A few minutes with DBSI’s John Smith. (Check out Part 1 of this interview.)
This is second and final interview installment with John W. Smith, the CEO of DBSI, a leading branch design firm based in Chandler, Arizona. He brings a unique perspective on design, coupled with a wealth of industry knowledge to the conversation. Enjoy.
You’ve spent a lot of time in the banking industry with a focus on technology. How is technology changing the way that branches are designed?
I’ll speak to that from a pretty robust background in this, both domestically and frankly, all over the world. But historically, no matter if it’s in the U.S. or globally, branches were designed first and foremost to protect the main asset. And the main asset to them is cash. So that led to a bunch of service barriers and bad service and horrific ways branches were designed.
Along comes a cash recycler. Which to me, is one of the easiest decisions someone can make now. It protects the cash asset. It brings vault-like security into the main branch. It frees up the space to be more retail and open, more service-oriented. Not to mention, it allows the staff to focus the clients’ needs versus previously, all their time is spent on mundane transactions which doesn’t do anybody any good. And ultimately, it removes the worry of out of bounds conditions. So the staff truly can free their mind to what’s important to the bank or credit union which is service and needs-based selling.
Is there a place in retail banking for assisted self-service machines and cash recyclers?
It can be a transition, or it can be both. Meaning a bank can choose one or both of those strategies. I think it’s really flexible right now and I think it really depends on the experience the FI wants to deliver.
So at a minimum, the key is ensuring two things. One, it’s more than just the right tech. I think most every time, people get this wrong by just thinking “I’ll pop the tech in and magically, people will see that it’s a better way to do banking” and it just doesn’t happen that way. You have to have the right process, the right top tracks. Meaning the top tracks of why it’s important or more valuable or beneficial to the consumer.
What are the transitions? Meaning if they’re banking at that station right now but need to move over to open up a money market account, how do I effectively transition them? i.e. How is the journey laid out?
And then, lastly, what I meant by “transition” is if you start with one, how do you build the flexibility to easy move to the next gen at a really low cost? So you start out with recyclers, the make all the sense in the world, right? It’s really skilled, full-service banking. But if you want to lower your costs and you want to migrate folks to self-service, then still have an assisted, still have a human touch. How do you make sure you get the process right? How do you make sure that the staff is trained effectively?
So I think they can coexist.
I consistently hear bankers referencing “Branch of the Future.” How come you never hear “Restaurant of the Future?”
Wow, that’s an interesting way of putting it. The strange thing, I think in banking, is you’ll have a pretty robust network of branches. Even if it’s…it could be five, it could be ten, it could be 30, it could be 50. And then, of course, you get into the big guys.
But literally, the word “branch” to them is singular. “Let’s create the newest and greatest, but we’re only going to have one of them or we’re going to have two of them.” That’s not going to do you much good.
When a quick-service restaurant decides to make a change, they make sure that consistent level of experience and service transcends their stores. But in banking, it’s not really done that way. And I think part of it is just the strategy and the strategy is not right.
So find what are your key elements. Hopefully, maybe even a signature item. But make sure that that it can be transcended across your branches so that you have consistency. You have to have brand commonality. It’s a network of branches, it’s not just the branch of the future. And I think that’s the missing point.
So from your perspective, where do you see the retail branch in 20 years?
So 20 years out—true advice centers. Smaller, closer to the client. All with the ability to connect with you virtually, but still have a human touch.