The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Operational decision · 1991–1996
KeyCorp's SEMS cut branch processing time 53% and $98M of payroll
KeyCorp measured teller work and wait times at 1,300 branches, then scheduled staff to arrivals: processing time fell 53% at a 3,500% internal rate of return.
KeyCorp
the move
KeyCorp ran a 1,300-branch banking franchise where customer service and productivity were managed without precise measurement. Since 1991 it developed the Service Excellence Management System (SEMS) to manage both at once.
SEMS models measured branch activities and produced reports on customer wait times and teller proficiency and productivity. Managers used them to identify re-engineering efforts, schedule staff to better match customer arrivals, and raise productivity and service together.
For branches using the models, customer processing time fell 53 percent; only four percent of customers waited more than five minutes; and at 94 percent of branches, 90 percent of customers waited less than five minutes. KeyCorp expected personnel savings of $98 million over five years, an internal rate of return of 3,500 percent.
why it works
- Measuring wait times made invisible service problems visible.
- Scheduling to customer arrivals cut staff without cutting service.
- Reports gave branch managers targets instead of opinions.
what transfers
Before adding staff, measure the work: quantifying wait times and teller productivity lets managers re-engineer and reschedule — a 53% processing cut at 3,500% return.
what came after
SEMS became part of how KeyCorp ran its branches, and the 1996 Interfaces Edelman special issue documented the models as a way to manage service and productivity together in retail banking.
references
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