Why is the customer account opening process called “onboarding”? Like new employee onboarding, the term for bringing someone into an organization was derived in the 1990s to reflect the notion of new passengers being welcomed onto planes or ships and then being guided by the crew on what to expect. Much like having a smooth process to get passengers to their seats or cabins can help everyone start the journey on a good foot, a low-friction digital onboarding method for banking services can help minimize frustrating experiences for all.Community financial institutions (CFIs) that automate onboarding processes can enhance the experience not only for customers, but also for their employees. Just compare automation to the typical manual onboarding process that occurs in branches: an employee must enter all of a customer's information into the system as the customer dictates it to them, and then the employee must manually verify that the customer’s ID card is legitimate. Not only does this laborious process take up staff’s valuable time that could be used in more consultative pursuits, but the manual input is more prone to errors, particularly if an employee is multitasking or trying to speed up the process.How Staff Benefits from Automated Customer OnboardingYour staff has specialized knowledge to help customers with financial questions while also maintaining compliance with regulations. They have a lot to keep in mind as they interact with customers, so having tools to support them in this area is a meaningful benefit. Automated customer onboarding helps staff in a number of ways, including:
- Greater efficiency and productivity. Allowing customers to open deposit accounts or apply for loans online via automated systems that are integrated across channels is vastly more efficient, leading to increased employee productivity, according to a Netherlands study. Bank employees interviewed by the researchers all said that automation reduces their workload and increases productivity as compared to manual work — some said “to a great extent” and even more said “to a very great extent.” Moreover, automatically reviewing customer information including customer identity and business details reduces the chances of errors.
- Reduced employee turnover. According to the 2024 International Branch Banking Employee Survey, 52% of managers and 49% of staff are considering leaving the ship due to low job satisfaction. One of the main factors of dissatisfaction listed by half of the respondents was the time spent on administrative and operational tasks rather than customer service. What would help alleviate that? In their minds, integrating more automated technology to help customers perform more tasks on their own, including onboarding.
- More time to consult and cross-sell. According to the Netherlands study, employees’ time spent on manual work is reduced by 49% on average when their institutions implement automated processes, allowing them to serve more customers and increase their work output. Moreover, the quality of work increases, with 33% of respondents saying automation increases the value of their work output. The enjoyment of work also increases, with 32% saying their work stress is reduced.
- Increased innovation. Not only can automation provide employees more time to consult and cross-sell, it can also free them up to innovate more. Now that they have more time for strategic thinking, employees can help their institutions develop creative solutions to meet evolving customer needs — particularly if employees have more time to participate in collaborative workshops that empower them to contribute more to the bank’s strategic goals. Employees can also use this extra time to analyze key customer data more deeply to craft personalized strategies that foster satisfaction and loyalty.
Automating customer onboarding can help CFIs create a more efficient and engaging work environment for employees while also enhancing the customer experience. With fewer manual processes, staff have more time for meaningful interactions that build relationships and drive long-term loyalty. In turn, this can support both operational growth and customer satisfaction, making it easier for CFIs to meet customer expectations and business goals.
