RETAIL DELIVERY SPECIAL REPORT PART II
5Who Fight to Win
On the Front Lines - Continued
BY KENNETH CLINE
RICHARD L. CARRION
PRESIDENT AND CEO,
POPULAR INC.
“IF YOUR FOLKS ARE NOT FEELING HAPPY AND GOOD ABOUT WHAT THEY DO, ARE NOT IN TUNE WITH THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE ORGANIZATION, IT'S GOING TO BE IMPOSSIBLE TO GIVE GOOD SERVICE.”
W
HAT ARE YOUR MAJOR CUSTOMER GROUPS?
CARRION: They vary according to what we’re doing with the bank here in Puerto Rico and on the mainland.
Here in Puerto Rico, where we have, without a doubt, the strongest retail franchise, we address all segments. We look at our distribution system and our product offerings and we try to tailor them to each segment of the market, from the most highly sophisticated wealth management offerings for wealthy individuals to the most bare bones, lifeline banking packages.
So in Puerto Rico, we strive to be all things to all people. That requires a lot of discipline in terms of segment strategy and developing product bundles around these segments and the best distribution system for each segment.
AND ON THE MAINLAND?
CARRION:
On the mainland, we focus more on the small and middle market commercial side. Our retail strategy is really built around the branch itself. To effectively compete against the banking giants, we focus on service and relationships, what we call “customer intimacy.” And we do quite a bit of segmenting. We’re focused on doing a lot of direct mail drops around each individual branch and getting people to come in.
WHAT'S YOUR PRIMARY PROBLEM IN DISTRIBUTION? ACQUIRING CUSTOMERS? RETAINING CUSTOMERS?
CARRION:
The major challenge is establishing the relationship. Once the relationship is established, we find we do a pretty good job of nurturing and growing it.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE "CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP" AT BANCO POPULAR?
CARRION:
We measure relationships by the number of different products the customer has with us. How we approach that, again, varies somewhat by market. In Puerto Rico, we have a more comprehensive portfolio of products and services.
ON THE MAINLAND, ARE YOU FOCUSED LARGELY ON SPANISH-SPEAKING CUSTOMERS?
CARRION:
Roughly half our customers are non-Hispanic, which really reflects where we're located. Obviously, our name is better known in Hispanic neighborhoods. But in Los Angeles, we have two branches in a predominantly Korean neighborhood, where our sign says "Banco Popular" in Korean. In Chicago, we have a branch in a heavily Polish neighborhood and signs and brochures in Polish. So we tend to reflect the neighborhoods we're in.
ON THE FRONT LINES, DO YOU FOCUS MORE ON SALES OR SERVICE?
CARRION: I hope they’re not mutually exclusive, because if they are, you’re going to make a lot of sales and not hold onto them.
But we probably lean more toward sales. While we mea-
sure the service side, obviously, we have many incentive pro-
grams aimed specifically at the cross-sell ratio and we take it
down to the region and to the individual branch. Beyond certain minimums, the incentives kick in and they’re pro-gressive. The cross-sell ratio is a key target.
BANKS TYPICALLY HAVE A LOT OF TURNOVER ON THE FRONT LINES. HOW DO YOU COMBAT THAT AND IMPROVE EMPLOYEE MORALE?
CARRION: I could wax eloquently for hours on this one. We’re one of the 100 best companies to work for, according to Fortune. We do spend quite a bit of time on employee morale. We do employee surveys, both on a very formal, overall basis, and on a very informal, “brownbag lunch” basis, where we’ll sit down and chat.
We put a lot of emphasis on what our folks are feeling. There are a lot of meetings, a lot of communications, at all levels of the organization. For example, we have some peculiar things we’ve instituted for decades. We will hold every month, on a Wednesday, what we call a “birthday lunch.” Everybody whose birthday falls on that month will get invited. We take advantage of that to do an informal survey that the employees hand in. Most of our senior managers receive the answers the following morning. That way we can monitor employees’ feedback continuously and proactively address situations.
We also celebrate the bank’s anniversary where men wear yellow ties and women come in dressed in yellow. We hand out yellow cupcakes to the customers. I always tell people, when you feel okay about doing hokey things, you know it’s working . And we feel fine.
WHY IS KEEPING EMPLOYEES HAPPY SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
CARRION:
Because it’s very hard to give good service with
unhappy employees. I would say it’s impossible. If your folks
are not feeling happy and good about what they do, are not in tune with the overall objectives of the organization, it’s going to be impossible to give good service.
So we spend a lot of time communicating what we’re doing. I carry with me a little card which folds out and describes the main thrust of all our strategy and values. Every employee in the organization has that card.
I think it’s important for everybody, from teller to high ranking executive, to know the overall direction of the company. If people know where you’re going, they’ll help you get there — particularly if they feel good about the organization.
OVERALL, WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR FRONTLINE CHALLENGE OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO?
CARRION:
It’s improving the sales skills of our folks while, at the same time, handling the regulatory burden, which has become quite large in the past few years. Our folks really have to be compliance experts, while at the same time they have to be tremendous salespeople.
Meanwhile, technology is changing and the product mix is getting more diverse. You have to be knowledgeable in all those areas and still make budget.
BAI Retail Delivery Conference & Expo:
Carrion will speak on focusing on customer needs and
consistent message delivery, Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 4:30 p.m.
INTERVIEWS: 5 WHO FIGHT TO WIN 'ON THE FRONT LINES'
5 WHO FIGHT TO WIN INTRO
RICHARD C. HARTNACK
BENJAMIN P. JENKINS III
DOUGLAS K. FREEMAN
RICHARD L. CARRION
M. MEHDI GHOMESHI
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