Liam McGee Transforms Fleetboston

When Bank of America integrated with FleetBoston Financial Corp. the market analyst predicted doom. Liam McGee, president of BofA consumer and small business division, new that the merger could work. McGee realized that the biggest hurdle for success wasn't gaining the analyst's confidence, but gaining the customer's confidence. McGee felt that with the introduction of Bank of America's culture into the fleet branches, customer satisfaction would increase. Therefore, profits would increase pleasing analysts. The merger's success proved that McGee's assessment was correct.

They couldn't activate their ATM cards. Customer service representatives kept them on hold for up to an hour. And one legal secretary briefly became a millionaire -- before bankers at FleetBoston Financial Corp. realized that $17 million had been erroneously credited to her account.(1)

Liam McGee realized right away the FleetBoston has serious customer service issues. The branches were cumbersome to navigate and customer interaction was minimal.(2) Customer service is the allocation of labor and other resources to increasing the value that buyers receive from their purchases and from the processes leading up to the purchase. With the rising dominance of the service sector in the global economy, customer service has grown in importance, as its impact on individuals, households, firms, and societies has become widespread. (3) McGee instituted several strategic human resource management practices to improve customer service and branch operations.

Recruitment and Selection - Outstanding service organizations invest more in recruitment than in other area of resource management. In particular, they have rigorous processes to select people who already possess service values. Knowledge and skills may be readily developed on the job, whereas service values take years to take shape (3). McGee sought out branch managers and bank reps who were already instilled with the values, traits, and behaviors associated with a service culture.

Training and Development & Labor relations - McGee improved labor relations by consistently interacting with his employees through frequent emails, phone conferences and branch visits. He immediately immersed the newly acquired FleetBoston employees into the "Team of Bank of America" culture. Using the "Bank of America Spirit Program" (largely modeled on the practices of Wal-Mart and Disney) employees are encouraged to become "emotionally involved with their customers", making their "customers dreams come true". (4) Employees are also encouraged to feel part of the team, part of the culture of BofA. During these rallies, serious training and development is also taking place. Employees are learning scripts to use in all aspects of customer interaction. They are also trained on the banks products and services at these rallies.

When onstage, employees are required to wear their nametags, smile, and be energetic. Away from customers in the break room, they are free to let down their guards. The bank even warns employees that if they have trouble demonstrating the bank's motto of "Higher Standards," they should remove their nametags, Bank of America shirts, and other "branding" when they leave work.

"We were expecting something big -- they had their high standards -- and they got to us," said Berardino D'Onofrio, a senior business specialist at the Fleet branch in Harvard Square, who recently attended a Bank of America Spirit session in Boca Raton, Fla. "It's like the meeter-greeter program that's been going on for so many years, but on a different level. It ultimately should create a memorable experience for the customers."

The bank reinforces its Spirit program with morning huddles in the branches, where the manager "reminds associates of the desire to connect with customers," said McGee, the Bank of America consumer president. Some branches have multiple Spirit