Why "out with the old and in with the new" may not always be the answer!

Customer Service "Lost in Transformation"

This recent article published by the Times shares an internal memo to staff from TSB Chief Debbie Crosbie expressing her frustration over their below average customer service. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tsb-chief-debbie-crosbie-admits-frustration-over-customer-service-5lwcltfw8.

2 years ago TSB hit the headlines after 1.9 million customers were left unable to access their accounts following the implementation of a new IT system which hadn’t been fully tested. It looks like the effects of this are still being felt today as last month the BBC reported ‘TSB customers anger at online banking issues’.

The memo which also thanks staff and importantly recognises their hard work, urges those working from home to scan social media to better understand their customers. Any staff doing this will find that a quick search of Twitter and Trust Pilot throws up some less than complimentary comments on issues faced when trying to access the online service and mobile banking app, closely followed by poor service when they try to call or resolve their issues in branch.

It was the comment directing her colleagues to social media that caught my interest. It's quite an unusual move, but as the research from Convince and Convert shows below, when complaints are not handled well and expectations are not aligned, customers will quickly take to social media and the outcomes can be quite damaging.

Whilst it is topical to focus on all the sexy "new and shiny" things like AI, Robotics and Digital Transformation, we still need to have the good old fashioned operational management basics in place:

• Happy and motivated people.
• Robust operational management principles in place.
• Clear lines of communication and well managed teams. (I continually say that the role of the team leader/manager on the front line is the hardest in any business).
• A good, well run quality management and complaints process also helps! As the research shows, once this spill over onto social media it can often be too late.

No amount of process tinkering or technology will get you where you want to be if you fail to look after your team (#wellbeing being a real issue), with sustainable and robust operational management principles and practices in place.

I know TSB are not alone in struggling with their customers, social media clearly shows that their competitors have their fair share of complaints. Nationwide is often cited as leading the pack, but the newer entrants, more digitally focused without the legacy systems and infrastructure seemingly do better, but they are still far from perfect too.

Today, we should also take into account the forced migration to home working, which makes communication harder, so our response must be to work harder at it! In recent times we have lost that Dunkirk spirit evident during early lockdown. Customer expectations are back to normal, despite the operational challenges of remote working still being there for all of the Customer Service Directors out there.

So..........back to TSB.

We must remember that TSB was created out of the forced demerger from Lloyds Bank, which meant they had to decouple systems, no mean task.

Their new purpose led strategy revealed in November 2019 set out a transformation programme for the Bank to become a simpler organisation to compete effectively, with deeper customer relationships and a better balance of customer channels. All sounded very sensible, but was it doable? As a new organisation, decoupled from the parent, did they have the strong foundations to deliver such a change and transformation under such a public spotlight?

So, could be holding them back and how can they move forward and tackle the challenges they’re facing?

• Are the ongoing online issues a result of the aftermath of the migration to the new IT system? If so, it they need to ‘gain control’ of their current performance, identify the issues and ring fence them so that the problem can be sized and resourced accordingly. Put a stop to the keyboard warriors.
• How can they go about changing perception and building deeper customer relationships? Step one is about listening to what is going on around you, taking the appropriate action, and the internal memo shows intent in that respect. Where do you go from there? Perception is difficult to shift and leans towards a longer term ‘People First’ transformation strategy with the customer at the heart of that. Also, as a relative young business, do they understand what their culture is and what they stand for? That in itself takes time to work out.
• Are their people equipped to provide a first class service for their customers? There are many issues that lockdown has brought across all customer delivery channels. As mentioned above, you need to get your people working effectively first, focus on the key processes that deliver the difference to customer experience, and then apply the right technology solutions and initiatives.
• Are they looking to prioritise existing programmes to deliver them more quickly or looking at a complete change in approach. Whatever happens they’ll need a robust Change Framework in place. This should ensure they avoid past mistakes and any changes are tested before being fully embedded across the organisation.

With the many challenges being faced by the banking industry right now and the new challengers to the market, it’s not going to be an easy ship to turn.

Many of you reading this article will say that none of the above is rocket science, its basic old fashioned stuff, which is my point. Often we want to find the new ways, the golden bullet and throw around all the b*llshit bingo phrases that are out there. Sometimes, we lose sight of the basics that give us the firm foundations for success.

My final thought is that in this day and age every business leader must be listening to what is going on out there. With the rise of social media the flow of information is super charged, but can be a source of some great insights.

Hats off to Debbie Crosbie for calling this out, and good luck with sorting it out. Don't throw out some of the old ways mind!!