March is National Sauce Month: What's USAA's Secret Sauce?

[USAA]

BY JEFF BRODY, LEAD COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

What do you think are the key ingredients in USAA's secret sauce?​

Most successful businesses have an intangible quality or feature that gives them an edge over the competition and creates unique value to their customers – the so-called “secret sauce."

In honor of National Sauce Month in March, we asked USAA employees what ingredients go into USAA's recipe.

“I believe our secret sauce is being able to connect and build rapport with our members. By doing this our members feel in a single call they know us, trust us and believe that we are discovering and educating them to make a right decision for now and the future.”

–      Stephanie L., health solutions specialist

“The secret sauce that has helped us thrive for 100 years is consistency. While non-member facing employees have performed with excellence behind the scenes, USAA’s frontline MSR’s have consistently served our members with excellence, evidenced by the many accolades USAA has received because of this best-in-class performance. USAA has consistently taken an employee-centric approach in supporting employees to become a better version of themselves. Take care of employees and they will take care of our members. Great recipe!”
–      Shawn C., IT business risk and controls lead

“USAA’s secret sauce is like one of those recipes that gets handed down from generation to generation, in USAA’s case the past 100 years! The main ingredients are compassion and empathy for our members to really understand and feel with them; and not just saying the words, but truly believing in and following through with our mission.”
–      Alivia H., bank sales and service contact center representative

​“USAA’s secret sauce comes from the connection between the dedicated employees to the fulfilling work they accomplish every day. As a new employee, I immediately recognized an impressive sense of pride from everyone involved in my onboarding experience. USAA’s core values guide decisions, leadership recognizes outstanding work and my team members inspire me to deliver on our promises to our members.”
–      Jeff W., senior property adjuster​​

“I’ve been here for 21 years, and these are some of the things that helped me with all of the different positions I have held at USAA: Keep a smile in your voice, treat each member as you would your family and friends and learn as much as possible.”
–      Debra Kay W., P&C insurance professional​

“I believe USAA’s secret sauce is grounded in the fact that USAA employees truly connect with our mission. Our members and their families make great sacrifices for our nation during their years of service and beyond.  We are driven to do our best to provide the best services and products to help their financial security needs. Even after all my years of service I am deeply honored every day to work and serve for USAA and my teammates to strive to accomplish great things for this company, which should ultimately benefit our members.”
–      Shawn O., business information archtect​

“USAA’s secret sauce is made of the key ingredients of the mission: H.I.L.S. (honesty, integrity, loyalty, and service); however, like any recipe key ingredients are only as good as the product/brand used and when talking about people, the quality of the person/character.”
–      Nichelle D., quality assurance advisor

​“For me, it’s the consistent focus and understanding of the mission throughout a large organization. It doesn’t waver or get confused.”
–      Doug S., director, modeling analytics

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