Operational Justice: A New Banking Architecture for Efficiency and Organizational Culture

Korkut Okay, Banking Operations Executive VP, Yapi Kredi

While Operational Excellence in banking has been a longstanding goal, today's rapidly changing market dynamics and increasing customer expectations require us to redefine this concept. Operations were traditionally seen as units that are critical but often remain in the background, ensuring technology integration, legal compliance and the smooth running of core processes. However, increasing transaction volumes, an explosion in product diversity and the “right now” expectation brought about by digitalization have made it imperative for these back-office structures to become strategic value centers.

From the perspective of management, the critical question was—How can we maximize operational efficiency while maintaining employee engagement and quality of work? Traditional job assignment systems, models where employees either freely chose their tasks or were guided by simple rules, inevitably created “Operational Imbalance.” Some tasks piled up, while some teams had idle capacity. This situation not only put Service Level Agreements (SLAs) at risk, but also lowered morale and motivation by creating a sense of unfair distribution of workload among employees.

It was precisely at this point that our Bank challenged this imbalance with a solution that redefined operational intelligence: the Workload Distribution Model.

Beyond Efficiency, toward Algorithmic Fairness

The Task Sharing Model goes far beyond a simple task queue system; it is built on a sophisticated Decision Support Mechanism. The fundamental goal of this model was to apply the principle of Algorithmic Fairness by eliminating subjective choices in task assignment.

The system does not focus on a single criterion when assigning a task to the relevant employee; instead, it dynamically matches factors such as SLA priority, the complexity and risk profile of the task with the staff's expertise certifications and their current workload and capacity. This multidimensional analysis ensures that tasks are automatically directed to the personnel with the most suitable skill set and the lowest current workload. As a result, personnel can maximize their immediate efficiency by focusing on the task assigned by the system rather than selecting the job.

Strategic Value and Cultural Transformation

The effects of this strategic operational transformation became both measurable and noticeable in a short time. The results obtained after implementing Smart Work Sharing Model proved that operations can be not just a cost center, but a lever that creates strategic value. The Service Level Agreement (SLA), which was at 86 percent before the project, rapidly increased to 98 percent with the implementation of the model. Team agility also increased significantly, while previously only 12 different transaction types could be managed, this number rose to 30. The most striking increase in efficiency was seen in the transaction time per employee; the average daily transaction time increased from 257 minutes to 377 minutes, resulting in a significant leap in operational capacity.

However, the most important gain beyond these figures is the impact on organizational culture. The more transparent and fair distribution of the workload significantly increased employees' trust in management and their motivation. As a concrete reflection of this, a 11 percent decrease in overtime rates was recorded. The work-life balance achieved by reducing overtime has enabled staff to focus better on quality by reducing the risk of burnout.

The Banking Model of the Future

The Smart Work Sharing Model is a concrete example that shows digital transformation is not just about renewing customer channels. This model demonstrates the power of operations in the triangle of Risk Management, Efficiency and Employee Experience.

The surest way to increase customer satisfaction is to improve the employee experience. Managing the workload with the right algorithms is not only an efficiency tool but also the foundation for creating a culture of internal fairness. Such applications, which combine human skills and expertise with data-driven decisionmaking mechanisms, will be the most critical factor in determining competitiveness in the future of banking. Operations must now evolve from the goal of cost reduction to the goal of providing strategic value and sustainability.

Risk Management

Legal

Employee Engagement

Digital Transformation