But BNZ says sales targets do not involve incentives, meant to set clear goals
Employees at the Bank of New Zealand are unhappy about a new policy that a union described as a "misery for staff," according to local media.
Stuff reported that BNZ introduced sales targets late last year, which set a minimum target for frontline bankers in recommending products and services to customer and minimum conversion rates for the proportion of those recommendations that must turn into actual sales.
According to the report, staff have been complaining anonymously about the introduction of the policy, citing the pressure it puts on them.
"Frontline staff are becoming unethical towards customers as they have pressure to meet these scorecards, and to avoid being performance-managed, are pressuring customers with unnecessary products," one banker told Stuff on condition of anonymity.
First Union, which represents over 29,000 workers across New Zealand, added that the bank sales targets were "making life a misery for staff.”
According to the union, employees who failed to reach their targets were facing risks related to their employment. These conditions are then prompting employees to "up-sell" products that their consumers don't need, First Union general secretary Dennis Maga said in Stuff.
'Reintroduction' of old policy
The sales targets are believed to be a policy that was previously halted between 2018 and 2019, where bonuses for frontline staff were linked to hitting sales targets.
Previous research has suggested that bonus schemes and putting workers under "pointless stress" doesn’t necessarily work.
The previously policy at BNZ was halted following backlash from authorities, who claimed it worked against consumers.
But the bank told Stuff that their latest sales targets did not involve incentives, stressing that the goal was to set clear goals. The bank added that feedback from frontline bankers were also positive.
One of the bankers said there was a "massive disconnect" between the bank's management and frontline staff. They also described the bank's way of reintroducing the policy as "complete horseshit."
"The targets in the past artificially influenced the way in which staff engaged with customers. They were taken away for very good reasons. I'm sorry to see them come back," the banker told Stuff.
The news of BNZ's latest policy came after a copy of the bank's code of conduct for employees was unveiled by Stuff in a separate report.