The microwave and community banking
Years ago it was said with technology we would all have more free time than ever. The microwave mentality of having technology and resources at our fingertips would reduce our time at work and with chores at home. Didn’t happen. Banking was suppose to get easier for the employees with ATMs, mobile banking, and the latest and greatest core banking systems. With all that, we still hear employees complain about being short-staffed and pressed for time. The best community banks are well-staffed, not under-staffed. The problem arises with the incredible amount of time wasted every single day and no amount of technology and over-staffing will solve it. Here are 10 time wasters we see on a daily basis in community banks.
1. Fixing the unfixable
Far too many managers have this crazy idea that they are the one person in world that can actually fix someone. The reality is that most employees aren’t broken, they’re miscast. There’s nothing to fix other than maybe yourself for not seeing the obvious. When time is spent trying to coach and develop talents in an employee that don’t match their role, you’re simply wasting time. A loan officer that can’t produce and cross-sell deposit products can’t be fixed by making her attend a motivational sales seminar. You’re just wasting time.
2. Product training
If we had a nickel for every time we’ve heard in the past 20 years, “we need more product training”, we might not be able to retire, but we’d have a boat load of nickels. This is one of the lamest excuses that we hear for not selling or doing one’s basic job. If you’re repeatedly conducting basic product training with your employees to help them understand the core products your bank offers, you are wasting time. If you hear the “we need more training” comment, you should first see if that employee even banks at your bank. You’d be amazed at how many don’t. The next thing you should do is test your employees or certify them. Have your employees read the bank’s website or product brochures and then test them. Make sure they know the bank’s brand statement and history as well.
3. Half-day and longer meetings
We’ve been in these gatherings of insanity. A half-day meeting to learn the new “system”. A three hour compliance meeting. An all-day meeting with retail employees to learn the new products. All a waste of time. Here’s a rule of thumb…
- Daily meetings – 10 to 15 minutes
- Weekly team meetings – 30 minutes
- Monthly meetings – 30 to 60 minutes
- Quarterly bank-wide meetings – 1 to 2 hours
4. Listening to the zero hero
Not rightly identifying your heroes will waste more time than you can imagine. The zero hero says all the right things and looks the part, so if you’re going to spot this person you must have reliable scoring and accountability. This will tell the real story. Too often, managers fail to have core scores and as a result, end up thinking they have a hero that’s actually a zero. The zero will give false information about other employees and may even impact your decision making from hiring, employee development and moving your team forward. This trust in the wrong person wastes many hours spent in all facets of your daily management.
5. Email
Some research shows that employees spend a quarter of their day reading and answering email. It sounds incredibly stupid but if you’ve ever been included in one of those emails that cc’s half the bank and half of those start responding with “reply all”, while you’re wondering why you even received the email in the first place, you soon see where the time can go. Gain an understanding of when you should text, email, call or dare we say, go old school and walk across the lobby and have a conversation. Need help with email etiquette? Google it… preferably when you get home.
Do any of these ring bells for you?
How many of your bank’s employees and colleagues are guilty of one or more of these first 5 Time Wasters? The time wasters are real and it’s easy to spot those wasting time and to even see if you’re guilty of it as well. Our advice is to control what you can control and if there’s anything listed above that you have no control over, then forward this article to someone who does.
Tune in next week when we round out this list of Top 10 time wasters in community banking.
