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Despite the financial crisis, Australian financial institutions are increasingly putting pressure on their employees to meet exaggerated sales volumes. In addition, remuneration in more an more tied to sales targets and performance. This has a negative effect on employees as well as customers.



Employees are subject to more and more pressure as meeting targets is often the only way to achieve, even modest, salary increases. It is also used to determine career opportunities and job security. This creates stress and can lead to unacceptable behaviour at the workplace such as humiliation and abuse. Sales targets also have a negative impact on customers as employees may feel pressured to make inappropriate sales to meet targets or even may feel obliged to sell products even if customers don't need them.



FSU's position is that sales targets must be achievable, must negotiable and must take into account local as well as personal issues. It is developing a Charter on Responsible Lending that seeks to:

- Reduce the pressure on members to chase unreasonable targets.

- De-couple base salary movements from sales targets.

- Enhance the professionalism of the finance industry.

- Build public confidence in the industry.

- Regulate the provision of credit.



UNI Finance has been calling for regulation that guarantees that financial institutions provide customers with qualified and proper advice based on their interests and that employees are rewarded for the quality of their advice rather than for the volumes of their sales. Essential elements to achieve this are training and lifelong learning. These demands are formulated in UNI-Europa Finance statement on regulation of financial markets.







Related news:

22/08/2008 How is Asia Pacific handling the crisis?

18/08/2008 Westpac unlinks sales targets from pay

07/08/2008 Finsec recommends overhaul of lending regulation

16/06/2008 Demands on regulation of financial markets (statement)





FSU's brochure on debt stress is available here: