Anyone who has worked in sales knows it takes a certain personality, a disarming charisma and affable charm to succeed at it.
I recall a summer in my early twenties when I worked for Tennis Canada selling presale tickets for what is now the National Bank Open. Along with eight or nine other students, I cold-called prospective customers, selling the ‘experience,’ all the while my eye was on the clock, thinking of the next sale I needed to make.
I was driven by the competition. Each week the lead seller was lauded with praise and celebrated. I wanted to win every week and more than sometimes, I did. I still remember the thrill of it all. I still remember how hard it was some days.
And like everyone is not made to sell, everything too is not a product to be sold.
This week, the CBC released a Marketplace investigation that revealed employees at the Canadian big 5 banks are required to sell financial products to unwitting customers. Marketplace captured employees foisting financial products on clients that didn’t need them, misrepresenting the terms of said products and even worse, giving clients bad financial advice in order to sell more product.
The CBC interviewed one recent BMO employee who said, “I had to mislead customers into getting products that they didn’t need, to reach my sales target.”
A former Scotiabank employee said:
“It’s not a customer service … environment,” and, “We’re there to sell – and make money for the bank.”
There are a variety of legal and ethical considerations tied to requiring bank employees to meet aggressive sales targets. I don’t think most Canadians know they are being pitched for a product when they enter the branch.
But what this investigation also points to is a competitive workplace culture where probably even the most reluctant branch employee is required to sell.
In employment law, a higher ethical standard is attributed to employees working in regulated industries like banking. These employees handle money and investments. Customers come to trust banking employees who handle their money. A high degree of care, integrity and diligence is required for even the most junior banking employee.
When such workers are found to have breached this high standard, and terminated, sometimes for cause, the courts can be unsympathetic. Banking employees are the custodians of the money and trust of all Canadians. Even a minor lapse of judgment cannot be ignored.
Upon learning that it is the banks themselves that are veering away from this high ethical standard, it is obvious bank employees are relatively vulnerable to what could happen next. Being coaxed into breaching your professional obligations, even by your own employer, may be inexcusable in the eyes of the law.
In response to this CBC investigation, the banks may take steps to rehabilitate their collective image and part of that may include terminating employees they respectively believe to be key offenders.
Either way, it stands to reason that it will be banking employees who will ultimately be blamed for any purported dishonesty, any breach of the public trust or misconduct. Many could lose their jobs with little recourse.
What should employees do to protect themselves? If your employer requires you to engage in a course of conduct that places your professional obligations in the balance, report it to HR, report it to your supervisor and your supervisor’s boss. Report it again and again, and in writing.
If you are ultimately terminated, the record of protest could help you. But nothing will help you more than refusing to perform questionable tasks in the first place. If your role isn’t a ‘sales’ position, perhaps you must resist the imposition of a sales target.
Life is long. Avoid cutting your career short.
Have a workplace issue? Maybe I can help! Email me at sunira@worklylaw.com and your question may be featured in a future column.
The content of this article is general information only and is not legal advice.
CHAUDHRI: Pressuring employees to meet sales targets backfires on big 5 banks
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17.03.2024
Anyone who has worked in sales knows it takes a certain personality, a disarming charisma and affable charm to succeed at it.
I recall a summer in my early twenties when I worked for Tennis Canada selling presale tickets for what is now the National Bank Open. Along with eight or nine other students, I cold-called prospective customers, selling the ‘experience,’ all the while my eye was on the clock, thinking of the next sale I needed to make.
I was driven by the competition. Each week the lead seller was lauded with praise and celebrated. I wanted to win every week and more than sometimes, I did. I still remember the thrill of it all. I still remember how hard it was some days.
And like everyone is not made to sell, everything too is not a product to be sold.
This week, the CBC released a Marketplace investigation that revealed employees at the Canadian big 5 banks are required to sell financial products to unwitting customers. Marketplace captured employees foisting financial products on........
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