By Art Gillis

There are a lot of good core systems in banks now and on the shelves of a few good tech vendors. I know of 300 banks that have good core systems because when I worked for them I said, “This is the last core conversion you will ever make, so enjoy it.” But what about the banks that don’t have a solid core system? For them, the migration is way over due. The first step, when I do it, is to find out what’s really broken. The second step is to take those 200 gripes from the working people who see the torture every day, and figure out what the gripes mean. I sort them into the following 7 buckets.

1. A capability is missing from the present system
2. It’s in the system, but it doesn’t work, or it doesn’t work the way the user manual says
3. Available in the present system, but too awkward or difficult to use
4. Available as a peripheral application, but the bank doesn’t have it
5. Available as an option in the core system, but the bank hasn’t purchased it
6. Cannot be implemented because of technical incompatibilities in the operating system
7. Available, but employees don’t know how to use it

In truth, there is another reason banks should convert to a new core system, but it doesn’t need a bucket. The vendor is terminating support of the system. They usually put a nice spin on the announcement by saying they are sunsetting the system. Who could get angry about a sunset?

The next step in selecting a new core system is to exercise good judgment. The bucket, which is spilling over, will pretty much tell an analyst where to go for the right solution (I didn’t say vendor). For example, on my last 13 assignments, I told four of my clients to stick with their present system because bucket #7 was the biggest problem. Because of high turnover in the teller lines, customer service and back rooms, most of their employees were rookies and they never had the benefit of a good training program. So for them the job was like baseball teams showing up for opening day without the benefit of spring training.

Do you know how weak your present core system is? Your workers know, and they’ll tell as long as you don’t treat them like whistle-blowers.

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