How much truth can a bank employee "tolerate"?
The ECB is giving clear signals: interest rates are not turning. The banks' business model is losing money at an unprecedented rate. Many of our customers, very successful bank executives, are -justifiably- worried about their long-term business model.
Despite all this information, they still shy away from sharing "the whole truth" with their employees. The motive for this is caring! Clerks, account managers, group leaders at banks understand the changed framework conditions. But how dramatically and in the short term changes have to be implemented has hardly arrived yet. Dear management teams of banks: the only thing that helps: Communicate radical messages very directly to all employees in large groups. Make numbers transparent. Search for new profit potentials with the wisdom of the teams. Short-term, transparent, emphatic. Most employees respond very positively when the initial shock is digested. When you are "warned" you can get into action and act differently in the market. Having courage helps and is usually rewarded.
Kerstin Karuschkat
Founder & Managing Director