Citibank has been a prosperous financial institution for more than 180 years. One of the key components that has made this institution very successful is their focus in offering a personalized banking experience integrated with great customer service, providing higher profitability. However, in the California division, the financial targets became more important throughout the years, leaving behind the importance of customer satisfaction. It is now the main focus of the California division to improve on customer satisfaction ratings before their financials catch up with the number of complaints that have been received in various branches. .
In 1995, the California division of Citibank decided to implement a new performance scorecard to measure more efficiently the performance of various divisions within the company and how those performances aligned with the strategic goals of the division. Since performance scorecards were filled out by the employee's immediate supervisor, this would also serve as a basis for determining an employee's bonus opportunity. One of the new metrics highlighted in the performance scorecard was customer satisfaction. Lisa Johnson, the Los Angeles area manager, was put in a tough spot when she had to evaluate James McGaran. .
James McGaran is the manager of the flagship office of Citibank in the Los Angeles area which also happens to be the most important of Citibank's 31 branches. He delivered impressive financial results for four years in a row, exceeding expectations every single year. But when customer satisfaction was included as a decision parameter, it was evident that James did not fare very well on that front. The new criteria for employee evaluation are as follows:.
• Financial Measures: Focused on total revenue and profits.
• Strategy Implementation: Tracked revenue from a particular segment relevant to the bank's strategy.
• Customer Satisfaction: Emphasized long term association with customers using feedback gathered through surveys.