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by Robin Thompson

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When I embarked on a banking career in 1990, I was entering a well respected profession. These days, it is an industry filled not with professionals, but something akin to seedy salespeople.

I remember the day I found out that I had a place on the Management Development Programme with a high street bank. I was over the moon and so were my parents. I'd had a choice - go to University or start my career now. I was successful in the latter and I was very pleased with my choice. Everyone at college acknowledged that becoming a Management Trainee in a bank was a good career move. No-one had ever met a poor Bank Manager and a comfortable lifestyle with a nice house and car, innumerable perks and financial security beckoned. The UCAS application went in the bin - I wouldn't be needing that.

By the time I started I'd already had my first pay rise. Between being given the job offer and my first day in the job (a period of 8 months to give me chance to complete my A levels) my starting salary had risen due to the annual increment all employees received. At the time my friends and I couldn't quite believe it - a pay rise before I'd even done a days work in the job! What a contrast to the system in place by the time I left. By then you would get a pay rise if you were lucky and had somehow successfully managed to meet all your sales targets for the year. When I started however, it was considered important that you shared in the bank's success. Up went the profits and up went the salaries of the hard working staff without complaint from the customers. There was no need for them to complain as they were receiving a service that was second to none. Customers respected knowledgeable, professional and courteous bank staff and we were rigorously trained to be that way. They still do respect that but it is a shame that the training now has a different focus.

Before they would allow me in branch I had to complete a weeks residential training at Head Office. This wasn't just because I was a management trainee. All staff undertook this training. At this point, I wasn't even allowed anywhere near the counter. I had to become familiar with the processes and regulations first before undertaking a two week cashiers course six months later. Things were done properly then too, with due care and attention. You were taught the correct way to count money and to place all notes neatly in the till, all facing the correct way. Small details, but then, its getting the small details right that singles out professionals from the rest. These days induction lasts for a few days and you are on the counter straight away. The bulk of the training consists of sales techniques.

The work was not particularly inspiring, but then, this was not where I was going to end up. I knew that better things were just around the corner. Soon I would be an enquiries clerk, approving personal loans and overdrafts, then a supervisor, then a manager. Of course, to be a manager one had to do what all professionals do - complete professional examinations. In this case I needed to become an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB). You could count the number of non-ACIB managers in the organisation on one hand. The examinations were, quite rightly, taken very seriously. I studied, and I struggled. The exams were hard but subjects like "Law Relating to Banking Services" (I know why banks can't divulge financial information and its absolutely nothing to do with the Data Protection Act), "Accountancy" (I can now prepare my own profit and loss account and balance sheet) "The Monetary and Financial System" and "Management" all gave me a good grounding in the history of banking, the regulatory framework in which they operate and the knowledge required to be considered a professional. I can guarantee you that most staff you deal with in your bank today will have no idea what these are about and it is very likely that your manager is equally as ignorant. The knowledgeable and experienced professionals were disposed of years ago in cost cutting measures. They weren't sacked, they were just given voluntary redundancy and as they were already witnessing the decline of the industry, they couldn't wait to leave. Managers today are often very young, invariably have no professional qualifications and are inexperienced in banking matters. The trade off is they can be paid less, but it is the customer who really pays.

It wasn't long before the "sales culture" started to insidiously creep into the profession, this spreading infection forming part of the decline that was causing the managers to leave. By the mid nineties "cross selling" and "performance related pay" were terms being used around the office as often as "direct debit" and "standing order". Performance related pay, I remember, was one of the biggest con tricks I'd ever seen the bank pull. Somehow, they managed to convince us all it was for our benefit, when really it was for theirs. In a moment of brilliance, they managed to deceive the Union to the point that when the true nature of the scheme was understood, the Union was powerless to stop its progress. The bank convinced us all that this system rewarded those who worked hard and penalised those that did not. It sounded like a fantastic idea. Who among us did not believe that we were one of those hard workers who stood to benefit? So we praised our bosses for such a fair and equitable scheme.

But then came the masterstroke that none of us could foresee - the goalposts were moved. Until now working hard had consisted of meeting deadlines, completing work with efficiency and accuracy, dealing with customers professionally and politely. This was not a problem since all of these things were in our control. Now it was defined as meeting your sales targets. How many personal loans have you sold? How many credit cards? How many leads for other products? All of a sudden your financial security is the hands of the customer. If they don't buy, you fail and you get no extra money. All of a sudden, hard working staff are no longer rewarded. Those that are concerned with clearing the pile of work on their desk, getting the enquiries dealt with promptly, dealing with the requests to change address are obsolete because the bank has said that is not important. Selling is king here now. That is what makes money for the Bank. It doesn't matter if your administration work is sloppy. No-one is checking that anymore and even if they were, there is no incentive to do it right, only to sell. Is this really the proud profession I joined?

But there is always the inflationary pay increase, surely? Alas, no. When the increments went, so did the inflationary pay rise. It all disappeared in the same review that produced the performance related pay. We were now salespeople, nothing more, nothing less. The very things that made the staff who they were had been taken away. Lending decisions were now made by the computer and any exceptions could only be approved by Head Office. My 10 years of experience no longer counted for anything.

My problem was that I am not a salesperson. My personality does not make me naturally gifted in this area and to be frank, if I had wanted a career in sales I would have sought employment in that area with a company that adequately rewards success. You can make a handsome living from sales - but not in banking. Most people still join banks not anticipating a sales career. As a result, coupled with conditions that can only be described as modern day sweatshops, people quickly leave. Staff turnover is high, leaving the bank with even less experience and staff that are no longer committed to the organisation and the organisations customers.

I made the decision to leave in 2001. At that time I was a fully qualified financial advisor and the pressure forced me to take three months out. I knew I could not continue. Ethically, I had concerns about many of the practices I was witnessing. There is only one way you can sell a lot of products that are second rate and that is not give the customer the whole truth. I wasn't prepared to do that. Our penalty charges were extortionate and we were not permitted to refund them. Customers who could not afford to pay were being forced to do so. I wonder how many children didn't get a decent meal because of the Bank's belligerence?

I cannot be sympathetic to banking industry these days. I used be a staunch defender, but it deserves everything that we can throw at it. Shoddy, second rate organisations that consider that customer service is defined solely by how many products you can sell a customer don't really have a place in consumer driven marketplace. Unfortunately, because we can't live without banks these days they enjoy a unique privilege. Their professional status has long since gone in spite of the regulatory framework they operate under. It has to be said that the compliance structure is not 100% effective and I have seen how it is possible to work around the regulations that are in place. The Chief Executives will deny any wrongdoing but the policy decisions they make force staff to take shortcuts and cut corners. I know - I have seen it.

A certain high street bank in the UK tells us that there is another way. There is, but until they all re-align their priorities, we're stuck with this one.

Learn more about this author, Robin Thompson.

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