Core Competencies Should Never Be Core Failure

Last week I came across an Instagram reel from a bank.? It started out kind of funny but took an odd turn toward the middle.? It was six bank employees telling the audience something that most people do not know about themselves.? It was a great chance for the bank to show its humanity and really connect with their consumers.

The odd twist was that 2 of the 6 admitted that they are terrible at personal finance.? That is not a good look for a financial institution.?

Admittedly, those employees may not be in roles where fiscal responsibility is paramount, but it is the general assumption.? If you were to ask someone to name 6 different roles in a bank, most if not all of them would be financial roles.

It was a major misstep for the bank’s marketing director to green light this post.? It should have been clear to all involved that this is going to backfire.? Telling your customers or clients that you are severely lacking in your company’s core competency is never a good look.? It erodes trust and confidence.? And with banks seemingly failing left and right, it is troubling to think that the people telling you to trust them with your money cannot manage their own money.? So why let them manage yours?

What should have happened is that the marketing director should have said to find two other employees whose secret is not related to banking or finance.? Moreover, this should have inspired the marketing director to create financial literary questionnaires for the employees and then generate an internal course to address the areas that need improvement amongst the employees.?

That same course can be adapted to an outside audience because those financial pain points are probably common to all people including those who bank with you and those who may bank with you in the future.

Additionally, that course can be then turned into content for email, socials, and the website.? Content like this trends well.? People want to learn about making better financial decisions, balancing their budget, and planning for the future.

That then flows to frontline employees to promote this content and the courses to customers who are in need of assistance on these subjects.? And having a variety of options at varying depths and detail levels is a feather in the cap of customer service.

Banks are often seen as interchangeable, so if one helps someone better manage their money, then they are more likely to encourage others to join.? And when there is a hiccup at their own bank, they are more likely to switch.? Conversely, if the hiccup happens at the bank that has helped them so much, they are more likely to overlook it.

This is applicable to all industries not just banking.? Find areas of your employee knowledgebase that are lacking, then develop employee training.? Once the training is refined enough that it benefits your internal audience then utilize it for your external audience by creating training and educational content for your customers to expand their own knowledgebase.

Image Courtesy of Glenn Carstens-Peters