Although the objects of advisors’ dissatisfaction vary year-over-year, two areas that were rated low in previous years continue to draw the ire of advisors in the 2009 Report Card on Banks and Credit Unions — technology tools and advisor desktop, and back-office and administrative support.
The overall performance averages for both categories tied for the fourth-lowest rating (7.5) overall. Even more telling is the amount by which the importance rating advi-sors gave those categories exceeded their performance ratings: the categories had the largest gaps in the survey — 1.5 points for the technology tools and advisor desktop category and 1.4 points for back office and admin support category.
The two categories — particularly technology — are of such importance to advisors that they’ll talk about them without having to be pointedly asked. For instance, when advisors were asked to name areas in which their firms could improve, about one in five advi-sors surveyed for this year’s Report Card mentioned technology.
One such remark came from an advisor in Ontario with Toronto-based Bank of Nova Scotia: “It takes a long time to navigate the system to address client needs.”
Another advisor, this one in Ontario with Montreal-based National Bank of Canada, was more succinct: “The technology makes my job more difficult.”
In the midst of such negativity, the two deposit-taking institutions that had the highest performance ratings in the category — Royal Bank of Canada and TD Canada Trust, both based in Toronto — look especially impressive.
As was the case in 2008, RBC had the highest performance rating for technology tools. Although the bank’s performance score dipped by 0.4 of a point to 8.9 from 9.3 last year, the gap between its advisors’ importance and performance ratings was only 0.4 of a point — 1.1 points less than the survey average.
“We made significant investments this year in the next generation of NaviPlan,” says Michael Walker, vice president and head of branch investments with RBC. He says the bank has customized the software and named it Horizons internally. “We heard from both the sales force and our clients that planning needed to be made simpler. Horizons is a richer tool, and it represents the evolution from the desktop model of financial planning to a Web-enabled tool that supports a much more sophisticated conversation with our retail clients.”
TD, whose performance in the category was rated at 8.4, was the only other firm in the survey that garnered a rating higher than 8.0 and for which the gap between the importance and performance ratings was less than one point.
A TD advisor in Ontario says the firm’s technology “is up to date, and we have tools that we can show clients different portfolios on a daily basis. It’s very useful.”
On the flip side, Montreal-based National Bank of Canada‘s advi-sors complained of redundancies and incompatibilities in their bank’s systems, resulting in a performance rating of 6.6 and a gap of 2.4 between its importance and performance scores.
“We have about — let me see — how many different systems?” says an advisor in Ontario. “They’re not integrated and they’re patchwork.” That said, the advisor does point out that better integration of the firm’s technology tools is “our president’s main focus.”
Indeed, advisors can take comfort that their frustrations are getting through, says Vicky Wistaff, National Bank’s senior manager of retail banking strategies: “We’re working constantly to improve our information technology applications for all employees. It’s a big challenge, since we’re combining different systems and different platforms. We’re investing a lot of money to augment the situation.”
National Bank advisors hoping for a better technology offering from their firm need only look to the example of Vancouver-based Vancouver City Savings Credit Union. Last year, Vancity’s technology tools and advisor desktop was rated at 6.6, but the credit union improved on that by half a point this year, as its rating is now at 7.1.
“I think one of the weaknesses for Vancity is we don’t really have a great point-of-sale system; hence, we are launching a new one this year,” says Michael Atkinson, director of investment solutions at Vancity. “What we have today, we use as effectively as we could. But I think there is plenty of room and opportunity for growth, and we are going to address that.”
@page_break@But Vancity’s upward stride in technology was a mirror image of its results in the back-office and admin support category. The credit union went from a survey-best rating of 8.3 in 2008 to sitting in the middle of the pack this year; its performance score fell by 0.7 of a point to 7.6.
“Our back office … isn’t top-notch,” says a Vancity advisor in British Columbia.
Scotiabank also suffered a 0.7-point drop in the category to 7.5. “It seems like everything is a secret about the back office,” says an advisor in Ontario. “We don’t know what they can do until you ask.”
As in technology, RBC separated itself from the pack in the back office category. The bank’s performance rating of 7.9 tied with that of Edmonton-based Servus Credit Union for best in the category.
In fact, two RBC advisors in Ontario pointed to back-office support as the most positive aspect of working at the firm. IE