The strategic role of the branches has become much clearer. Banks and credit unions are increasingly adopting redesigned radical structures, with smaller footprints, advanced technology that allows not only self-service, but a personalized experience, and a much more highly trained staff that plays very different roles.
The growing trajectory of digital banking has drastically reduced foot traffic in subsidiaries – from 35% to 50% in most institutions in the last five years, according to banking research and consulting firm Bancography . More than just a drop in volume, the nature of customer interaction has also changed. As a result, a larger portion of customers visiting affiliates now come to open accounts, seek financial advice, or complete a complex transaction.
While downloaded transactions are routine, and those that remain are more likely to generate revenue, the transformation of the industry chain can be a positive net, observes Steven Reider, president of Bancography. Others agree with that view.
“The subsidiary remains a critical point of contact for customers,” Andrew Beatty, head of Global Next Generation Banking at FIS, wrote in Finextra. “It’s a physical manifestation of the bank’s brand and all that it means. Branching helps build customer trust, especially for those banks that often play a major role in the heart of the community.”
Key Point of Differentiation
Since digital technology has taken many basic transactions, the traditional model of branch and cash register waiting in line, earning money or depositing a check has become much less typical. This may interest you : Delta gives customers the opportunity to change flights before the trip on July 4th.
Even with more complex transactions, such as a loan application, many consumers now start switching to digital channels after visiting the industry as a final destination, making a critical link between the digital and physical world, Gina Bleedorn, Chief Experience Officer at Adrenaline, says The Financial Brand.
“While transactions may not be so important, banks and credit unions may miss an opportunity for human connection,” says Bleedorn. “For many EU financial institutions that cannot compete with large banks on mobile capabilities, the industry is a point of differentiation.”
However, as the role of affiliates changes, so has the role of cashiers and other branch staff, Beatty observes. One long-term trend that has taken on a new moment is the creation of “universal banks” – a hybrid role that mixes the capabilities of a personal banker and a traditional cashier.
These staffers must be well versed in all aspects of bank branching and be able to provide guidance, and offer a range of products, often based on a personalized picture of customers ’financial circumstances. “From a banking perspective, this elevates the role of the affiliate banker to a trusted advisor and creates the commitment and loyalty of customers,” says Beatty.
Automating Transactions to Focus on Advice
Affiliate redesigns are nothing new in banking. More than 20 years ago, the now-defunct WaMu pioneered radical branch design with its Occasio concept, which replaced box windows with freestanding boxes.
But it is taking the increasing use of digital consumers amplified by the pandemic to get more institutions to move away from the traditional. On the same subject : Food Bank spends three times the amount to distribute food. The trend is faster. Regions Bank transforms many of its 1,300 branches to focus more on service than base transactions.
“We got rid of the traditional dichotomy of the teller and the banker. If you walk into any new branch, you’ll see no teller line.”
Regions uses interactive cashiers – which incorporate two-way live video – to efficiently support grassroots transactions, leaving human bankers to focus on advice and high-value interaction, Shawn Bradley, EVP of Retail Network Strategy and Design at Regions, he says in an interview. Read also : Maximize business value with data-driven strategies.
Regions has created a technology tool called Greenprint that allows bankers to have a better conversation with small business customers to map out the plans and the next step they need to take in their financial path. The bank uses rigorous training and skills development so that all employees can handle all functions with a client.
“We got rid of the traditional dichotomy of cashier and banker,” Bradley says. “We design our affiliates around the experience. If you go into a new subsidiary, you won’t see a cash line, but instead individual bankers and stations where a customer can meet all of their needs.”
In all new branches, Regions creates open and inviting spaces, made up of bankers with advanced skills, like the team pictured above in a new branch in Charleston, S.C.
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A Credit Union Opts for ‘Experience Guides’
Subsidiary transformation is not just for big banks. Solarity Credit Union launched a modern subsidiary concept in the spring of 2021 when the world began to reopen from the pandemic closure. Instead of a traditional layout with cash lines, routine transactions are handled by self-service “smart ATMs”. Former accountants now serve as “Branch Experience Guides” that help customers navigate new ATMs, offer a digital banking experience and connect them with loan or mortgage experts.
Solarity first piloted the concept before the pandemic, but has since converted all six branches into this model, CEO Mina Worthington reports. The transformation has increased staff efficiency and improved customer satisfaction, he says. Waiting times, which were a common complaint of customers in the old affiliate model, are no longer a problem, says Worthington. “Members feel able to have more time in their lives because they have an easier way to do their financial transactions,” he says.
Worthington strongly believes that a consultative approach is key to the future of community banking. However, to get there there will be a bit of work. “Our members and customers don’t see us as being in a place where they go for advice. And so we want to change that,” he said in a previous interview. The new approach to bank branching is a key part of that evolution.
Read more: 3 Keys to the Bank’s Future: Partnerships, Openness & amp; Advice
PNC Goes Small and Automated
In June 2022, PNC also announced a plan to convert about 60% of its approximately 2,600 subsidiaries across the country into a technology-focused model over the next five years. These subsidiaries will eliminate cashiers ’windows and push machine-based transactions so that staff can focus more on giving financial advice.
The wide rollout is the culmination of what PNC started in 2018, when the bank began to open “solution centers” instead of subsidiaries. These 2,500-square-foot premises combine physical and digital banking, allowing customers to consult with staff and make transactions via ATMs, kiosks and video cassettes.
“The goal is to provide spaces where customers are comfortable,” says Kevin McCann, Executive and Executive Vice President of National Territory for PNC. “We want to establish a collaborative relationship, using our equipment and our environment to work together with clients to achieve their financial goals.”
Read more: Why bankers are not abandoning subsidiaries, despite the explosive growth of digital
A Greater Focus on Knowledge
As banks and credit unions move branches to experiment with centers based on financial advice, their staff needs new skills, Bleedorn notes. New posts of branch staff are far from the entry level. They have a much higher level of employment than is the case with most cashier jobs, which often require expertise in cross-selling and digital activation and a deep knowledge of banking products. “It takes a round of wholesale staffing,” says Bleedorn. “Banks and credit unions have to invest in their people, and in more training, even for sellers.”
Working in a bank branch too often was a dead-end job. Now it has long-term career potential again.
Solarity Branch Experience Guides are more trained than ordinary counters, says Worthington. While the accounts were there “primarily to take orders,” these guides had a greater ability to engage in conversations and interview members to get to the bottom of their needs.
In Regions, Bradley notes that the evolution of the branch bank has made it more of a long-term career with more room for advancement. The bank has also received more interest from affiliate employees working with competitors who see more opportunities in roles that allow them to develop their skills.
Regions typically look for staff with a strong mindset of customer service, then train them with banking skills and knowledge to understand and assist customers. “It’s really about a mindset of customer experience first, so we’re going to train to be a banker if we don’t have that background,” says Bradley.
