Redesigning KPI and Incentive Schemes for More Than 2,600 Frontline Banking Employees

Project snapshot

• Client: Banking & Financial Services
• Scale: More than 2,600 frontline employees within the Retail Banking Division, including tellers, personal relationship managers, and branch and transaction office managers.
• Context: High turnover among frontline sales employees, coupled with the transformation of the Retail Banking Division, created an urgent need to review and redesign the KPI and incentive systems to strengthen performance management.
• Scope: Developing transparent and practical KPI and incentive schemes for key sales roles.
• Solution: Assessing the existing KPI and sales incentive systems, then developing a new KPI framework and incentive scheme for key sales roles.
• Project Duration: from December 2024 to July 2025.

The context & challenge

The project required a KPI and incentive system that could simultaneously address business performance, employee experience, and the transformation objectives of the Retail Banking Division.

First, the existing KPI system did not fully reflect business realities.
Existing performance targets were considered difficult to achieve and not sufficiently aligned with the specific characteristics of different sales roles. When targets are perceived as unrealistic, KPIs can no longer effectively drive performance and may instead become a barrier to employee motivation and engagement.

Second, the incentive scheme lacked transparency.
Even when employees achieved their business targets, many still found it difficult to understand how their incentive earnings were calculated. This affected perceptions of fairness within the reward system and weakened employees’ confidence in how performance was recognized and rewarded.

Third, the project faced significant time pressure and high expectations for the consulting solution.
The bank aimed to complete the new KPI and sales incentive system within a short time frame to support the transformation of its Retail Banking Division. At the same time, following previous engagements with consulting firms that had not fully met expectations, the new solution needed not only to address existing challenges but also to be practical enough for implementation and serve as a foundation for future transformation initiatives.

The approach

Following an assessment of 10 key job positions, the project focused on redesigning the KPI and incentive systems for three sales role groups with significant impact on business performance.

The consulting team first assessed the existing KPI and incentive systems across 10 key positions within the Retail Banking Division to identify opportunities for improvement in performance targets, evaluation mechanisms, and approaches to motivating the sales force.

Based on these findings, a new KPI framework was developed for three key sales role groups, together with a redesigned sales incentive scheme supported by Cost Modelling. This approach enabled the bank to assess the potential impact of the new incentive scheme on both business performance and cost control before implementation.

More importantly, the project went beyond simply designing KPIs and incentive schemes. It was positioned as the starting point for standardizing the sales force’s performance and motivation system, creating a foundation for future initiatives in rewards, performance management, and broader HR transformation.

The impact

Within six months, the project delivered two key outcomes: establishing the foundation for a more transparent KPI and incentive system and supporting the bank in strengthening performance management across its sales force.

Through the diagnostic and redesign process, the bank gained a structured foundation for developing KPIs and incentive schemes, helping improve transparency in performance recognition and supporting more data-driven decision-making.

The solution also received positive feedback from management and frontline sales employees. The client recognized the practicality of the new KPI framework, its potential to enhance sales force motivation, and the consulting team’s close collaboration throughout the implementation process.

More importantly, the project established a foundation for future transformation initiatives in rewards, organizational structure, and human capital management.