Member Article

Digital transformation can vastly improve banking satisfaction levels

Tim Taylor, eg solutions

Four of the five major banks in the UK are now including detailed customer satisfaction information in their annual reports for the first time. This is nothing short of revolutionary, but according to pioneer and pacesetter in enterprise workforce optimisation software for the back office, eg solutions, work still needs to be done.

One of the Big Four, KPMG, has just launched a major new Report into the UK banking sector, which shows that the industry as a whole is now recovering from the pain of the last few years. What this report* details is that at its heart the sector is beginning to focus on its customer base, improve the consumer experience and is starting to address the very real issue of digital disruption in the sector.

With the overwhelming majority of banks now reporting on customer satisfaction for the first time retail banks are clearly making investments to improve customer experience, especially in the Back Office. But the Report also makes clear that work still needs to be done to marry the promise of excellent customer service with the reality.

The UK banking sector is facing two inter-related issues that are putting pressure on their competitive positioning. Challenger banks and new peer-to-peer platforms are now offering the market an alternative to traditional brands. In addition the growth of new technology led services such as e-wallets, are revolutionising the way consumers pay for goods and services.

It is clear that technology is transforming the way consumers interact with banks and as the relationship we have with money evolves still further, banks themselves need to be able to address this head-on. It is our contention that the UK retail banking sector needs to adapt to the evolution of the consumer, and that means being able to address and execute any and all requirements. This means a fundamental rethink in the traditional roles of front and back offices.

The only way to improve the customer experience and stop customers from walking in the first place is to improve not only the front office customer experience but the Back Office as well. The KPMG Report notes that the banks are still predominantly organised through product and channel silos and therefore the customer experience as a result is still somewhat unfulfilled. This is where the functions of the front and indeed the back office need to transformed so that the banks can deliver seamless service no matter what the customer issue.

The Report goes on to note that the rise of digital and mobile technology is also making a profound change when it comes to the customer experience. Banking staff – no matter where they are located within the business – need to have the digital tools made available to bring together the disparate information held on a customer, so that promises made on service can be matched to reality.

The Report concludes that improved customer service is paramount in the drive for retention and that banks need to ‘embed digital within their DNA’, something we firmly endorse.

* KPMG – A Paradox of forces report : April 2015

http://www.kpmg.com/UK/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/PDF/Market%20Sector/Financial%20Services/a-paradox-of-forces.pdf

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tim Taylor .