Project on Management Topic: Continuous Improvement in Capitec Bank

Project Profile

Capitec Bank is a commercial Bank based in South Africa. The Bank is licensed locally and controlled by the Reserve Bank of South Africa. It has been rated first in matters concerning customer satisfaction problems as per the results provided by the South African National Banking Regulators of the year 2015. As per the International Banking advisory groups, Capitec Bank has been said to be the best bank in the World. The operations of the bank are in the form of a local Bank, and it serves individuals as well as businesses. However, the bank usually does not provide banking for firms that are close corporations. Capitec Bank’s number of branches is more than 668 branches in South Africa, and it has more than 6 million customers. A good number of his clients are also using the Capitec Bank online application. Capitec has a provision of innovative transactions, savings as well as unsecured credit cards to their customers. Its business building blocks are affordable, readily available, and simple.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

One of the best customer relationship management strategies in a bank to ensure that an organization achieves its objectives is guaranteeing a smooth flow of customers to the business. Therefore, scheduling of staff at respective branches to meet the client needs should be the center of focus. When the bank has an accurate forecast, the level of services will always be high, and the demands of their customers will be met. Most of the requests made to the bank as well as clients will also be served within a short time. In cases where wrong forecasts and also the subsequent scheduling are wrong, a lot of time will be taken in getting the clients served.

Scope and Objectives of the Report

As outlined by the Kaizen continuous improvement model, organizations have a significant role in ensuring that there is a high level of efficiency in operations. Given that Capitec Bank is focused on offering quality and timely services to its customers (such as depositors), it is necessary to ensure that all factors have been taken into consideration to guarantee continuous improvement. Therefore, the primary goal is to make sure that there is a constant rate of improvement in the way the operations are conducted as this directly leads to customer satisfaction; hence, the majority of them will be served.

Measurement and Metrics: Before and After

Customer flow can only increase if the bank's staff has the morale to work and that there is constant motivation. However, given that this variable has been neglected for some time by the management, the bank has been having a low customer turnout. Nevertheless, after applying the principles of operational excellence, there have been noticeable changes in the operation and performance of Capitec Bank (Bessant, & Francis, 2013). The bank has ensured customers are fully satisfied, and there is an increase in their productivity. Before the new system, customers used to wait, and in the branches, the experience has been important metrics for retail banking. Once the management has considered it necessary to incorporate anyones opinion in decision-making, personal discipline amongst the employees, and teamwork, it will be possible for the clients needs to be met. Moreover, the workers should be given a chance to continue with their improvement programs in terms of taking time with the customers and offering suggestions instead of just focusing on serving them.

The Current State of Operation

Capitec Bank has a significant problem in ensuring that its operations have been carried out as required. This is because it is facing stiff competition from its rivals given that they have an efficient mechanism in handling their customers. Such competitors have ensured that the client's wait time in the queue has been minimized as a strategy to maintain motivation. Therefore, the management should enact the principles of the Kaizen model for continuous improvement as a strategy for countering its key rivals (Rother, & Harris, 2011). This is primarily because the effective implementation of this model will result in high-efficiency levels, thus customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers will always be motivated and see it necessary to bank with Capitec Bank, thus enabling it to achieve its long-term mission and sustainability.

Since the client base has been minimal, it has even become difficult for the bank to meet its maturing obligations. Therefore, it is necessary to counter its competitors in the banking industry. In addition, other lending institutions such as cooperative societies should be curbed from increasing their market base. The best way of guaranteeing this initiative is having continuous employee training (Tutcher, 2014). They will then see the necessity to consider customers as the primary reason for the existence of Capitec Bank.

Analysis and Findings of Problem(s)

The Kaizen tools for continuous improvement was carried out in order to design on paper values that will help the institution to succeed in its operations through ensuring that the employees are left motivated all the time. This should start at the time when customers enter the banking hall or make a request until they are served. It becomes necessary to mitigate the client's wait time, meaning that since the Kaizen improvement model is based on efficiency and continuous improvement, the weakness will be mitigated with time.

The project was carried out to ensure the creation of self-healing values in the Bank that will help in the establishment of operational excellence. The project aims to ensure there is a provision of formal training that will include giving out a precise definition of the guidelines that can be used in the implementation of their plans (Reinartz, Krafft, & Hoyer, 2014). The project had intentions in ensuring their employees understand what is expected of them.

The project was also carried out to ensure that customer flow in the bank in terms of wait time is minimized on a continuous basis. Once the framework for customer flow is created, the employees have to be shown how the processes were carried out for the day with the help of CCTV cameras and their respective areas of improvement. Moreover, it allows for operations to be performed to ensure there is a creation of a standard workflow (Chen, & Popovich, 2013). A typical application of a standard work is mostly applied in this process. Standard practice has to be established between the processes, and in most cases, they will be targeting the connections existing between them. The resultant outcome is the ability and willingness to work as a team, thus solving complex issues that may be presented by clients.

The project ensured the abnormal flows are made realistic. If a normal flow is rigidly defined, identifying abnormal flow is not a difficult task. Thus, it will be easy to have corrections made on how such abnormalities can be prevented from occurring again. In addition, the employees are kept in flow to ensure a good flow of operations. The performance of the employees has to be maintained and improved for the business to have a continued flow of improvements. This is not the actual journey used in eliminating wastes. It is mainly concerned with maintenance as well as improvements to support the business in growing.

Description of Counter Measures for Improvement

Different countermeasures have been put in place to ensure the improvement of the operation of the bank and its branches. Lack of proper planning and customer oriented focus significantly affected the bank as its customer base reduced drastically since other rivals offered better services. A customer interested in doing business will in most cases identify this institution as unsafe for investments, thus the possibility of applying for loans.

Capitec Bank developed an operational management system prepared in Excel. This system was expected to be used in running the business, and it proved to be a difficult task. In the efforts to counter this particular problem, numerous advancements will have to be done. The Kaizen method of process improvement has developed a more sophisticated platform for the management operating system as a way of boosting operational efficiency (Campbell, 2013). Nevertheless, the new standardized tool could not guarantee that the fast growing requirements of the business are met to the maximum, given that the management was not mainly focused on employee and customer satisfaction.

Situation Before and After Kaizen Method of Continuous Improvement

Human error causes a flaw in the amount of results produced. This leaves room for inconsistencies due to poor Capitec Bank customer care management and thus the implementation of the Kaizen cycle for continuous improvement. The management operating system of Capitec Bank and Holdings Limited consisted of check measures and actions that were used to achieve the objectives within the structure of operation. However, some of the systems used could not manage to cater for the growing number of customers, leading to a slow rate of operational efficiency and the inability to meet most of their demands. Additionally, poor communication to the customers and marketing strategies means that the bank could always come second to the existing and even future ones. For instance, having Microsoft Excel as the display place for the system showed the program was limited since the fast growing needs of the bank could not operate under the system (Gronroos, 2012). Excel had a hard time in the accommodation of the files the bank required to run the system. Manual operation wasted time instead of understanding the business and dedicating more time to the clients satisfaction. Data updating in before the Kaizen continuous improvement cycle was not real time, and it is hard to control and check the specially made user views.

The new display place for the management operating system after the Kaizen effect allows for expansion, thus the possibility of implementing customer satisfaction initiatives. The sophisticated platform gives time and space to the complex needs and requirements of the customers, thus meeting their expectations. The fast growing requirements of the bank can now be completed within the new platform management operating system. Capitec Bank currently can set goals, have an oversight at the performance and facilitate all time plans. Sharing of timely reports makes it easy for the management to enact corrective actions in the bid to ensure that efficiency has been met in the operations (Winer, 2014). As a result, both the employees and even the management will be satisfied with the increment in the number of customers and a reduction in the rate of complaints. After the Kaizen effect, the bank will be in a position to make improvements in the view of the future to ensure success and prosperity. This will be done in favor of the stakeholders who include the customers, staff, and the shareholders.

Standardization

Standardization of processes is the key to the future thriving of the Capitec Bank and Holdings Limited. Standardization refers to the process where technical standards or tools are developed and implemented based on an accord to maximize the function ability and efficiency of the subject under the process. In the near functioning of the after Kaizen management operating system, its standardization is aimed at accomplishing all the objectives of Capitec Bank. It is targeted to be a solution that is manageable from a central point. The targeted goal for the standardization is to ensure that everything has been done in conformity with the customer expectations. It is intended that any piece of information in the system is combined and cumulated into the structure of operations, thus increasing efficiency and minimizing the waiting time on the queue. This standardization measure is aimed at ensuring the business makes the high-level decisions by facilitation of the management operating system. One of the key reasons for this is that other rival banks have standardized their o...