How LAFCU brings proactive follow-through to lien servicing

Bringing structure to manual lien work

Lien servicing involves more than completing a transaction. Staff need to identify what requires attention, gather the right information, perform the required action, and record what happened so others can follow the work.

At LAFCU, that process involved researching loans, updating spreadsheets and Symitar, consolidating and sorting records, auditing work, and repeatedly following up.

LAFCU launched two connected ShiftMate workflows in phases during September 2026: proactive lien-release follow-through and identification of missing lien-placement evidence.

Bringing lien-release work to staff's attention

For qualifying closed, lien-bearing vehicle loans, including eligible indirect loans, ShiftMate creates a back-office Follow-Up after LAFCU's configured waiting period. The work record brings together relevant loan and account context, giving staff a starting point for action without depending on a member inquiry to surface the work.

LAFCU staff perform the electronic or paper-title release externally, then record completion information through the workflow. ShiftMate writes the title-release date to the configured Symitar field.

The workflow connects due work, staff action, and completion records, giving teams a clear view of lien-release progress when a member asks for an update.

Making title-evidence gaps visible

The placement workflow addresses a different servicing need: identifying loans that require additional title verification.

For configured direct auto, boat, and RV loans, ShiftMate checks for missing title evidence after LAFCU's configured waiting period. Dealer-originated indirect loans are excluded from this workflow because they follow a different process.

Back-office staff receive the loan and available VIN context needed to verify lienholder information externally. Following verification, staff record the title-received date, and ShiftMate writes it to the configured Symitar field. Cases that cannot be verified remain visible for manual escalation to the originating member-service representative.

Title-data gaps become actionable verification work. Staff can see which cases need attention and carry the required follow-through forward.

$40,000 in estimated annual labor cost savings

LAFCU estimates $40,000 in annual labor cost savings across its lien-release and lien-placement workflows.

The estimate is based on LAFCU's processing-time and staff-cost inputs. It reflects reduced manual research, spreadsheet updates, core-system re-entry, and follow-up across both workflows.

Calculation: annual staff hours saved in each workflow × hourly labor cost, added across both workflows.

A more coordinated servicing process

Together, the workflows bring a repeatable structure to work previously coordinated through manual research, spreadsheets, and repeated follow-up.

LAFCU reports less manual effort and frustration for its team as it manages lien-servicing work and core-note updates through a more coordinated process.

For lending staff, the initiative connects work that needs attention with the information required to act. For contact-center staff, consistent completion records provide clearer information when responding to member inquiries. Across both workflows, staff retain responsibility for external verification and lien actions.

The initiative puts coordinated action into practice within loan servicing: surface the work, give staff relevant context, and record follow-through.