CBA puts focus on service, not sales

The Commonwealth Bank is continuing its recent charm offensive by changing how it pays its frontline staff. Rather than offering tellers financial incentives to make sales, the new system will reward the delivery of superior customer service in CBA branches.

Commonwealth Bank executive general manager, Angus Sullivan, said that the change is intended to help make banking fairer, simpler and more transparent for customers:

“Customers can be confident that our tellers are not being paid to sell them products.”

“The new remuneration plan will support and encourage our teams to have better quality conversations with customers, understand their needs and provide the best possible service.”

“This will further strengthen our customer focus and align the way we reward our people with industry standards and community expectations.”

This remuneration update is one of several actions recommended by the Sedgwick Review (commissioned by the Australian Bankers Association earlier this year) to transform Australia’s banking industry culture. According to CBA, the bank plans to implement the Review’s other recommendations by 2020.

CBA’s national branch network currently employs approximately 2000 customer service representatives, whose move onto the new remuneration plan will be backdated to 1 July 2017. Similarly, 200 Bankwest branch tellers are set to move onto a customer-focused payment structure as of 1 October 2017.

This remuneration update comes on the back of a series of recent initiatives from the CBA, such as introducing a new low-rate credit card and eliminating ATM fees, to win back public favour in the wake of a series of scandals.

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