How Workforce Management Benefit the Banking Ecosystem

Within the ecosystem of any bank or financial service provider, there are lots of moving parts and many people with a variety of functions that must come together to produce outcomes that matter. 

Employees on the phones in contact centers, customers enquiring about financial solutions, and senior leaders making strategic decisions each have something to contribute – so banks need to be able to centralize and standardize efforts to ensure employees are productive and engaged, and customers receive a high standard of service.

This sounds like a serious challenge for seriously challenging times. It is, but it isn’t impossible. Workforce management has proven to empower employees across the banking ecosystem to work smarter, and in turn, ensure customers receive the best service. 

On a recent episode of AO on Air, Melissa Gagnon, Vice President, Business Transformation and Process Excellence at TD Bank, revealed that she has seen a significant difference between the workforce before implementing a workforce management solution, and the workforce afterwards. 

Empowering employees and providing metrics for managers

Workforce management solutions allow businesses and managers to have a better, more accurate insight into how employees are spending time throughout their working day. This data provides an in-depth overview of team capacity, which can be beneficial to ensure employees aren’t burning out or underutilized, and helps managers forecast work and prepare accordingly for busy or slow periods. This gives managers the ability to create a high level of flexibility for teams, as they can predict when they need support to make things happen.

According to Melissa, using technology that optimizes workforce management has enabled employees to become more engaged and productive thanks to the real time data now available to them. Employees get the opportunity to understand what work they’re spending the most time on and how that contributes to the wider processes of the bank, which creates more meaning and significance to their activities. It showcases just how important those ‘little pieces’ of work are - each activity amounts to something so much bigger, contributing to the overall success of the bank. 

Conversations between employees and managers also become easier. There is data available that can inform robust, informed catch up sessions, as well as coaching and training opportunities to better support employees on their specific challenges and needs. 

Melissa discussed an example in which data indicated that an employee was extremely productive – much more productive than their peers. Upon further investigation, there was clear evidence that this productive was a result of the employee working extremely long hours each day. Using this data, managers were able to approach the employee to help them manage their time and reduce their workload so they could be productive but happy, with a better work/life balance.

For managers, workforce management means data. The results can not only be used for better managing employees, but it also creates an opportunity to better manage a bank’s operations overall. These metrics can be supplied to senior leaders to support business cases and help make informed decisions about efficiencies, productivity, and more. 

Although workforce management isn’t just about making efficiencies, it’s about finding ways for all personas in the banking ecosystem to work better together for their own wellbeing and the success of the business. 

Coming together for customers

From a customer perspective, working with a bank or financial service provider that has workforce management capabilities means that the bank they choose for financial services and products can process work in a more efficient way, making financial processes as seamless and timely as possible. 

For customers needing loans, wanting to set up bank accounts, or needing support with transactions, there is a time sensitivity to their requirements. By putting workforce management data to use, teams are well-staffed and productive. Team capacity is optimized and as a result, banks can ensure they have the right number of staff to meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which leads to a more timely, transactional experience and ultimately, happier customers.

With workforce management, the entire banking ecosystem becomes a better environment for everyone. Customers are satisfied, employees are more engaged and productive, and managers can build flex into their teams while supporting their people in a more robust and meaningful way. 

According to Melissa, this better sense of capacity, of how employees are working and how individuals are performing, has created an environment where everybody benefits. In a time when data is king, workforce management is the informed adviser that steers the ship.