Do most banks have a policy regarding which employees are and are not allowed to go behind the teller line? We do not and many employees go behind to chit-chat or to bring personal transactions to a drive-thru teller if the front line is busy. Many tellers and teller supervisors would like to see a policy in place. To me (the compliance officer) this seems like a security issue. The security officer does not seem concerned. Should I press this issue from a compliance standpoint? I just feel like this is a security decision.

We do not have a formal policy in writing, however, the security officer has made it known that she does not want employees going behind the teller line who have no business need to be there.

That said, it has not been strictly enforced; we still have staff going behind the line for exactly the same reasons you state - chit chat, personal banking, etc.

I agree with you, however, it is defintely a security issue, and I'm a bit surprised that your security officer isn't concerned. What if one of the tellers was short $2000 in cash one day, and it couldn't be traced to a transaction? Now you have to start considering how many employees were behind the teller line that day and whether they had an opportunity to snatch a band of $20's?

Hmm, now that you've brought it up, perhaps I should remind our own security officer that her own policy isn't being enforced...

I don't believe we have a written policy either but it is an unwritten rule that other employees are not allowed behind the teller line.

Not only is this a security issue, but also a banking issue. I would think management would frown on the customer relations aspect of having employees standing around chatting while customers are are standing in line waiting to do their banking. This sends a very bad service message.

We don't allow anyone behind the teller line except those with a need to be there and we don't allow anyone to do transactions while behind the teller line. If a teller needs to cash a check, she is required to walk to the front of the teller line to conduct the transaction.

We didn't put it in our policies, but we did send a memo to all staff and we do enforce it.

And what about the customer confidentiality provisions? Don't you have a policy in place that customer information is confidential even to other bank departments unless they have a legitimate business reason to see the information? Enforcing this provision would keep unauthorized staff from behind the teller line.

I have worked for six community banks. Every one of them restricted access behind the teller lines to people who needed it. Employees from other areas were asked to stay in the customer area of the bank.

You are overstepping your bounds. YOUR function is compliance. Security's function is security. It is the line of business'Management Team's decision on HOW to operate the business.
If you have voiced your opinion to management and security doesn't have a problem with it, let it drop.
If it annoys you, your just going to have to live with it until your the position of authority permitted to change it.

I think the boss's screen name has gone to his head. The original poster already thought it was security's decision. He was just looking for more input. I just read a post in the HR forum where the boss was going a little nuts there too.

If you add it to your policy, then you can document specific examples of the policy being violated. This gets reported to management where they have to give a written response on preventing it from happening again.

We give everyone security cards. Everything is closed off and we restrict access this way. Tellers can't enter the proof department with their security cards and vice versa. If someone needs access who doesn't have access the tellers are required to get their supervisor or the head teller, and if they aren't there then the vault teller will come and let them in. It is written in our policy that the only people who have access to nearly every area of the bank are senior officers.

An an auditor, I would report in an internal audit report for branch operations, that access to the teller line is not properly restricted. This is a weakness for the bank. So, original poster, I think it should be addressed.

I've worked in too many branches to count and all allowed access to behind the teller line to branch staff. The personal banker/customer service people need to check sig cards, process transactions (or have them processed if they don't have a drawer for this) and on occasion be the dual control. Waiting in line for a teller to pull a sig card would be a rediculous waste of time.

If money goes missing, it's your teller staff who need to be suspect. As a teller, I was told NOT to leave my drawer unlocked nor to leave my cage without locking it down. If cash went missing, it would have had to be because I didn't follow procedure. As a teller, that's my fault, not the other staff.

Gossiping behind the teller line is a discipline issue as well. It's not a security issue. It's a lack of management.

If proper controlls are in place, staff can conduct their business (for their clients) easily behind the tellers without risk. It's your tellers who control that risk, and their management should train them appropriately. There has to be a blend between customer service and security. As a new accounts person, if I have to wait in line for 5 mins, holding up the line and my clients, I have no time to sell. If the drivethru teller is not busy, it takes 30 seconds. Our clients are not inconvenienced by my being in line, and my client at the desk is speedily out the door so I can wait on the next one. This isn't a breach of any type of security unless you have sloppy teller staff.

When I was working for a larger commmerical bank in the mid west, any employee who needed to access the area behind the teller line was required to be "signed in" by either the ops officer or the head teller. The time was noted in and out and both signed the ledger. This process started as a vendor access log and after we had the missing money thing happen, extented to all non tellers.

Funny note was when a new teller reminded the branch manager that she needed to be signed in before she could come behind the line. The manager laughed and bought her lunch for be so observate to the rules as a new employee.

I agree with Dawnie. I am of the same opinion regarding customer service and teller training. And, this is the way my management likes it. Tellers are solely responsible for keeping their money secure. If money goes missing, a teller may not have taken it, but they sure are responsible for allowing the situation to occur, and will held accountable. Tellers must take the time and effort to follow security precautions. It is just as important as taking time and effort when dealing with customers. Non-employees are forbidden to be in teller areas. I used to have major problems with vps, etc. bringing customers into the main vault to watch their coin being counted through the big machine. Tellers would allow customers to carry their own coin into the vault, rather than ask another employee for help or use a dolly. Family members would hang out in the drive-thru or lounge against the lobby teller counter where they could see just what business our customers were conducting,etc. People blamed me for doing away with the relaxed friendly atmosphere of the bank. But our losses were reduced to almost nothing, so I think I made my point.

Okay, I disagree with Dawnie and the above Anon for the simple reasons that these controls in the other places where folks responded who had limited access were put into place for a reason. I do agree that there needs to be a balance between cutting in front of the customers (and yes, if you are the customer in line and you see a bank employee "cutting" and going back behind the line, that customer doesn't know if it is personal or for another customer and if it is for another customer, they would probably expect the CSR to have to wait in line just like they would have themselves) and speedy service. "I'm The Boss" is in another world and needs to wake up. Security is everyone's issue-even if the tellers are responsible for keeping their goods to themselves. In a busy larger bank, this should be a huge no-no. Do you let loan officers into the vault because they feel like it? No, of coure not because they have absolutely no business in ther, but in your theory all of the assets should be locked up and secure! That is absurd! Wake up and welcome to controls and procedures created to prevent bad situations from repeating themselves at your institutions. Compliance officer, do what you have to do to point this out within reason of job security for yourself (memo to everyone you feel needs to know) because when something goes down, you want to be in a position to say "told you so" and your own CYA. Shame on your lazy security officer-what do they think their job entails anyway??? Okay, rant over. Honestly, what are people thinking???? Obviously not that they work in a bank and that one of EVERYONE'S job functions is to protect the assets of the bank. BTW-those assets belong to the bank, not the tellers, just in case anyone needed to be reminded of that. Okay, rant really over...looks like I may need to find some chocolate or something!

Early in this thread I stated that our porcedure is to restrict access to the teller area to those with a need to be there. The key is "need to be there." As Dawnie and others have pointed out, the tellers are not the only ones who need to be there. In many smaller branch facilities everyone has a need to be there at some time or another - dual control, auditing, helping a teller with balancing problems, etc. are all valid reasons to be behind the teller line.

If I see a teller having a difficult time with a customer I go behind the teller line to back her up. If the situation gets ugly I'm safer talking to the customer from behind the teller line than out in the lobby. I've trained my CSR's to do the same - go behind the line when you need to intervene.

The tellers do not face any greater risk by having other bank staff behind the line. In my experience tellers are just as likely to steal from one another as other bank employees are to steal from a teller drawer - maybe more likely since they're more familiar with the checks and balances.

To state or suggest that only tellers are ever allowed behind the teller line is unwise. However, access should be limited to those with a legitimate need to be there. There's a lot of information floating around behind the teller line and not everyone in the bank should have access to that information. GLB says that information should be restricted to those with a "business need to know." That's my issue.

Good point and if those employees at smaller branches have a need to be there and the information is the only concern, then duly noted, as they would have "a need to know." On the other security point of cash/teller drawers, etc., same thing on smaller branches where you have smaller staff and most wear multiple hats, but for other situations, this should be reconsidered. Yes, I did find some chocolate!

I happen to be the auditor. When I found this "open door" practice on video tape in a couple of our offices while looking for some serious teller line shortages I pointed it out in my report to Senior Management. It didn't take long for the "closed door" POLICY to arrive.

Anyone in our branch can go behind line however as head teller I have everything under monitor and money and vaults locked up. However, if non branch personel come behind line meaning vendors,couriers,etc and even bank employees who dont work at the office they must sign in. Sometimes I think I have too much control behind line. Im glad Im an honest person and could NEVER steal or take anything because I have access to almost everything behind line. Sometimes that bothers me.

There should be a policy chances are the teller when balancing out for the evening can come up short in cash and they could be blamed when in fact you may have a inside thief who helps themself by going behind the counter because it seems ok- so no one suspects things. Check out (Ad removed) they have a video on robbery and things that can go un-noticed like even to fix it people coming in behind the teller window and stealing with no one having a clue.

As an ex teller, if I left my drawer unlocked and walked away from it, I would expect a loss and in my experience I'd be fired for the stupidity of my actions. "Fix it" people should not be in teller cages. IF they need to be there, they should not be cages in use, and things should definately be locked up.

Where are common controlls? We used to have them in the "old days"

Good point Dawnie! Yep, what about those "old days"......they were the "GOOD old days"....it's sad I can remember those good old days...when lobby and drive-up lines were long on Friday nights! And we moved the customers through without PCs..go figure?

Once upon a time, when I was as auditor, I would walk behind the teller line. If the teller wasn't at his/her station I would check the drawers to see if they were locked. If unlocked, I would call the supervisor over and ask her to watch as I took money out of the drawer. We would then put it in an envelope and place it in the vault. The panic when s/he couldn't balance and couldn't find the money was the best teacher in the world. They learned....