Case Study

Transforming the branch network of a financial institution

A major financial institution in South Africa was looking to implement an operational transformation of their entire branch network. The bank had been facing both external (new legislation and strong increase in customer base requesting banking services) and internal (above-average staff churn) challenges across multiple dimensions. Combined with this, the bank had set themselves fairly aggressive sales targets with a strong desire to radically improve on customer satisfaction and service levels.

Diagnosing the problem

Traditionally the first phase of a transformation is to fully understand the current situation (processes, organizational health, etc.). As with almost all of our engagements we worked hand in hand with a client team. During this phase we analysed a range of product processes to better understand how they could be made more efficient using a range of “lean” tools. This was done through a combination of focus groups and brainstorming sessions with product owners to identify areas for improvement. In addition, the entire range of sales tools, training, incentive, and management infrastructure systems were reviewed. Coming out of this phase we had a good estimate of the size of the opportunity through improving the processes, equipping the sales force with a range of tools, reconfiguring the branch, fine-tuning roles and responsibilities, and instilling a strong performance culture.

Piloting and rolling out the solutions

Based on this initial design, we “tested” all the changes in a group of pilot branches to demonstrate the impact and to prove that we had a scalable solution. During this pilot phase the entire team (both McKinsey and the client) wes based at the pilot branches embedding the new processes and tools, with a strong focus on developing a high-performing team culture. An iterative process was adopted where improvement initiatives were fine-tuned until we were satisfied we had the best solution. Post this phase a rollout logic was developed, and over a period of 12 months all branches in the network were transformed. As part of this rollout a series of academies were conducted nationwide to teach everyone the methodology, new processes, tools, and lean approach.

Seeing the impact

The impact from the project was huge and very visible. Branch appearance was changed, and product sales times were reduced by up to 50 percent. This freed-up time combined with the new sales tools led to a very healthy pipeline of customer leads with a significant improvement in the number of leads converted to sales. Also, employee satisfaction improved by 10 percent.