At a Glance
- A listed Asian foreign exchange bank initially engaged Renoir to conduct an analysis of the operational challenges and constraints within its branch network.
- The project continued with a 27-week implementation phase, during which key Management Control System and sales productivity initiatives were introduced and rolled out.
- By the end of the project, the bank had achieved a significant 80% improvement in sales representatives’ efficiency, resulting in a 50% improvement in productivity selling rate.
Key results
50%
improvement in productivity selling rate
80%
improvement in sales representatives’ efficiency
Background
Our client is a listed Asian foreign exchange bank that was originally set up to serve military veterans. It later converted to a commercial bank after obtaining a commercial banking license.
Today, the bank serves the mass market segment, which includes micro-, small- and medium-enterprises as well as the mass market. The bank has various financing business units to better serve this segment.
It also supports the consuming class and corporate segments with separate business units and a dedicated digital banking platform targeting national, multinational and Japanese companies.
Analysis
The company engaged Renoir to conduct an analysis of the operational challenges and constraints within its branch network. The key findings of the analysis were as follows:
Management Control System (MCS)
- Improvement actions discussed and agreed in meetings were not being followed through.
- There was a lack of control or review of the personal performance of Sales and Marketing Officers (SMOs), as the focus was at branch level.
- Numerous reports within the system were duplicative and some contained inaccuracies.
Sales Productivity
- There was a lack of day-to-day management system for planning and managing prospects.
- Conflicting roles and responsibilities between supervisors and branch management resulted in limited accountability for performance.
- Inadequate review mechanisms to monitor sales team performance.
- Inconsistent sales planning for both new and renewal accounts resulted in duplication of effort, missed opportunities, and consequently, lower productivity and poor conversion rates.
- Minimal supervisor’s intervention in the planning of prospect visits for SMOs.
- Most SMOs received little to no product training, resulting in questionable sales effectiveness.
- Operational targets and performance were not regularly tracked or reviewed, contributing to a lack of improvement.
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Project Approach
The project kicked off with Renoir’s Focus Process® for the first 13 weeks, followed by a 27-week implementation phase. A project team was formed, consisting of two Renoir consultants and 10 full-time Task Force members from the bank. The team carried out the implementation in five areas, covering 90 branches and 200 SMOs.
The composition of the Task Force included individuals from the bank to ensure cultural buy-in, a critical factor in the long-term success and sustainability of the project outcomes. Their involvement also proved instrumental in overcoming language and cultural challenges.
Throughout the Focus Process, several additional issues and concerns were identified:
- Confusion among SMOs due to monthly changes in incentives, especially among those who had not been updated by their supervisors.
- SMOs were often tasked with responsibilities beyond their job description, which limited their time for sales activities.
- The lack of zone segregation led to duplication of sales visits within a short period of time.
- The lack of standardised performance reporting across areas and branches hampered the ability to effectively monitor sales team performance.
“The Renoir team integrated themselves fully into the culture of our Organisation, and co-ordinated and drove the programme forward successfully.”
– Deputy President Director
Implementation
A steering committee, comprising key leaders from the executive team, conducted fortnightly reviews of key initiatives, issues and concerns. To ensure buy-in and ownership, the project team dedicated the first 13 weeks to identifying improvement opportunities through process mapping, management control system (MCS) mapping and workshops.
Processes were critiqued to identify areas for improvement, and the MCS was reviewed to identify missing and ineffective elements within the system. Other initiatives included:
- Designed a new sales MCS to improve operational transparency and promote a more consistent level of performance.
- Implemented an internal control system to address variances and ensure regular performance reviews to drive positive behavioural change.
- Improved sales planning processes and prospect management to ensure effective targeting of prospects and effective management of the existing portfolio lifecycle.
- Developed a training programme for SMOs to support the installed management systems and improve their capability and effectiveness.
- Designed audits for the installed systems to ensure behavioural change and sustainability.
- Restructured the organisation from a branch sales-focused model to a centralised sales organisation.
- Installed regional, area and branch level scorecards to increase operational transparency and target performance.
- Further developed existing performance reporting and implemented Productivity Selling Rate (PSR) and the sales representative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to capture operational sales performance.
- Designed span of control to facilitate efficient operation, taking into account geographic mix, number of customers and productivity performance.
- Mapped the zones of each area, cleaned up the customer database, and assigned them to sales representatives based on location.
- Ensured alignment of roles and responsibilities within the revised organisational structure and planned management system.
*We have intentionally omitted client-specific details to maintain strict confidentiality.
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