The bank-to-client relationship: empathy when “high impact decisions” are made
Personal relationships remain crucial for any bank-to-client relationship. When making critical
decisions, retail clients (e.g. Mortgage loans) and corporate clients (e.g. Complex financing
instruments) alike will need professional, personalised advice. If “basic services” performed
by robots will quickly become convenient to use and error-free, the personal bank-to-client
relationship will gain even more relevance as a major differentiating factor.
To deliver comprehensive advice in those high impact situations, two capabilities are indispensable:
a high degree of empathy and a holistic understanding and knowledge of the products available
to find the best possible solution to a client’s problem (supported by technology). In practice,
today, it is rare to find both these capabilities in one and the same person. However, as this job
profile is becoming increasingly important, banks will have to find ways to train large parts of
their workforce to acquire these skills.
They will have to see how and where the few “all-rounders”
within the organisation can add the most value and to work out how technology-aided processes
can be made available to all employees.
EU Forecast
euf:b.a18b:96/nws-01