Bank Staff Want Apps to Aid Workload, Survey Finds

Most banks are still operating without task management and employee scheduling apps, despite high demand from staff, according to research from Zebra Technologies.

In its third annual International Branch Banking Employee Survey, Zebra Technologies found nearly 80% of banks were operating without such a software solution.

According to the report, this is resulting in inaccurate scheduling of branch staff with risks also posed to security and compliance.

The survey of 1,300 branch staff across 10 countries revealed that 95% of bank employees would prefer to manage their schedules via an app.

Currently, only 38% of respondents confirmed they could request shift swaps with their mobile devices, for example.

This lack of mobile solutions is already having detrimental impacts, according to Zebra Technologies’ report. One in three survey respondents said current scheduling processes made them less satisfied, while 20% admitted to even considering leaving their role as a result.

Scheduling inefficiencies are having an impact at a management level as well. The majority of branch banking field leaders polled in the survey reported spending up to 10 hours a week assisting with scheduling, with 60% still relying on manual scheduling processes.

Ensuring there are enough staff working during high volume periods is an important part of a branch’s overall productivity.

Most branch managers (84%) said current forecasts were only “occasionally” accurate to predict volume and help with scheduling, with 55% admitting they did not have customer appointments fully integrated into these forecasts.

The digitization shortfall comes despite a significant shift towards technology from banks of all sizes across the US. Many have employed new core operating systems as well as artificial intelligence or machine learning technology to make customer-facing processes more efficient.