Sibos 2017: embrace the change or get out of the way!
At today’s (18 October) panel discussion at Sibos, user experience (UX) and organisational culture were put to the fore. What does it take to create a simple yet meaningful UX? And what role does an organisational culture play in it?
While many companies talk about the “fail fast” approach when it comes to experimenting and innovating, Adnan Khan, head of European digital client experience strategy, Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), recommends avoiding this phrase and mentality. “What does ‘fail’ mean?” he asks. “Could it be ‘succeed slow’ instead?”
It’s all about individual people and bringing them together, observed another panellist, David Watson, head of digital cash products and Americas head of cash management, Deutsche Bank. Instead of devising and building something very complex and functionally rich in-house, adopt a “lazier” approach and involve clients in the design, development and delivery of the product, he recommended. And simplify!
Khan agreed: “Bring client closer to UX and understand the client’s UX journey.”
After all, it is all about customer-centricity and learning what the customer wants/needs and the pain points they are trying to solve, said Kendra Thompson, MD and global head of wealth management at Accenture. “Don’t just create a product and then explain to the client why they should love it.”
However, this might require a change in more than just a mindset (which is not easy to implement) but also in a company’s business model and the way it makes money, she warned. “And that is very difficult to embrace.”
Leigh Mahoney, head of wholesale digital transformation, digital banking at ANZ, observed that today, “it is a customer who is dictating the experience, not the tech”. In the past, there was too much reliance on technology limitations and what it could deliver, he explained. Nowadays, technology has all the capabilities to create a smooth UX journey and a great product.
Mahoney also flagged the importance of breaking down the silos between departments in the organisation and how it can lead to creativity and innovation. For example, he said, you have cross-border payments, FX and foreign currency account businesses. Three standalone products, three siloed business lines. But doesn’t it make sense to combine them, he asked. “Cut the head, put them together and create a new product.”
The discussion panellists were in agreement that the teams involved in the development of the product/UX need to be nimble and work in an agile way.
ANZ is leading by example – Mahoney said the banking group is moving from waterfall with pockets of agile to fully agile enterprise-wide. This, he emphasised, requires “a major cultural change – from what it was to what it will be”.
The impetus has to come from the organisation’s top and all the way down in a clear communication, BBH’s Khan said. “Conduct internal marketing campaigns,” he recommended. “Effect the positive change for the client.”
Tapping into your organisation’s creativity will yield great results, Accenture’s Thompson said. “Bring out the people’s inherent creativity that comes from within. It’s not about wearing trendy jeans and sneakers. It’s about the sense of purpose.”
Change is inevitable, she stated. “Hot, fast, uncomfortable change is the standard for the industry now,” she said. “If you are struggling – get help or get out of the way!”
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