“When you need to innovate, you need collaboration.” – Marissa Mayer
Dear Readers, last week, we looked at the need to deepen the power of collaboration among financial institutions, as well as their inter-departmental and intra-departmental relations. Collaboration in banking is increasingly essential as the industry navigates through rapid technological advancements, changing customer expectations, plus its stringent regulatory environments. Effective collaboration eventually enhances innovation, customer service, and operational efficiency.
- In modern banking, there is nothing like a stand-alone financial institution. Even within the institution, there are several criteria that various units demand to deliver on the promise to customers. We also emphasized on the importance of putting the right people in the right places for maximum efficiency. We looked at several roles in branch banking that can be emphasized by the soft skills that the employees portray.
Internal Collaboration
Encouraging collaboration between departments such as IT, marketing, and operations can lead to a more holistic approach to problem-solving and innovation since cross-functional teams can better understand and address customer needs.
- Product Development: A typical example of the need for internal collaboration is the process of product development. There are cases where the Product Development Team in a bank prefers to work alone and behave like islands, springing “surprises” on the bank in terms of product launches, with the aim of having the “feel good effect”. This wish can be quite naïve and dangerous in risk management. You can imagine if the Risk Department is not even evolved…..the ripple effect can be quite embarrassing, and sometimes make the product short-lived, unprofitable and sometimes unrealistic to the implementers of the scheme! A great product which is thoroughly examined by relevant stakeholders takes off easily with massive endorsement by the whole staff and easily saleable, with longevity assured.
- Knowedge-Sharing Platforms: Implementing platforms for knowledge sharing and collaboration can help employees across different locations and departments stay informed and contribute to collective goals. Most financial institutions now have a portal for knowledge sharing and education. Sharing knowledge platforms and collaboration can help employees across different locations and departments stay informed and contribute to collective goals.
The Need for Multi-disciplinary knowledge
Since risk is an everyday issue in all departments of a bank, there is a need for multi-disciplinary knowledge to appreciate these issues. Nowadays our global education system is training people to be specialists, with deep but narrow subject matter expertise. It is therefore the working knowledge that helps to compliment one’s ability to fight the various risks in banking.
The problems of the new financial industry are complex and demand multi-disciplinary knowledge. Not just knowledge disciplines, but in addition it should be made up of a team of bank staff with multi-cultural and multi-ethnic sensitivity to customers and their team members. It is therefore imperative that employees work in teams which bring together heads with skills and knowledge that complement each other to manage risk.
At a recent bank-wide training program, that I was involved in, the main outcome was to get employees to co-create solutions to some bank-wide lapses detected. In each cohort, participants from various departments were put together for the period. The end product were Teams who bonded with shared problems and co-created solutions that were personalized into group/Team pledges. The “we-them agenda” fortunately ended with a “win-win agenda”. The subsequent networking and bonding has been phenomenal.
Combining Technical Expertise with People skills
It is a common phenomenon to see departmental heads with great technical expertise get embarrassed when risk incidents occur in their departments. Why does this happen? Sometimes some heads allow their personal egos to take control and get in the way, hindering the group from achieving its desired results.
Without training in people skills, some heads feel they alone have the magic wand to turn around a department’s fate for the better, forgetting that it is the teamwork that achieves those goals. Supervisory and leadership skills always ensure that a winning team is built to own and embrace the task ahead and face the risks ahead. People management is not the sole preserve of the Human Resource Department.
Dear Supervisors, after providing you with the requisite staff, the HR head does not have daily interaction with your members and it is you, working together with your tem, that their various personality traits evolve. A head of department is the HR Director for that particular department and people matters usually discussed at departmental meetings should normally be resolved there. A head of department who always reports subordinates to the HR department or to Management needs some people skills training to be in control.
It is common to see subordinates rebel against such supervisors and even close their eyes to obvious risks looming in the department or branch. There are numerous cases where Assistant Branch Managers have closed their eyes to potential risks unfolding at a branch, only for it to explode and the Branch Manager being held accountable! Such persons also do not progress on the job because they were not involved in the managerial scheme of affairs.
The Electric Stove vrs Gas Cooker Syndrome in Risk Management
Let me tell you of a true story that happened in a bank. A bright young man, formerly a Relationship Manager in another branch (I will call him Kwame) was transferred to a branch to be the new branch manager. This was during the introduction of a new banking software into the banking system. With his good expertise in technology, he was able to adapt quickly to work with the system. He was an Officer from another branch who had very credible academic qualifications. In fact, all eyes were on him to swing the magic wand to turn around the branch from a loss making one to a profit center.
There was one thing that the HR of management did not take into consideration. Kwame’s preparation from the transition of an Officer to Manager, without even going through Management trainee level. Moreover, Kwame was quite temperamental and believed everything should be done with the power of a button, like turning on the gas stove for immediate firingTheir approach to work, although quite methodical, was slower in nature. Although Kwame had all the technical attributes, he had very little people skills to work with most of the staff. His first perception was that they were jealous of his sudden promotion from Officer to Manager. He quickly got two of the older staff he was uncomfortable working with, transferred from the branch.
Two factions emerged in the branch, those for the Branch Manager and those for the Assistant Manager. To make matters worse, Kwame was not very well-versed in banking operations. He could not get the support of Paul, the Assistant Manager. Matters got worse as Kwame spent more time in his office instead of relating more with the staff, and seeing what they were doing. Many back- office transactions referred to his desk looked like Greek to him. He felt too proud to ask the data entry staff and instead, just signed many vouchers without having a thorough knowledge of what he was signing.
On day, some back-office staff decided to play a prank and embarrass the Manager by preparing an impersonal voucher containing wrong transactions on the bank’s general ledger accounts which could even cause the manager to fall into trouble. This was during the times that branch managers were out of sight of staff and customers, and always locked up in their huge armchair in their spacious offices. One had to see the Secretary before approaching the branch manager.
Immediately he signed the voucher, the data entry clerk collected it and returned to the back office laughing and waving the voucher for all the staff to see. It was by the intervention of one of the neutral staff who decided that the dangerous game was over and the branch should discuss their differences and collaborate. From that day, a staff meeting was held to trash out all personality and ego issues. The gas cooker and electric stove decided to work together for the benefit of the branch and the bank as a whole.
I will stop here for now. See how your people risk thermometer is faring and we shall meet on paper next week with more cases of people risk issues that require proper management in order to curb loses to the banks. See whether you can identify persons exhibiting the gas cookers and electric stoves syndromes in your office and make an effort to neutralize the two. Remember two good heads are better than one.
TO BE CONTINUED
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She is the Author of Three books: “The 21st Century Bank Teller: A Strategic Partner” and “My Front Desk Experience: A Young Banker’s Story” and “The Modern Branch Manager’s Companion”. She uses her experience and practical case studies, training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.
CONTACT
Website www.alkanbiz.com
Email:alberta@alkanbiz.com or [email protected]
Tel: +233-0244333051/+233-0244611343
