Given that bankers are steeped in the financial world, we thought a few financial statistics might help you get your day going. For instance, did you know that nearly 70% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck, or that 20% of consumers would not be able to make a mortgage, utility or credit card payment if they missed a paycheck? That isn't great news, but it does help some, when you think about underwriting your next loan or are evaluating funding sources and where they can go over time.
Speaking of things to know in the financial world, you might also find it interesting that 59% of employees say their company does not have a formal policy allowing employees to work remotely. As a bank, when you consider BCP planning, maybe that should be reconsidered as part of the plan. We do that and can tell you that by allowing employees to work a half day on a Friday, while testing backup systems from home, wearing slippers and sipping coffee, isn't a bad way to improve morale.
If working from home and BCP isn't really your thing, consider that studies show email subjects that have 34 or fewer (the portion underlined) characters in the subject line will get the highest click-through rates. The next time you are sending an email around the office or to a customer or potential customer, think about that and take the time to do a count. Then, consider adjusting it to adhere to the rule to get better response. It shouldn't hurt anything and maybe sales will follow.
For those data geeks out there, consider that studies find about 53% of banks say the data on their own systems is only average or worse. As such, about 70% say they currently have data clean-up initiatives either underway or planned. That isn't surprising when you consider industry stresses and a high interest in better pricing loans, managing risk, meeting regulatory requirements, understanding customer behaviors or just providing better reporting to management. Also of note in this area, research finds 23% of banks say their core systems are dated and uncompetitive, while 17% say they are highly likely to replace their systems within the next 3Ys to 5Ys.
When it comes to productivity, we have to tip our hat to Steve Jobs of Apple fame. New research finds that in the financial business, more customer-facing staff are leveraging tablet computers to increase business, enhance training and expand cross sell opportunities. In fact, surveys find nearly 42% of financial managers own tablets and 84% of those use an iPad. Of note, 60% use the iPad to access educational materials, 52% say it is helping them move to a more paperless environment, 50% said it improves client meetings and 49% said it boosts responsiveness to clients. Maybe it is time your bank considered arming customer-facing units with the latest and greatest tools (or at least testing them in branches) to see if you can get capture more customers or improve sales.
If your bank is still trying to figure out social media, consider studies find 59% of adults are now actively maintaining a profile or visiting social networking sites. In addition, if you wanted to leverage testimonials alone, think of the power of tapping into the statistic that more than 80% of Gen Y (age 16 to about 36) have an average of 220 friends on Facebook. If you still aren't sure you want to be bothered by the younger crowd, since they have no money, consider that 70% of all checking account customers have at least one type of social media connection.
Having a few pieces of trivia to dole out at lunchtime with coworkers will at least keep the conversation active, so we hope you now feel armed to eat your sandwich, prepared to drop some knowledge as needed to impress the crowd.