CBA service levels lag transformation programme

In a blunt appraisal of the work still needed to lift service to standards envisaged under the Which New Bank program, Norris said that while system rollouts were "well advanced, we are not yet delivering the customer service levels we are aiming for".

In fact, the changes required under the project -- which kicked off in 2003 -- were themselves creating "inevitable disruption to our normal business operations," which were "unsatisfactory from a customer perspective," he conceded.

Norris acknowledged the difficulties today in a speech to the CBA's annual general meeting, in which he also claimed the business transformation programme -- which encompasses many of the institution's IT platforms -- was on track.

"The Which New Bank programme has continued to meet major milestones in this first quarter," he said, "and the great news is that CommSee, the new customer management platform, is now rolled out to over three quarters of branches and the embedding process is well under way. We still expect to exceed all financial targets set at the start of this programme."

But the programme is "not yet delivering the customer service levels we are aiming for," a situation the CBA feels can be remedied through additional training of staff rather than technical readjustments.

"With any major transformation programme, the introduction of new systems and the training of staff to use the technology are both critical and time intensive," Norris said. "We have begun that process but this has meant some inevitable disruption to our normal business operations. Obviously, this is unsatisfactory from a customer perspective, but I can assure you that we are all working very hard to address these disruptions."

The programme includes 20 technology projects, with CommSee and an AU$100 million NetBank Internet banking upgrade complemented by new performance management systems for staff, rationalisation of wealth management systems and renegotiated procurement contracts.

NetBank under the microscope
The CBA has come under pressure over continued problems with the NetBank online banking service which was revamped several months ago, including persistent outages and glitches during a pilot which saw at least one customer upgraded -- without notice -- to the new service and forced to do a manual payroll.

The introduction of new fees for the service has also drawn heat from users.

CBA chairman John Shubert told shareholders at the annual general meeting that the charges reflect the cost of providing the service. "Fees have to reflect the cost of providing services to our customers if they are to be sustainable," he said.

"In the end we have to charge a fee to recover those costs".

In written responses to shareholder questions, the CBA conceded it had experienced "some identity fraud" but no successful hacking of its systems.

It said the site incorporated the "highest standards in security and is continuously upgrading".

Together with a long list of site features, the CBA said it had an active program of detecting and monitoring fraudulent Web sites, phishing e-mails and fraudulent NetBank transactions.

"We work closely with the relevant authorities and with other banks locally and overseas to ensure we identify and respond to new threats as they emerge".

The author holds shares in CBA.