Experience Banker

A challenge faced by banks is the distance that many employees perceive between themselves and customers. If you don’t deal with customers directly it is easy to lose the connection between your job and the customer experience.

This can have negative effects for both the organisational culture and the customer experience. Without a connection to customers, employees can easily forget the reason their company is business and become distracted with interdepartmental power games.

At ExB we believe that a business with engaged customers has engaged employees. All employees must fully understand how their role impacts customers and are empowered to deliver a positive customer experience.

A business needs to start by communicating the desired customer experience consistently to all employees. An example of this is Barclay’s Commercial Bank, winner of UK employer of the year in 2007. Barclays introduced “credo cards”. These single-sided cards outline Barclay’s services in action orientated sentences like “take ownership, avoid handoffs, and escort the customer”.  The cards are given to all employees as a reminder of the service level that they are expected to deliver.

The technique originated in luxury chains like Ritz-Carlton, known for giving great service. However,  Credo cards alone will not change an organisation. The cards need to genuinely represent the aspirant culture of the company, and form part of a sincere attempt to introduce customer focus, through selection, training and motivation of staff. Only then can employees believe in it. And that’s the first step to a customer focussed business.