A Swiss private bank stopped guessing.

What was wrong

Reviews, pay conversations and promotions all came down to experience and relationships. Nobody had a number to point at.

The bank set six targets before we started. All six had to be met or the project counted as a failure.

What we built

Fifty-two skills mapped across the bank, with everyone rated by themselves and by the people they work with.

Those two views agreed almost exactly. That is why the bank was willing to use the scores for decisions about somebody's pay.

What changed

• Pay: Pay reviews start from a score instead of a manager's impression.
• Moving people: Thirty people were named as ready to move, with the evidence to back it up.
• Succession: The bank can see who is coming up behind its senior people.
• Performance: Managers have something to show in a review, and the person helped generate it.
• Training: Money goes to the gaps the data found, not evenly across everyone.

Where they are now

Everybody took part, all six targets were met, and the bank makes pay and promotion decisions it can explain.