Customer satisfaction
Most banks offer fairly similar services. The big difference is how they are delivered. Swedbank’s mission is not only to sell banking services. It is to help the many people and businesses achieve solid financial sustainability. This can only be done by building close relationships of trust. It is in these day-to-day interactions that the bank creates value.
During the financial crisis customers’ and other stakeholders’ confidence in the bank was adversely affected. Customer satisfaction has decreased. Reversing this trend is the bank’s highest priority, and a number of initiatives have been launched to make this happen.
Swedbank has started to work on shaping its desired long-term positioning. Decision-making authority is being shifted closer to customers in order to make Swedbank an even more customer-oriented bank with a shared brand and shared values. This work will involve every part of the organisation and will continue for the next three to five years. A decentralised business model requires a greater degree of governance and monitoring and an effective coordination of processes within the bank.
Activities and development in 2009
Measures were introduced in 2009 to change the structure of the bank with the goal to shift decision-making authority to those with direct customer contact.
To facilitate decentralised decision-making, the degree of formalisation and monitoring was increased. Management structures and governance were reassessed at the same time as Group management was strengthened to increase the focus on risk management and communication. In addition, Group-wide processes were strenghtened.
During the year an organisational level was eliminated in Swedish Banking. At the same time regional managers were given a greater mandate and are now members of Swedbank’s Senior Management. This means that the bank can place even greater focus on building strong, committed relationships based on qualified advice. Similar work is under way in Baltic Banking. A shift is now being made to a more decentralised organisation where competence and authority are close to the customer. Country managers are also members of the Senior Management.
A number of initiatives were introduced to improve the customer offering, strengthen employee skills and free up time for more customer meetings at the local branches. The bank’s offerings are being enhanced to ensure quality, simplicity and profitability. Training programmes covering all central areas are being updated as well. Through their personal advisor, the customer should feel fully confident in the bank’s services, systems, control routines and problem-solving abilities, so that the bank’s comprehensiveness becomes an asset. The efforts to free up time for customer meetings will continue in 2010, including by strengthening administrative support for local branches and the Telephone Bank.
