Establish a Structure that Supports a Culture of Efficiency

In the last of our three-part series about efficiency, we will touch on three ways to establish a structure that supports a culture of efficiency at your FI.  

Efficiency goals should be born out of benchmarks. The FI can pick one or two they want to focus on, establish what success looks like and how their goals will be measured and reported.

“We say that creating a cultural change requires a disruption, and an efficiency project can be that disruption for an FI,” said Mikelle Brady, PRI partner. “Once you have created the disruption, you must have the structure in place to support the changes you’re trying to make.”

Assign a recordkeeper.

This person is responsible for guiding the FI through the efficiency plan implementation, keeping the project moving, assigning end dates, delegating responsibilities, and keeping records of milestones to determine if the project is on track and achieving the stated goals.

Recordkeepers could be trained project managers, but more importantly, they should be excellent communicators with strong administrative skills who are well liked by people across the organization.

Report results companywide.

When an FI wants to make a culture change around efficiency, the reporting of results should be seen by everyone in the company, not just senior management. FI leaders help create buy-in to goals when every employee understands where the organization is in terms of efficiency, and where it wants to go. Good communication is critical. 

“There are all kinds of ways to communicate, including CEO emails, intranet newsletters or podcasts, but the key is that there must be communication that works well for the FI’s culture,” Brady said. “It’s important to have ways to highlight specific shining moments when team members make suggestions that save money or bring in revenue.”

Establish rewards programs.

Rewards programs at multiple levels of the company can be as simple as candy or as impactful as direct financial compensation that reflects a team member’s individual contribution to a culture of efficiency. Rewards are most effective when they are available to everyone, not just at the management level. Creating a culture of efficiency requires every member of the team to contribute. 

Profit Resources specializes in identifying profitability improvement areas for financial institutions through revenue growth, cost control, streamlining processes, and effective use of technology. Contact us to learn more about our personalized approach to propel growth and improve profitability.