Is Your Team Suffering from ATDDD?

Lana J. Chandler
February 8, 2010 | COMMENTS

When employees say, “We can't do that,” “It's our policy,” or “We've always done it that way,” they are exhibiting symptoms of ATDDD – Attention to Detail Deficit Disease. This disease is insidious. It erodes employee behavior and curtails employee development, ultimately affecting client loyalty and satisfaction. If left unchecked, an outbreak can kill an organization.

“ATDDD is characterized by a persistent pattern of aloofness, sloppiness, lack of concern for appearance and an acute obsession with the bottom line over the value of the client,” observes Denise Wymore, Culture Consultant at Denise Wymore, LLC (Portland, Oregon). The disease can infect employees of all ages and job levels.

Being attentive to all the details that comprise the client experience is what largely distinguishes you from competitors. Details include:

• Welcoming clients to your branch as if they are guests in your home
• Being attentive when clients talk about their hobbies, special interests, family, etc. and remembering and referencing these personal facts in future interactions
• Responding to clients' needs accurately and promptly
• Being willing to “think out of the box” and offer viable solutions when you can't meet the client's initial request
• Using sound judgment and analysis to solve clients' problems
• Demonstrating empathy
• Genuinely caring about the client and listening effectively
• Putting people at ease
• Maintaining a physical facility that is clean, well lit, and in excellent repair

“Anytime you hear yourself saying things like ‘it's our policy' you surely have full-blown ATDDD,” Wymore says. “Ask yourself why you are saying this. Do you feel powerless? Are you afraid of getting in trouble? What would happen if you did make a decision on your own?”

How the Disease Starts

ATDDD is a highly contagious disease that can spread rapidly throughout an organization. The infecting agents, says Wymore, are:

Fear of Fraud

“If you're in the financial services business, you are in the fraud business. But when we suffer a loss, we often react in such a way that we begin to tear down the walls of trust, empowerment, and eventually service and caring. There's that feeling that somebody must pay, so the person that was the victim of the fraud will be taught a lesson. This person is usually the teller,” says Wymore.

“Show me a check cashing policy that eliminates fraud and I'll show you one that doesn't take checks,” Wymore says. “I believe that financial institutions need to recognize fraud as a regular business expense and budget for reasonable losses. And then as with any budget, if you stay within it . . . try not to dwell on it. Learn from it, of course, but allowing the random act of deception to drastically change the way you do business is not always prudent.”

Tip: When you're not authorized to give clients immediate access to funds, avoid negative language such as “I can't.” Keep the conversation focused on what you can do for the person such as a cash advance on a credit card or suggesting an ATM withdrawal. If people see you're willing to help and provide options, they appreciate that.

Too Much Red Tape

“The excessive writing of policies and procedures tend to break down the empowerment of employees. When employees no longer have to ‘think' for themselves but rather can hide behind arbitrary rules, details are overlooked,” Wymore continues. “Details like, ‘I've been a member of this credit union for 25 years and my father was one of the founders, so you probably shouldn't put a hold on the $25 deposit I'm making.'”

Apathy

As the leader, if you don't emphasize immediately and frequently the importance of the basics of client service – acknowledging people, smiling, thanking them for their business – you encourage apathy. “It's really the branch manager's job to lead by enthusiastic example,” emphasizes Wymore.

Can Be Deadly

ATDDD is a serious condition because it erodes morale, challenges loyalty and eventually costs the institution money. It affects the bottom line in ways that are not easily measured. “On average 1% of your clients will commit some type of fraud against you. Ninety-nine percent are good, decent people just trying to run their errand,” Wymore says. “If we focus solely on that 1%, we are penalizing 99% of our profits. Think about it. You budget for loss, but do you measure repeat business? Do you actively look for ways to ‘wow' clients when they are running the errand?”

Each time an employee interacts with a client is a moment of truth. Most branches have thousands of these moments every working day. “If our primary focus is on following the rules – rather than building relationships – we are not practicing what I call loyalty economics,” says Wymore.

ATDDD can be deadly, especially in an economy like this. Think of some of the companies that have closed their doors in the last year. Is there one you can think of that makes you say, “Wow! I can't believe they are gone! They were so good!” “The companies that have collapsed were so disease ridden their immune systems were gone and the slightest change in consumer behavior caused them to flat line,” says Wymore.

ATDDD is highly contagious. Once the disease has spread to an entire teller line, for example, new employees will immediately be infected. “It begins in the training room – the official rules – and then escalates when the ‘street rules' are laid down,” Wymore says. “There's a reason it's been dubbed teller row. Teller cages were the early name for what we now refer to as teller windows. The inmates have their own code of conduct. They will quickly inform a new team member how to avoid punishment.”

“Having worked on the front line for years, I've experienced this code of conduct firsthand and probably earlier in my career contributed to it directly,” Wymore continues. “There are the company rules, and the rules of the row. In an effort to bond with new employees, front line will help define the norm. I call this training ‘by legend.' They will tell their stories of punishments past, or pet peeves of the branch manager, in their own words.”

Stopping the Spread

“The CEO is the person most responsible for stopping the spread of ATDDD. Like any family, the parents set the example. When top management is indifferent to service and focuses only on the bottom line, it creates the perfect environment for spreading the disease,” Wymore says. “The branch managers can try to avoid this infection, but it's scary. It's like using Purell when you're on an airplane. For a minute you feel cleansed, but then you pull down your tray table and adjust the air vent and realize that all around you is gunk and filth and the air you're breathing is the air that everyone in the cabin is breathing, so there's no way to avoid it.”

The branch manager's real role is to own the client experience and to fight for the client. “If you step back and view what you've built—a client's clubhouse—why would it be any other way? It's our clients' money and they've paid for a house to come in and conduct business. When they need a loan, or want to make a deposit to their checking account, they trust the branch manager to see that it's easy, fun, safe, clean, compliant and fast. If a branch manager was measured on all of those things, we might stop the spread of ATDDD.”

Is there a cure for this deadly disease? “Know your target audience. Know the competitors for your target. Make them irrelevant,” Wymore says. “Surprise, delight, and empathize!”

Denise Wymore is a cooperative culture consultant with over 20 years of credit union experience. Contact her at 503-805-4424 or me@denisewymore.com. This story appeared in Branch Manager's Letter and is reprinted with permission. Contact publisher Lana J. Chandler at 304-343-0206 or Lana@BranchManagersLetter.com.