A survey of bank, insurance and financial services employees has found more than half have seen customers steered toward financial products that the customer may not have needed, in order to reach management driven performance targets.

Bank and finance workers are under sustained pressure to sell financial products regardless of customer need, said the Finance Sector Union today.

The FSU survey of 3200 workers shows that despite record personal debt, the Australian community faces a continual barrage of credit offers, as finance workers continue to be rewarded for sales rather than service.

“The ‘Do you want fries with that’ mentality is alive and well in the Australian finance sector, despite ballooning levels of personal debt. This approach is completely at odds with the notion of responsible lending and professional service,” said FSU National Secretary Leon Carter.

Big banks, insurers hold employees to ransom

The problem is not the finance sector workforce but the upper echelons of our big banks and insurers, who hold employees to ransom on the condition that they sell more products, according to Mr Carter.

“Woe betide any employee that doesn’t sell the required number of credit cards, loans or whatever the product of the month is. They won’t just miss out on the next pay rise, they might also lose their job,” he said.

The FSU surveyed workers on sales target pressure, bullying and harassment and remuneration, and 90 per cent want greater recognition of their professional customer service when measuring performance.

Around 88 per cent say a quarter of their take home pay is generated by sales of financial products, as 85 per cent would like the industry to find a better balance between the best interests of customers and corporate profit.

About 81 per cent believe financial incentives such as bonuses should be awarded for providing great service and professionalism rather than hitting sales targets, while 51 per cent have observed customers steered toward finance products they may not have needed, because of the relationship between customer activity and employee pay.

“Finance sector base rates of pay are not high. Employees can’t afford to miss out on bonuses and performance pay. They are under unrelenting pressure to sell, sell and sell some more, whether it’s good for the customer or not,” said Mr Carter.