A previous look at one particular bank branch showed that it came close to serving 85% of their customers in less than 5 minutes.  On the surface, they appear to be meeting their corporate objectives with little room for improvement by using the tactics recommended by Brickstream. 

However, when we dig a little deeper to understand when the branch is delivering good service and when it is delivering poor service, we find that there are many opportunities to improve service at this branch.  In one month in 2004, the branch served 83% of their customers in 5 minutes or less, however, this average is pulled up by 100% target adherence during the many slow periods of the month.  Over the month the Branch failed to meet the 85% target in 30% of the 1 hour periods (indicated by the red-highlighted blocks in the chart below).  There were many days like Mondays and Fridays that had sub-5 minute service experiences of much less than 85%, ranging from 56% to 79% service success rate.





















By “managing to the averages” it is easy to believe that all is being done to produce reasonable customer service.  In the case of this branch, there is an enormous opportunity to reduce the wait time experienced by the high value customers it serves during these sub par periods.

Since average teller service time is already lower than other system branches, there is less room for improvement through simple tactics.  A more effective strategy at this branch might be to employ some of the incremental tactics such as:

• Monitor compliance to staffing model to demonstrate need to comply.
• Make adjustments to staffing model assumptions.
• Perform intra-minute staffing adjustments.
• Integrate well stocked check writing desks into queues, decreasing the perceived wait time while producing better prepared customers, and decreasing teller service time.
• Identify transaction type and teller performance - By developing a greater understanding of transaction mix in the branch, there could be opportunities to staff certain times of the week when more complex transactions are expected with more experienced teller.
• Open transaction specific windows during certain peak periods for complex transactions. 

Creative branch managers can effectively manage this intra-minute staffing when provided the necessary management information.

Though it appears that this branch is performing well, a focus on intra-day performance and its drivers can reap large increases in annual revenue.  Improved utilization, improved teller service time, and the referrals that result from improved customer satisfaction, can add more than $135K per year to this high value branch's bottom line.