Australia's self-styled 'better bank' has been asking staff to volunteer for a program that effectively outsources their own jobs to overseas contractors.
Bendigo Bank, which brands itself as the nation's 'better big bank', is spearheading an operational shake-up as part of its five-year strategic plan to 2030.
Central to the bank's 'Productivity Program' is a six-year 'business operations partnership' with US advisory firm Genpact, which is a global leader in offshoring.
In April, the bank announced that Genpact would bring 'deep expertise in process optimisation and data insights to drive greater productivity' and make processes 'simpler and more efficient'.
At the same time, the bank signed a seven-year 'technology partnership' with Indian outsourcing giant Infosys, transferring staff from Bendigo's IT division onto Infosys contracts.
As part of the efficiency drive, Bendigo Bank employees are being asked to volunteer for a process known as 'blueprinting' or process mapping.
This tactic requires staff to demonstrate and document their daily tasks to a Genpact worker over Microsoft Teams.
Based on this information, Genpact will design an outsourcing roadmap, telling the bank which employee roles would be better performed by people overseas.
Bendigo Bank, Australia's self-styled 'better big bank', is leading an operational excellence blitz in line with its five-year strategic vision for 2030
Genpact's headquarters in the Philippines lit up in honour of Pride
This is followed by six to 12 weeks of 'consultation', during which the bank reveals whose jobs are safe and whose roles will be outsourced overseas.
It is alleged that Bendigo Bank asked staff to volunteer for the process weeks before announcing its partnership with a major outsourcing firm, raising the prospect that some employees put their hands up without realising they could be helping train their own replacements.
'There's just this overwhelming sense of defeat,' said a source of the 'disingenuous' tactic.
'Staff used to take pride in working at the "better bank", but now it's more like, "How are we any better than one of the Big Four?"
'Morale is the worst it has ever been.'
Another source added: 'They [workers] weren't coerced, but they also weren't told the whole story.'
An employee speaking to the Mail on the condition of anonymity said that seeing staff transferred to Infosys contracts had crushed morale across the board.
'Colleagues who've been sent to Infosys feel like they've not been considered or that their work is valued less and they're somehow more replaceable,' they said.
As part of this efficiency drive, Bendigo Bank staff are being asked to volunteer for a process referred to as 'blueprinting'
'Quality has definitely dropped since Infosys took over parts of the work.'
A second anonymous worker told the Mail: 'We're pretty tired. Consecutive cuts to teams mean we're trying to do more work than is reasonable with less people.'
A Bendigo Bank spokesperson confirmed a 'design review of business operations and process teams' was underway, but said 'the detailed design for all impacted areas is yet to be finalised'.
The Daily Mail understands the outcomes from the latest phase of blueprinting are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, with consultation to carry on until November.
This comes after Bendigo's internal announcement in June, informing staff that certain roles in Customer Enablement, Agribusiness, and Financial Crimes would be shifted to Genpact's offshore contractors.
At the time, the Finance Sector Union estimated that up to 80 roles were at risk due to the restructure.
It's understood that the bank's 'phased approach' will see less complex roles outsourced first, with jobs moving to contractors in India and Southeast Asia.
The FSU claims the total number of Bendigo Bank jobs to disappear overseas is 450, a figure the union says will continue to grow.
FSU's National Secretary Julia Angrisano said the practice 'essentially asks workers to make their own roles obsolete' and Bendigo Bank was helping 'enrich an overseas company like Genpact to the detriment of bank staff and customers'.
'Bendigo Bank is using the data it gets from blueprinting to determine which work will be outsourced and offshored to Genpact,' Ms Angrisano said.
'Staff only learned about the true intent of blueprinting - offshoring - after the strategic partnership with Genpact was announced.'
Bendigo Bank would not comment specifically on whether it was effectively asking staff to volunteer for programs that could result in their jobs being taken from them, but said the changes were being led 'with compassion, care and respect'.
A spokesperson said in a statement: 'Bendigo Bank continues to consult with its people impacted by these changes.
'The Bank is committed to ensuring the support they need is available, and to leading these changes with compassion, care and respect.
'The health and wellbeing of the Bank's people continue to be key considerations in the planning and implementation of these essential workplace changes.'
