The pressure to perform

The past year has been a turbulent one for bank employees, Investment Executive‘s third annual Bankers’ Report Card shows. Many indicate they’re afraid they will be laid off as a result of cost-cutting. They are under the gun to work harder but, at the end of that day, they aren’t that thrilled about how much they’re taking home.

Nowhere are the concerns more prevalent than in the branches, where closings are making futures uncertain. While 14 Bank of Montreal branches in Manitoba are being rescued by various credit unions in the province, this is the exception rather than the rule. Other banks’ branches are simply closing their doors as customers go automated and online. Branch tellers become authors of their demise when they host impromptu classes, teaching customers how to use the banks’ ATMs for personal service on routine deposits, withdrawals and bill payments.

Meanwhile, the workload for the staff who have escaped the various downsizings is increasing, giving even more meaning to the term “multi-tasking.”

The anxiety level is so bad at a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch in Northern Ontario that about one-quarter of the staff is on stress leave — adding to the workload of those still making it into the office every day.

“It’s just perform, perform, produce,” says a CIBC employee in Timmins, Ont.

In its third annual report, Investment Executive surveyed 320 people working in eight banks across Canada and for the third consecutive year came to the same conclusion: employees at Canada Trust are the happiest lot in the bunch. But this will be the last time they will be able to claim that honour: CT is being wrapped into the more traditional Toronto-Dominion Bank. Everyone will be watching to see whether the customer-service orientation that made the trust company popular will survive the bank’s corporate culture.

“CT has an excellent reputation,” says a CT banker in London, Ont. “It will be interesting to see what happens with the merger. I hope it will stay as it is.”

TD seems up to the challenge. When asked about their favourite aspects of working at the bank, TD employees cite a happy staff, the bank’s adaptability, communication to staff and teamwork — qualities they say make for a more satisfied customer.

“[We] are now more customer-accommodating because of the merger with Canada Trust,” says an Ontario TD employee. “I don’t know how long that will last, though.”

If TD doesn’t maintain high customer service levels, it seems some of the smaller banks may be ready to step in.

“We’re still small enough to provide excellent service,” says one Laurentian Bank of Canada employee in Newmarket, Ont.

“We have comfy relationships with clients,” adds a National Bank of Canada employee in southern Ontario.

The same bugbears that annoy employees in most other areas of financial services afflict bankers as well. Few say their technology is up to snuff and many cringe at customer account statements that are sadly lacking in information.

“They’re tough to understand,” one Bank of Nova Scotia employee in Toronto says of the bank’s statements. “Customers come in and look for an interpretation.”

For all of their aggravation and extra work, employees say the banks should be paying them more. Comments about their banks’ compensation schemes range from “stinky” (a National Bank employee) to “they could pony up a bit more” (a Laurentian banker). A CIBC employee in Toronto says the bank introduced retroactive rule changes to the employees’ December compensation so that certain referrals don’t count for commission.

But it’s certainly not all bad news. Bank employees surveyed say there is less pressure to accumulate assets this year, giving the question an average score of 5.4, compared with 4.1 last year. They also say they are under less pressure to refer clients elsewhere in the bank: last year’s score was 5.2; this year, it was a much more relaxed 7.2. “It’s definitely encouraged [to refer clients], but there’s no whipping going on,” says a Bank of Montreal employee in southwestern Ontario.

While employees in the same company may have completely opposite views on identical topics, altogether they gave an average mark of 8 when asked to rate overall performance of their bank. This is a smidgen higher than last year’s 7.9 rating.

Some of the banks acknowledge what their employees are enduring and say they’re trying to help them through the rough spots.

For example, Shelley Jourard, senior manager, public affairs, with Scotiabank in Toronto, says branch closures will more than likely continue as Scotiabank completes a two-year task of integrating branches from its purchase of National Trust. But, she says, Scotiabank prides itself on going the extra distance to communicate to employees what’s going on at different levels. And, according to our survey, Scotiabank employees were among the most secure about their jobs and the ability to move within the bank.

Still, Jourard acknowledges, bank employees are under the gun.

“I have no doubt in today’s competitive world that front-line bankers are under enormous pressure, but hopefully it’s not job certainty pressure, [it’s] competitive pressure — trying to deliver results and generate earnings and earnings growth,” she says.

“It means falling all over ourselves to compete with the next guy. That’s probably what they’re feeling. More and more products that they have to learn and I guess you’re starting to see that, too, in the professional designation expectations.”

Most banks — as with most large corporations — have some sort of employee assistance program to smooth out the inevitable problems that arise with an increasingly complex workplace and the demands of a personal life. And there’s no shortage of employees taking advantage of some of the programs, says Katie Isbister, director of the employee assistance program at Bank of Montreal in Toronto.

“It’s as though getting assistance, asking for support and talking about this stuff, is coming out of the closet,” says Isbister. “More and more people are realizing this is a healthy thing to do — to talk about it and prepare yourself.”

Isbister says BMO’s employee assistance program provides counselling services and also takes a proactive role through workshops and seminars on everything from stress and communication, health and relationship issues, as well as other outreach programs and newsletters. The basic thrust is to keep employees aware that change is part of life — as is stress — but that there are ways to help yourself in advance.

Some of the workshops are led by managers who provide tips on how they have handled certain situations in their careers. Many of the workshops are held during work time, such as the bank’s Lunch and Learn series. “The more prepared we are about how we respond to change, the better we will be able to handle it,” says Isbister.

Jourard says Scotiabank also tries to keep in touch with employee concerns through a program known as Team Voice. Employees call a 1-800 number to complain or ask questions, and are then hooked up with the appropriate people.

Some of those concerns have dealt with the banks’ push for certain employees to take courses leading to their CFP designations. Jourard says that this move is being made in response to regulators’ demands, but the bank pays for the courses if the job level requires it and gives employees two study days off for each course.

The bank also carries out ongoing employee surveys in an attempt to raise employee satisfaction. Over the past year, it has started rolling out a $140-million computer upgrading program.