to Workplace Culture
Financial technology provider manages 7 million accounts across 200+ banks and credit unions
How Our Workplace Culture Affects Our Business
CoCoC helps smaller financial institutions compete with larger banks
How To Manage Talent Strategy
Connecticut Online Computer Center exploring name change as it prepares for rebrand
COCC Is Exploring a Rebranding
Lisa Miller: HR leaders need to constantly be thinking ahead for their businesses
Lisa Lockhart on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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