Building Your Community Bank Performance Culture Definition, consistency, action take worn out sales cultures to the next-level By: Ron Buck, President, SMH Consulting Group, 480-212-6082 and Jack Hubbard, Chief Experience Officer, St. Meyer & Hubbard, Inc., 847-717-4328 Introduction When we started our firm in 2000 we introduced the term Performance Culture to the financial services industry. The goal was to make sales less bank-centric and more customer-focused a win-win situation for everyone involved. In non-anthropological terms, a culture is defined in the beliefs and behavioral characteristic of those within a workgroup. A performance culture could then be defined around the beliefs and behaviors relative to the execution of work. Simply stated it s how we hold sales conversations here. Performance is an interesting word. It can be used with many adjectives like poor performance, average performance, high performance or lack of performance. Each defines the type of culture we are referring to. Perhaps the best way Performance Culture should be used in banking is relative to improving performance. This definition can then be tied to an organization s belief that while not everyone can be a high performer, everyone can continue to improve their performance. Community banks have this conviction that everyone can improve and because they are not caught up in the short-termism of the market, they can be more patient with associates and nurture the improvement process overtime not over night. Performance improvement is the precursor to high performance. When every employee improves his or her individual performance by 10% the organization s performance improves by 10%. This is a new way to think within a Performance Culture. Previously banks tended to measure and coach every employee to hit the same sales goals and perform at the same high level. This is unrealistic and potentially toxic. Banks engaged in a Performance Culture individualize goals and coach each employee based on their strengths and improvement needs understanding that not everyone can be a high performer but that everyone can improve their performance. Performance Improvement is the foundation Behaviors are the change agents. During the past five years we have tracked, measured and recorded over 100 Key Performance Indicators at 1,100 retail branches and with over 300 business bankers. These data have provided us a unique perspective of high performance and transformational banking. Best-of-breed banks share one common characteristic: whatever their operating model, high performers focus rigorously on managing constant incremental performance improvement. This enables them to sustain growth, profitability and local market differentiation. High Performing banks focus on an observational coaching model which isolates individual goals, individual behavioral change, and continuous incremental performance improvement. Figure 1.0 illustrates a graphical scorecard for a frontline employee that is performing below the minimum performance level established by the organization. During February and March the coach works with the employee to have early wins and to create a plan to perform at a level equal to the minimum performance standard. During the next 90 days the employees is coached to make incremental improvement (perhaps 10% each month).
Figure 1.0 Figure 2.0 illustrates the motivation curve. Transformational coaches (those building a Performance Culture ) understand that many employees fail to improve performance when their goals are either too easy, too difficult or undefined altogether. High performing coaches recognize the importance of setting goals that maximize motivation which varies employee to employee. Figure 2.0 Coaching behaviors supported with a transformational incentive program helps keep motivation strong which tends to drive better performance. Most banks compensate employees for absolute performance and fail to reward performance improvement and recognize the behaviors that drive performance improvement. Transformational banks (those with a Performance Culture ) reward performance improvement and vocally recognize use of the behaviors that caused success, not simply the success itself. These new organizational and coaching behaviors are the cultural lever the cultural change agent the industry has been looking for.
Stephen R. Covey defines a habit in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as the intersection of knowledge, skills, and desire. Knowledge is the what to do and why. Skill is the how to do. Desire is the motivation, or the want to do. Desire is a critical measure of motivation and engagement. Figure 3.0 illustrates how transformational coaches segment their employees with a goal to continuously improve the behaviors of every employee to a higher level. Figure 3.0 illustrates the measures of an employee s performance (Key Performance Indicators), their fulfillment of building trust and helping customers meet their financial goals. B employees are typically new employees that are totally engaged, fulfilled and excited about their jobs but don t yet perform at the highest level. C employees perform well but are not engaged they tend to be transactional versus relational bankers. D employees are disengaged and their lack of performance is a constant battle for everyone in the organization. Figure 3.0 illustrates how knowledge, skills and desire (motivation) are applied to form the new behaviors (or habits) for each segment. Transformational coaches understand that each employee segment requires a different Covey approach and a focus on different behaviors that result in incremental performance improvement. Figure 3.0
The Bridge to a Performance Culture Our research has revealed five transformational components critical to a Performance Culture : people, process, strategy, leadership and technology. When each component is in alignment and seamlessly blended together the transition begins from a sales environment (focused on products) to a performance environment (focused on customers). The Bridge to a Performance Culture Figure 4.0 People the Foundation of a Performance Culture We have found the biggest challenge encountered by the highest performers as they transitioned to the nextlevel was ensuring their existing workforce signed on and received the requisite skills and coaching. The right hiring practices, updated training, practical tools and compensation systems form the necessary foundation. Task clarity and role clarity are critical and new responsibilities (accountabilities) must be defined in clear behavioral terms. This change in job expectations and accountabilites goes beyond the front line to the highest level of executive management up the ranks of management. One key to certain cultural collapse is for the CEO and all other executives to sit on the sidelines and cheerlead while the others get their hands dirty. When lack of total commitment occurs at the top, the process eventually becomes the flavor of the month and it is doomed to fail. New expectations and accountabilities reflected in the performance management system help the process sustain traction. For the highest performers, this means setting minimum performance thresholds and specific performance goals. Our highest performing clients have shifted from strictly production-based incentive programs in favor of value-based programs with key metrics for performance improvement. These performance measures are directly tied to compensation, with an increasing amount of variable pay (the highest performer average 15% to 25%).
Process - the Mechanism That Creates and Sustains Change Our top performing community banks have adopted a sales process and that process is interwoven throughout the organization. No one is exempt. Unfortunately, many banks still adhere to a loosely structured sales process or have none at all. In our 2008 Business Banking White Paper we found: 42.9% of banks had no articulated sales process 26.5% of bankers did not know if their bank had an articulated sales process 30.6% of sales managers did not know their bank s sales process Process changes typically stick with the adoption of a new set of sales management accountabilities. They include: Strategic team meetings Weekly one-on-one Check-Ins (manager to subordinate up and down the food chain) Observations of sales conversations in the branch Joint calls in the field Behavioral coaching Each of these activities is optimized when there is an agenda and a consistent follow up approach. Without follow up these components become simply tick marks which help no one but do a good job of wasting everyone s time. Technology the Productivity and Conversation Enabler Tracking, measuring and reporting the right things are the most fundamental requirements of a performance culture. Paperwork stifles the culture and there is an unending list of quality technology vendors to collaborate with to improve productivity. One key is to understand what each provider can do to meet your needs and then consider what you want them to do, based on budget constraints and other issues. Many banks we talk with believe CRM or SFA is the total answer sales nirvana. It is just the beginning. We don t sell software but one thing we suggest when a bank engages us to help them with that buying decision is to make certain the system can be tailored to the needs of the bank, today and tomorrow. We also look at issues around Event-Based Triggers, the ability to link the software to actionable scorecards and the capacity of the system to easily facilitate coaching conversations. Finally, technology is not an island and too often, banks do not consider how their system should be interwoven into sales and sales management training. One key to building that elusive Performance Culture is the connectivity of training, technology, process and strategy to and through each other. When the banker sees nothing in it for them to insert data into the CRM or SFA, the technology becomes a big brother big sister approach and the system eventually is scrapped or at least not utilized. Executive Commitment the Cultural Driver In our study a consistent issue we encountered was an observation regarding the executive message. All too common within the financial institutions participating in our research, there is a significant disconnect between what the executives says and what the front line hears. Though many executives suggest the strategy is relationships, when the front line is asked what message is heard louder from the executive suite, sell products is their reply. This highlights the need for executive management to align strategy with the messages conveyed, through goals that are set and how results are measured. Executives have an important role to play as leaders incorporating the sales strategy into their daily actions, coaching of their direct reports, mentoring desired cultural behaviors, and supporting the sales strategy through their daily interactions with employees.
At one high performing bank we know, the CEO does a daily Jim Call. The field provides Jim with information about what someone on the frontline or in a support role did well on behalf of their customer the previous day. Jim makes a call to that person the next morning before the bank opens and shares five minutes of congratulatory time with the associate. He follows up with an email, copying the banker and their manager. We have seen these emails hanging proudly in cubicles and offices around the bank. This has shown his commitment to the process and if he can do it given his busy schedule, what about those managers below him? Performance Culture Strategies to Consider Building a performance culture is an ongoing process of experimenting, learning, and refining an evolution not a revolution Balancing customer needs and internal needs is critical to effective execution and to maintaining employee and customer engagement Leadership and coaching matter more than ever before An effective performance culture is incorporated throughout the organization not just on the frontline Defining and adhering to a sales process is the linchpin to changing behaviors and producing results Effective execution requires putting the right people in the right job, armed with the correct set of skills and expectations Incentives, rewards and recognition are critical, not just for implementing a sales program, but for sustaining the focus. Matching rewards to the desired behaviors is the greatest execution challenge Keeping the focus on behaviors and activities leads to long term wins Deciding what to measure, implementing the right tracking system and getting the right performance measurements in place remains a critical challenge Since 2000 we have observed cultural paradigm shifts in many areas. These new convictions come with dramatically new frontline behaviors that are re-defining sales performance and the customer experience. The top achievers are being driven by a will to change that we have not observed in the general population. This desire to change and a passion to perform at a higher level are creating new cultural approaches and distinct behavioral patterns at the frontline. The ultimate winner is the customer. They are getting more of the top performing bankers time and their experience is enhanced. Customers expect trust and value from their banking relationship and the top performers are providing it. Coaches are setting expectations and creating personal accountability to build trust and build value inside the organization as well. Top performers are obsessed with Performance. About St. Meyer & Hubbard St. Meyer & Hubbard is a performance improvement firm focusing on sales education and coaching for community banks. SMH Consulting Group helps community banks develop sales strategies, sales plans and performance scorecards. Jack Hubbard can be reached at jhubbard@stmeyerandhubbard.com and Ron Buck can be reached at rbuck@stmeyerandhubbard.com St. Meyer & Hubbard s first bestselling book Conversations with Prospects, is available by visiting www.stmeyerandhubbard.com