Enhancing Customer Experience with Hackathons

How a Multinational Banking and Financial Services Corporation Empowered Staff to Make Small Changes for Customers

Context

A multinational banking and financial services corporation was determined to create a more customer-focused environment by executing small, simple yet effective changes to enhance the Customer Experience. On CX Day (Customer Experience Day), all staff across all functions are empowered to make small changes that lead to improvements for customers. 

One department decided to use Scrum Educational Experience (SEE) to help provide more structure in working through CX Day. To achieve this, we helped design and execute a bespoke hackathon. The main goals were: 

  • Creating a customer-focused environment with a human-centred approach 
  • Executing small, simple yet effective changes to enhance Customer Experience
  • Showing staff how easy making changes can be 

Setup

The CX Day hackathon was designed using the SEE model and followed the innovation process. We combined elements of Hackathons, Experiential Learning and Agile methodologies into a collaborative and structured process.

SEE Components

The SEE model was created to introduce innovative mindsets, tools and processes. The power of this model lies in not building from the end, and each element of the process gets the same amount of undivided attention. By introducing structured sprints, teams don’t need to decide what to do or prioritise. Their sole focus is the creative process.

50 participants took part, both online across the APAC region and offline in their Sydney office. Each team had a dedicated facilitator to drive the process and keep the conversation focused on deliverables for each sprint.

Before

Leading up to the event, we curated a shortlist of relevant challenges to kickstart the hackathon process. To collect input, we asked staff to share their thoughts using the following format:

  • As a (target group/persona)
  • When I (context/situation)
  • I want to (customer need/job to be done)
  • But (barriers/dilemma).

In addition, we provided training for the facilitators. This included a briefing, tips and tricks on realising outcomes in a high-paced process and practice with each other.

During

The hackathon started by forming teams, which was done at random based on attendance. Following the SEE model, each team went through the timed sprints on the different focus areas.

SEE Innovation Phases

Throughout the hackathon, teams were encouraged to embrace an innovation mindset. One example of this was by prioritising commitment over consensus. In a high-pressure and fast-paced environment like a hackathon, reaching a consensus on every aspect of the plan is time-consuming and counterproductive. Instead, teams were encouraged to make quick decisions and move forward with the focus on what they needed to learn next and how they were going to achieve their goals. By adopting this approach, the teams were able to effectively channel their creativity and make significant progress towards achieving their objectives. 

The CX Day hackathon covered various stages, including: 

  • Challenge selection 
  • Persona analysis 
  • Customer journey creation 
  • Problem research plan 
  • Problem research execution
  • Problem statement formulation 
  • Ideation 
  • Prototyping
  • Pitching

After

At the end of the CX Day, teams put together pitches for senior management based on their findings. Some solutions were implemented on the spot, while others needed additional resources before they could be executed. 

Here’s what one participant had to share:

“I’m a techie‘ and not directly in contact with customers, but going through this process helped me to step into their shoes and better understand their needs, motivations and struggles.”

Lessons Learned

The hackathon was successful in working towards solutions to enhance customer experience. Lastly, these are some additional takeaways to consider: 

  • Upon concluding the event, some momentum was lost in taking forward the ideas. Predefined avenues to take and resources available based on the scope and impact of the ideas would have benefitted the scaling process. 
  • Senior management guidance was helpful to prioritise the different ideas based on strategic priorities.
  • Several challenges submitted focussed on solving problems staff encountered in their context. They flagged they needed help streamlining operations and processes before they could help clients better.

Conclusion

The bespoke hackathon was a success, with staff equipped with tools and introduced to a mindset to keep the customer front and centre in their day-to-day work. By providing more structure to CX Day, the multinational banking and financial services corporation was able to empower staff to make small changes that lead to improvements for customers, which in turn led to a more customer-focused environment. 

Interested in a CX Hackathon for your organisation? Contact see@iandi.eu for more information.

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