Lloyds staff still feel pressurised to sell to clients despite ditching sales targets, says union 

• e-mail

Staff at Lloyds still feel under pressure to push products on customers, say their union  

Half of Lloyds’ staff still feel under pressure to ‘push’ products to customers, according to a trade union.

The High Street banking giant ditched old-fashioned sales targets in January in a bid to clean up its culture. But, almost a year later, many staff believe little has changed.

A report by Lloyds Trade Union suggests 50 per cent of staff feel under pressure to sell products such as credit cards and loans.

Just over half – 53 per cent – felt they were still judged solely on sales figures, with 55 per cent saying the bank was going back to its ‘old sales management techniques’.

Of the 18,000 employees surveyed, 55 per cent said the bank provided a good service to customers. 

Lloyds has clashed with the union, which says changes in January by former retail supremo Alison Brittain did little to change the high-pressure sales culture. 

Sales targets were replaced by ‘activity targets’ forcing staff to meet at least 25 customers a week.

New retail boss David Oldfield said the decision to tie staff bonuses closely to customer satisfaction is paying off – and customers and employees are happier.

But he said the appointment target is being scrapped from January as staff are filling their diaries by seeing customers with simple requests. 

This is forcing those with more time-consuming needs – such as taking out a mortgage – to wait longer for an appointment.