Identify Your Bank's 'Holy Grail'.

A recent article in Investor's Business Daily made the point that a company's profitability is directly correlated to the satisfaction measures of both its employees and its customers. Some call this concept the "value chain" in that the well-being of all three of a company's major constituencies--customers, employees and stockholders--are interconnected. We have talked about this issue in prior columns.

The case of Continental Airlines

It seems that in the days before Continental Airlines was one of the top two most profitable carriers (along with Southwest), it suffered not only poor financial performance but also very low customer and employee satisfaction scores. In 1994, there was a management shake-up. The new bosses left their ivory tower and, after talking with hordes of customers and employees, discovered that the major problem was flight delays. The vicious cycle worked like this: When planes left the gate late, they often caused customers to miss their connection at the next "hub" airport. This caused their baggage to become lost in the system.

Customers were unhappy. They took it out on employees, who blamed "management" and felt powerless to solve the problem. Most employees in most organizations come to their jobs with a natural desire to help customers, but, when conditions beyond their control prevent this, or they are improperly trained, their morale plummets. This attitude is transmitted to customers in a multitude of ways. The result is a downward cycle of satisfaction, revenue and profits.

Continental's new management devoted themselves to solving the on-time problem. They introduced new equipment, procedures and management practices. It became the "Holy Grail" at Continental. Careful monitoring of daily departures and arrivals led to a score-keeping system that rewarded every employee $65 per month if performance targets were met. It wasn't a huge amount of money, but it was a measure of success.

Soon enough Continental planes were on time. Bags were not being lost. Customers were not complaining. Employees were not distracted. And the virtuous cycle had begun. Many other similar improvements were put in place.

Now Continental is one of only two major airlines with profitability ratings above the 80th percentile in the Investor Business Daily studies. It also has the highest Airline Quality Rating, as measured by the annual airline satisfaction survey conducted by the University of Nebraska.

The implications for banking

So, what does this mean for banking? The principles are identical. Happy employees lead to happy customers. Happy customers create happy shareholders. The only difference is that in banking, we don't have to worry about lost baggage. But we have similar "critical performance attributes." Depending on where a bank is located and the types of customers it serves, these might be such things as

* Speed of service at the teller window.

* The professionalism of employees as they offer advice to customers.

* The adequacy of nearby parking.

* The hours of operation.

There are probably 20 or more such attributes in banking that make up the equivalent of "on-time departures" in the airline industry.

What's important is to know what the critical attributes are in your bank and how well you are doing on each one. Research shows that while virtually all banks are judged by similar attributes, different geographies and different types of customer bases result in differing priorities. The Continental example demonstrates the importance of knowing the important attribute and focusing on it.