Critical to the success of every bank is creating a healthy balance between outstanding customer service and employee satisfaction. Establishing a customer-first mentality starts with developing a framework of processes, systems and behaviors that support the customer experience.
Some important elements include:- Streamlined Processes: Revise processes if they are too complex or time consuming.
- Effective Reporting: A simplified, one-page summary detailing each worker’s output.
- Communicated Performance Expectations: Customer service reps need to know what is expected from the onset.
- Active Coaching and Feedback: Staff members should receive regular coaching on “best practices” to engage customers.
Skills development
Challenging economic times make employee development even more important—the team executing your strategy and your day-to-day operations must be equipped to complete their tasks and take their performance to the next level. Moreover, banking employees typically leave because they lack the formal development opportunities they seek and value so highly. The hiring and onboarding process can be expensive, and good employees can be hard to find.
Engaging your employees
“Engaged” employees, those with a greater sense of pride and feeling of appreciation in the workplace, are much more likely to go the extra mile when interfacing with customers. Recent research by Towers Perrin validated this claim, with companies that have engaged employees reporting a 6% higher net profit margin. In addition, Kenexa research concludes that engaged companies have shareholder returns that are five times higher over the course of five years.
