Streamlining customer and user experiences for a leading financial institution improves overall satisfaction

At the start of 2023, a major UK banking institution known for a wide range of products challenged themselves to improve the customer experience. By doing so, the organisation intended to assess its customer service operations and identify ways to simplify customer journeys and back-end procedures. In addition, the bank wanted to establish a positive feedback loop that would enable continuous improvement and eliminate failure demand. Through this process, the bank intended to eradicate the root causes of various inefficiencies, rather than just addressing their symptoms.

Through a series of workshops and interviews, a detailed review of the company’s processes was conducted, particularly in areas such as mortgages, everyday banking, and collections. The analysis revealed opportunities for automation, standardisation, and a better alignment of resources that could shorten turnaround times and eliminate redundant process. The company’s leadership set up a strict deadline for the entire transformation process and established a six-month timeframe to achieve their goals.

Simplifying customer and employee experiences

Capgemini collaborated with the banking institution to perform a detailed assessment of the current processes and customer journeys that identified the improvement areas. The top-down analysis involved close collaboration with the company’s leadership to craft a service experience methodology, emphasising the need for detailed process observation. The findings recommended redistributing back-office office employees to other roles, with the goal of streamlining processes and lowering operational expenses. Meanwhile, a bottom-up analysis observed employees and their tasks to offer a more granular view of processes and customer journeys.

These insights led to the development of a strategic delivery roadmap, ensuring that each step provided measurable benefits in terms of employee efficiency. Together, the bank and Capgemini crafted a comprehensive methodology for reviewing service experiences, applied across six priority areas over the next six months with scalability for future expansion. To support these initiatives, the project team introduced innovative analytics and intelligence tools that enhanced the measurement of benefits across various service delivery areas.

For example, in one instance, the bank learned that for any long process, such as a mortgage application, most instances of customer contact were simply requests for updates. By proactively providing customers with updates, the number of requests fell dramatically. Customers benefitted from greater confidence and employees experienced reduced call volume, both of which led to higher customer satisfaction and lower costs. In another case, the bank transitioned many types of calls from telephone support to web chat, which not only streamlined the customer experience but also opened up new offshoring opportunities.

Going forward with a new level of customer engagement

The implementation has enabled the delivery of a strategic framework that saved £4 million across key service areas. With data-rich reports and a new methodology for assessing the relevance  of tools and kits to service experience reviews, the bank now has investigative tools to help streamline customer service.

Working with Capgemini, the company implemented a new approach wherein the services are grouped and observed at a component level to optimise critical banking processes and root out inefficiencies. This initiative not only reduced customer handoffs and service costs across various areas but also gave rise to a positive feedback loop that contributed to a 15-20% reduction in complaints and a higher Net Promoter Score, signaling an improved customer experience.

By optimising its support processes, the bank is now able to support its customers with empathy and efficiency, when and how they need it. The transformation paved the way to improved relations with customers and greater efficiency while laying the groundwork for future improvements to ensure that the bank retains its strong position as a leader in the sector.