A strong emphasis was placed on involving both customers and employees in the development of new products and services. The Innovation Lab conducted numerous studies across various Bank departments, identifying and testing solutions tailored to customer needs, including: ESG-supporting tools, technological solutions for micro-enterprises, investment and insurance products, and development of a parental control panel for children’s banking services, enabling parents to monitor and manage their children’s finances Customers actively participated in these research efforts through interviews and surveys, ensuring that solutions were optimally designed to meet their needs and expectations, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction levels.
Processes for Engagement with Consumers and End-Users Regarding Impacts [S4-2]
We ensure that our business activities are conducted in compliance with applicable laws, external and internal regulations, and the highest standards of conduct. Our objective is to instil a sense of shared responsibility among employees for the proper functioning of the Bank, ensuring adherence to established procedures while fostering continuous improvement in customer satisfaction.
Responsible Sales and Quality Management
With our customers in mind, we have developed a modern customer experience management model that encompasses all business segments. This model defines the strategic direction for our development, aiming to enhance customer satisfaction with our services, increase appreciation of our product offering and service quality, and encourage customers to recommend our Bank.
For customers engaging with our branch services, we are developing new conversation standards for selected products. We actively promote a culture of customer feedback collection to refine service quality and build lasting relationships.
Since 2023, our customers have been able to provide more effective evaluations of our branches through Google Business Profile, allowing us to receive real-time feedback on their experiences. We respond to all customer feedback.
We provide training for both new and experienced advisors to enhance their skills in delivering high-quality customer service and conducting effective sales conversations. This training is available both online and in-person. Additionally, we regularly develop “knowledge capsules” for all frontline employees. These initiatives have yielded positive results, with consistent quarterly improvements in service quality metrics since early 2023.
We are committed to fostering a culture of clear and straightforward communication within our Bank. The initiatives undertaken in 2024 form part of an ongoing effort to simplify language, ensuring that our communications are customer-friendly and easily comprehensible. Our goal is to eliminate unnecessary formalities and establish a communication style that resonates with all customers.
To improve service quality in 2024, we:
- Initiated the standardisation of banking document layouts;
- Expanded our team of plain language consultants, incorporating additional specialists from key organisational units to support customer experience improvements. These consultants assist employees in simplifying documents, letters, informational materials, and internal communications;
- Trained hundreds of new employees on the fundamentals of writing clear and precise texts;
- Conducted numerous workshops for those responsible for drafting customer regulations and agreements.
- Launched an internal knowledge hub on plain language as part of the “Prosto po polsku”;
- Simplified long-standing customer documents and adopted a legal design approach to the creation of new materials;
- Actively participated in the Plain Language Working Group at the Polish Bank Association (Związek Banków Polskich). Within this group, we share experience and co-create standards for banking communication.
Driving Innovation in Business Operations
To maximise our positive impact on customers, we continuously drive innovation in our business operations by leveraging technology, employee expertise, and a customer-centric approach. The Bank Pekao Innovation Lab plays a key role in this process, focusing on solutions that support the Bank’s digital transformation, the acceleration of digitalisation, and the adaptation of services and products to customer needs. To achieve these objectives, the Innovation Lab operates across four strategic areas:
- Innovation design;
- Customer needs research;
- Innovation partnerships;
- Fostering a culture of innovation among employees.
Additionally, in 2024, we continued the Innovation Factory initiative, a process for generating product and service innovations aligned with our strategy. Successive research phases, including both qualitative and quantitative studies with customers, are essential for refining ideas and implementing optimal solutions that balance banking, customer, and environmental considerations.
The Innovation Lab also collaborates with external partners, startups, and industry leaders, allowing us to explore and validate cutting-edge concepts against business requirements.
We are actively engaged in advancing ESG initiatives. A key milestone in 2024 was the pilot launch of carbon footprint calculators for business customers. A total of 32 customers participated in the pilot phase, using the tool and providing valuable feedback. This project facilitated further cooperation with a calculator provider, enabling us to integrate the solution into our service offering.
Market Research and Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Consumer feedback is gathered on an ongoing basis, adapting to current business and marketing needs. We employ both qualitative and quantitative research methods, conducted through online and offline channels, in collaboration with authorised representatives of renowned research firms operating in Poland, engaged under formal agreements.
We also provide internal education for employees on the latest market research insights, focusing on youth, senior citizens, and other groups at risk of exclusion (e.g., women). These educational initiatives take the form of lectures and expert-led discussions, organised by the Marketing Department in partnership with research firms and academic institutions.
Based on ongoing brand awareness research, we know that Bank Pekao remains one of the most recognisable banking brands in Poland among individual customers aged 18-64. In Q3 2024, we secured 2nd place (12%) in the Top of Mind brand awareness survey. Among younger customers, we ranked 3rd (13%), and in the SME segment, we maintained 2nd place (15%).
We also conduct dedicated research for specific customer segments. In 2024, the Retail Banking and Savings Products Department continued its Premium Customer Offer Evaluation, aimed at gathering insights from Premium segment customers to guide the future development of our offerings. The study covered:
- Account and card offerings;
- Savings products;
- Credit card offerings;
- Loyalty programmes;
- Loan products;
- Preferred communication channels;
- Customer service model.