FSU INQUIRY INTO
TARGETS
WORKLOADS
STAFFING @ CBA
INTRODUCTION
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) is the biggest, most successful and most profitable
bank in Australia. The people who make the bank so successful, the employees who
work tirelessly in bank branches, call centres, IT and the back office are under pressure
to deliver bigger profits every year.
In response to repeated, nationwide reports of workers at CBA experiencing stress at work, the Finance Sector Union (FSU)
conducted an Inquiry into targets, workloads and staffing during May 2014.
The Inquiry asked CBA Group employees to share their experiences of meeting their targets, what staffing and workloads are like
in their workplace and wether staffing or workloads assist or hinder their efforts to reach their targets. FSU asked CBA employees to
tell us about any personal impacts both at work and outside work.
In just four weeks 800 workers from right across the CBA Group in all parts of the country responded and shared their experiences
and views. The FSU thanks all of the CBA workers who took the time to contribute to the Inquiry. Here are the findings:
TARGETS
Targets are a way of setting performance
expectations and measuring the extent to which
employees meet those expectations. At CBA, targets
are set arbitrarily, without consultation and without
seeking employees’ agreement. The FSU asked
workers who are currently meeting their targets
about the lengths they go to in order to do so.
Linking targets to remuneration has resulted in broken pay models in banking
and finance and an erosion of trust in the industry.
This FSU member from Victoria hits the nail on the head with his comment:
Do you know how
your targets are set?
47+53
No
52.91%
Yes
47.09%
Commission based performance measures was wrong when it was first introduced in 1996 and is still wrong and broken in 2014.
How many fixes, how many band-aid measures does this system have to go through for the executive to realise this is a broken
system that can’t be repaired? It is at least permanently broken but more accurately, totally inappropriate for the banking and
finance industry, which is based on a trust service not consumables.
As a consequence of the current system of remuneration the banking and finance industry has been brought into ill-repute with the
industry facing a Senate Inquiry and ASIC investigations.
How can front line staff be expected to get it right when the executive, by its own admission, has the bank, the policy and
procedures, the IT systems, the fundamental tools and equipment that we rely on to competently do our jobs on permanent CIP?*
It is time the executive acknowledge that this is a broken business model that can’t be fixed or justified any longer. Like NASA and the
Shuttle space program another alternative has to be found as what we have now is not working.
*CIP: Continuous Improvement Program
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TARGETS (CONT’D)
What do CBA employees do in order meet targets and performance expectations?
Do you feel stressed about
achieving your targets?
Unpaid overtime, additional hours
Eroding customer service
24.4%
Bullying
Unpaid overtime, additional hours
To achieve targets, I start about 30 to 40 mins earlier and do not
take my 20 min break. Most people work through their breaks
to meet targets and we keep quiet because we don’t want to
appear incompetent.
NSW
The staff in our office are finding it increasingly difficult to
keep up with all the changes being implemented at present
and the micro-management which has crept in. Many of us
who are on contract and do not get paid overtime are working
well beyond core hours on a daily basis. This includes several
working weekends just to keep up with client issues and bank
requirements. It is very overwhelming and with end of financial
year creeping up we do not see it getting any better.
VIC
To meet my targets myself and many other staff members work
overtime most days, a lot of the time unpaid. I do this to reduce
stress for the next day as without the overtime the next day
would be started on the back foot. I feel our hours are designed
for the perfect scenario which is rarely the case.
SA
Yes
75.6%
Impact on family and community life
We work overtime – without being paid. If they bothered to
check when people log on and log out they would see a huge
discrepancy in the standard core working hours. Most of my
section work at least an hour per day of overtime on a regular
basis, sometimes more because they put challenges in place and
to try and even meet these is impossible in standard hours.
NSW
76+24
No
Negative impact on health and wellbeing
When we give our sales sheets to our manager at the end of the
day, he only wants to know how much revenue we have got.
I finish work at 4.00pm and 5.00pm on a Friday, but I have to
stay back to catch up on work and scan docs - no overtime paid.
Sometimes I get stuck with a client that has come in just before
4.00pm, but I end up serving until around 4.20pm - no overtime
paid. The worst part is when we are called for a “huddle” after
4.00pm or after 5.00pm - no overtime paid. We are very stressed
at my branch.
VIC
As far as overtime there have been staff that have worked up
to 8hrs overtime in one week with no compensation as it is at
manager’s discretion. Fair - not at all. Time has been lost with
family, the work atmosphere has deteriorated with fatigue.
Really what is adequate about this?
NSW
Just got home at 9pm after leaving work at 8pm. New
technology causing major issues with maintenance, often due
to client errors. This leaves no time to do real work which then
impacts on turnaround time for clients. I finished at 9pm last
Friday. None of this is “paid” overtime because I “chose “ to
stay. Staff today were stressed probably due to communication
breakdown but not a lot of happy campers in my workplace.
They have reduced our CSR* numbers and queues have
increased. It’s all about the dollars these days. I can’t even claim
the cost of home laundering of branch tea towels. What a joke!
SA
*CSR: Customer Service Representative
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TARGETS (CONT’D)
Unpaid overtime, additional hours (cont’d)
The majority of the time its things like taking 10 minutes for
lunch (or enough time to eat my sandwich) to complete work on
time. Other times it’s staying back after work to get things done.
QLD
In my branch overtime is never discussed. As a CSS*, life is a
little easier as I am not responsible for cash. However, our 1
fulltime teller has a different life. She is expected to stay until
the cash is balanced, regardless of the time. I have heard it said
“that’s her job”, a little unfair when everyone in the branch is a
teller everyday.
QLD
Every single Friday I’m rostered for a 30min meal break and
am never offered it. It’s not even ever added to the daily
schedule. That’s EVERY WEEK.
SA
Came in to work on days off to complete work where the
usual time has not permitted on a day to day basis.
NSW
*CSS: Customer Service Specialist
Eroding customer service
I am doing between 3 and 4 hours of unpaid overtime every
week on top of my scheduled 40 hours (which I am only paid
for 38 hours). For example the other week I was there until 5:45
trying to get work done which involved sales and following up
with clients. That same day I didn’t get lunch until 3pm with
no break whatsoever throughout the day. Today I did an hour’s
overtime because I was required to fund loans for other staff
members that I get nothing for (this was requested by the
manager at 5:15pm which is half an hour after finishing time)
and then was not able to leave until after 5:30. I try to leave on
time everyday but always get called back to do work.
QLD
44+56
Did you have to work overtime to achieve your
targets in the last financial year?
No
55.5%
Yes
44.5%
I have noticed in the past 2-3 years the pressure to reach
targets, more so in the past 12 months. Every meeting and
focus is around boosting “bundling” with customers (ie sell
them more than one product) so the more you bundle to
more “revenue” you create (which is what I believe the bank is
shifting its targets to rather than points per product). So when
you get the perfect customer whereby they may have a need
for a particular product, where you used to mention it and let
the client decide if they needed it, you now feel pressured to
convince the client that they need this.
QLD
As far as what people are doing to achieve targets, I recently
discovered “again”a case where staff have falsified credit
applications. This is widespread in our area. This was bought
to the attention of our Area office, they already knew about
it. My question to the person I spoke to was, is this not fraud?
Don’t we get dismissed for this conduct? No satisfactory answer
was given, “leave it with me” I was told. When people are
under pressure to achieve targets they will do these things. Not
enough support given by managers to help people refine their
skills to enable them to reach targets without committing fraud.
QLD
Overtime is not paid. Our branch has old TCR machines that are
delaying balancing quite regularly and thus making us have to
stay back. CBA is too worried about trying to get the customers
out of the branch and if it doesn’t mean a sale they don’t care
about service.
VIC
I just do the best that I am can every day. We are up against
a huge stream of people, and are told to work quickly.
Then we get a rundown each week of our lost opportunities very soul destroying.
WA
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TARGETS (CONT’D)
Negative impact on health and wellbeing
Sadly the decay of the CBA is upon us. In my
branch there is not one staff member that
feels satisfied with their job. I for one meet
my targets by staying late up to 6.30pm
without overtime, coming in when I am so
sick I can hardly walk, once coming straight
from an overnight stay in hospital. Not only
is it targets, we are so understaffed that a
day away affects everyone, so I feel I can’t
be sick.
QLD
We are consistently asked to take short
lunch breaks of 30mins to be able to cover
the workload and then we are constantly
hounded to do more. Reached stretched
targets and this week although the branch
reached 18K revenue against 10800 plan we
were told it still wasn’t good enough. I am
tired, I have cold sores all the time, I am so
close to tears and I am actually reaching my
targets. How are people coping who aren’t?
QLD
The targets and pressure were just too
much for me so I resigned. I just worked as
hard as I could to make target because I felt
my job was on the line. My manager always
asked “Well, what have you done today if
you didn’t make any revenue?”
NSW
Targets at CBA are extremely stressful.
I currently have a health issue that is not
helped by stress.
VIC
Just because a staff member may
achieve one out of approximately 15 KPI
performance measures does not mean that
the work place is free from excessive stress
and overwhelmed staff.
WA
I felt that if I didn’t take time off I’d be a
complete and utter wreck.
VIC
Stress comes from forgetting to do things
and waking up at 3am in the morning
remembering.
QLD
I take one day at a time and try not to stress
about not meeting my target for that day.
But subconsciously, I get upset and cannot
get a good night’s sleep, thinking what I
missed that day.
VIC
This is a ridiculously busy branch with
only 4 staff. I get no time to follow up
with customers or do lead contacts. I am
constantly being asked why didn’t I do
this for that client or that for another? It
seriously feels like harassment. I know
my manager is getting hounded by
people above him but it is getting to the
point where I am about to give up. This is
responsible for my severe depression, and
my anxiety and panic attacks.
QLD
I’m always tired, always moody about
I have good weeks and bad weeks, but
work, I lay in bed for 2 hours every single
lately I have more bad weeks than good.
night wondering how I am going to get my
Trying to meet our targets causes me to be
sales targets for the week and then have
anxious, stressed, moody and frustrated. It
nightmares about home loan referrals and
is not difficult for me to talk to customers
personal loans. I want to make myself sick
about any products, but the issue here is our just so I don’t have to go into work. It is
customer base, who are mostly unemployed beyond stupid.
and pensioners....so getting any good
QLD
revenue is so hard to reach.
VIC
I lose sleep, I am stressed and many nights
have driven home crying. Yet the staff at our
branch are some of the lucky ones. We do
not get bullied as much as some others.
VIC
Stress levels are extreme. People in my
branch feel anxious and nauseous just
going to work (me included). People
regularly work through tea breaks. The only
afternoon break we get is on a Friday if it
isn’t too busy (most often it is too busy). I
often cut my lunch break in order to catch
up on follow-ups and the like.
VIC
Every day I wake up and wonder if I should
call in sick because this sick feeling in the
pit of my stomach is still lingering knowing
as much as we try, we are going to be
spoken at with disgust when we don’t make
targets again.
NSW
It is becoming more and more exhausting
trying to get targets and with the stress our
CES* is dropping. I find that when someone
is either sick or on an RDO or annual leave,
this is one less person to compete with to
get that referral/sale. Everyone’s position
is much more important than helping
someone else, because helping someone
makes you unavailable for the next person
who may want to open an account, take out
a loan, apply for a credit card..... We are not
a happy place.
NSW
When things are hard at work I go home
stressed and that means someone in my
family will get the blame.
NSW
Micro managing and constant pressure to
sell impacts me and the overall service I
provide and also creates stress and anxiety.
NSW
*CES: Customer Experience Survey
4
TARGETS (CONT’D)
Bullying
My target is 25 points but the manager only cares about the profit
of which I am expected to get $1000 per week. I can get the points
most weeks but that doesn’t matter, I don’t meet anywhere near
profit target. I have had no official training to complete self-sales,
just shown by other staff. When you are the only one that cannot
contribute to the “team” $$ it makes you feel bloody awful,
especially when it’s on the whiteboard!
QLD
I hate the new visual boards and they make it feel like a board of
shame if you have not hit your revenue for the week.
VIC
The pressures at the moment are getting bad. I found myself
getting caught in depression again. Before starting at the bank
I considered myself a very strong person so when I hit the wall
again 2 weeks ago with all the pressure that is put on us at work I
couldn’t believe it. I find myself all of a sudden becoming a crying
mess and not able to think. My husband can’t believe that I am the
same person. With the help of my husband he can pull me back to
a working state but I just can’t cope with a lot of things anymore.
NSW
In regards to targets, we have the manager stand behind us to
ensure we are tagging customers on the system which makes it
uncomfortable for customers as well as for us. I work at a small
country branch where a lot of our customers are regulars so it
is very hard to tag on to the same customers all the time. The
manager never seems to be happy even if the branch gets more
than 100% which is most of the time. Unless we are at 150%
of target she is not happy. If we don’t get our targets we are
threatened with losing our jobs (threatened with this at least once
a week), or told we aren’t going to get a bonus.
VIC
In my branch, it is expected we get to work at 8:20am even though
we start at 8:30am. We get in trouble/receive “a talking to” if we
actually turn up to work on time. It has actually made me and
other staff members cry a lot of times.
QLD
Impact on family and community life
Most staff meet their targets. But there is more to it than just
meeting targets. Due to high targets, staff including myself are
stressed. I am a mum to two young children and as bad as this
sounds and as much I don’t want to admit it, it is my family that
suffers. After a long day at work I find myself too stressed and
exhausted as the constant thought in my mind is, how do I give the
bank what they are asking for? How do I reach my targets? At home
my patience is short, I am not in the mood to play with my kids.
I am often short tempered and find myself exploding at small
things. It all started when work pressures got too much.
QLD
I talk to friends and acquaintances on my time off for home loans. I
get paid until 4.15pm but stay longer on my own time to complete
follow ups as do not get time during the day when staff are either
sick or on holidays as no relief is provided.
VIC
My daughter [is impacted] because I never leave on time and I’m a
single mum and she is eleven.
NSW
I answer customer queries at the pub, club, social events, meetings
etc. I am the face of the bank 24 hours 7 days a week.
WA
68+32
Are your targets impacting on you right now?
No
31.56%
Yes
68.44%
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STAFFING
CBA employees report that there is often not enough staff to do all of the work, that
they are often pressured to come into work when sick and that the bank is cutting the
working hours of thousands of frontline workers. 60% of inquiry respondents said there is
inadequate staffing of CBA workplaces.
Are there adequate numbers of staff
for the work that needs to be done in
your workplace?
39+61
No
60.75%
Yes
39.25%
At the moment, we have lost our assistant manager, 1 CSS* and
our Concierge to other branches or holidays. There is no relief,
but we must still cope. The branch is still expected to get a 10 for
service.
QLD
I could count the times on two hands I have had my 10 min break
in the morning and 10 min break in the afternoon. It’s not because
the management don’t permit it, it’s because there are never
enough bums on seats to serve the customers.
QLD
The other issue is lack of staff, when one is on annual leave or
sick, lately no replacement for that person, so one would be
working on both sides, CSR* and CSS. When we are able to refer a
customer, he or she will be asked to wait because all CSS are busy,
so this customer will just walk out the door....then we miss that
opportunity.
VIC
In the days that the branch was fully staffed, we had our best
sales days. Now, there is no “fat” in the staffing to properly cover
leave. Someone gets transferred and they leave your branch yet
the replacement has to finish 2-3 weeks at their old branch before
they can start with you. Then someone gets sick or takes leave and
all of a sudden we are asked to all pitch in and make do. It feels
like we are operating in “crisis mode” 90% of the time. It takes
several days to catch up. Yet, if we had enough staff to cover the
“crisis”, our sales figures would go up, CES* scores reflect it and
things run so much more smoothly. We might even get our breaks!
QLD
The bank has cut staff. We are made to take customers to the ATM
or show them how to use the internet instead of us serving them
which is how you can hope to achieve your target.
VIC
We are struggling. With traffic in the branch and the last year’s
hours cuts have found us pumping customers through one after
the other. We are so busy we don’t even have the time to take our
breaks let alone tag on or create interest. When we do spend the
time we usually get the hurry on from management. If we take
our time the other things in our branch fall behind, like quickcash
bags and ATM deposits that get put aside and then there’s me...the
fulltime teller stuck with it all at 4pm.
VIC
*CSS: Customer Service Specialist
*CSR: Customer Service Representative
We are so under staffed that in our branch we are constantly under
pressure not only to meet our targets but also most days just to
serve the overwhelming number of queuing customers constantly
in front of us. We are asked to encourage customers to self-serve
so we can create capacity and then told if we don’t utilise our
capacity hours will be cut. It is an impossible situation.
SA
I think there definitely needs to be a change in the banks
mentality towards staffing and targets. At least give us the man
hours to achieve target in a manner which doesn’t have such a
negative effect on our workplace rights and our general wellbeing.
SA
*CES: Customer Experience Survey
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WORKLOADS
In 2013 CBA reported that full
time equivalent job numbers
at the bank had dropped by
1200. That means there are
fewer employees to do the work.
Workloads have increased along
with targets and expectations,
to the point where CBA
employees are expected to
do more with less.
As our branch’s big focus is revenue, then things like FHC’s* come in second.
There is only so much time in the day, but if you don’t complete those too,
then you are in trouble.
QLD
Often the things you have to do for the customer cannot all be done while
they are there in front of you and a lot of what’s required to finalise product
sales, loans, authorities etc., for compliance gets done after the doors close.
QLD
It’s too hard to leave a banking chamber full of clients to go to the loo, put
your feet up for 10 mins and have a stretch. You think you will just clear the
queue but it is never-ending. Before you know it break time has passed and
the lunch hours have started.
QLD
*Financial Health Check
RECOMMENDATIONS
The experiences of CBA staff outlined in this report highlight the fact that there is work
to be done in order to make CBA a better place to work.
Recommendations based on the report are that:
Targets be delinked from pay outcomes.
CBA complete an audit of the level of unpaid overtime occurring in all business units.
CBA impose an immediate moratorium on the reduction of part time hours that is occurring across the retail network.
CBA conduct a comprehensive education campaign so that employees understand their rights and entitlements.
The FSU conduct a compliance campaign to ensure that the rights of employees of the CBA Group are being applied appropriately.
Finance Sector Union of Australia Authorised by Leon Carter, National Secretary / June 2014
Phone: 1300 366 378 (Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm AEDT) | FSU Website: www.fsunion.org.au | Email: [email protected]
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