Why did I, as a member of the senior management at UBS, wear a name tag that included “in training”? Here is the backstory:
When UBS hired me in 2010 to develop the new branch design and customer experience for Switzerland, one of my conditions was that I be allowed to serve customers at the counter and in the consulting area for two weeks during the analysis phase and be able to “live there” as part of the team, so to speak. After all, all data-based and empirical on-site analyses of the actual situation are insufficient without experiencing the entirety of the true and honest everyday life in the branch. This includes, for example, the important but always different morning rituals when the team arrives, the behavior of everyone when the branch is empty (when there are no customers in the branch) or how lunch breaks are organized. But also how relationships with individual customers work, how the informal local anchoring is orchestrated. How to deal with stressful and conflictual situations, which, after all, cannot all be scripted. Of course, you also experience how employees actually carry out the processes and touchpoint management – or slightly adapt or optimize them. And you will for sure find hidden jewels of service excellence can be found in unexpected places (and make them available for other branches). Or, very importantly, how interpersonal relationships withing the branches are shaped and lived out.
My aim was never to industrialize these “between-the-lines” moments and contents – on the contrary, I had to ensure that they were given their due. Because it is these things that can improve or maintain the experience of the employees – you do not want to screw up these elements in a quick rollout.
The second main effect of such a stage in the branch for me was to make change management even more intentional and needs-based. Because we changed the habitat of the branches so drastically that the habitus also had to/should adapt to a considerable extent (we wanted to improve service excellence and commercial success). Examples of this are the removal of secure counters behind glass throughout Switzerland or the addition of the new role welcome manager.
Ultimately, my entire program development benefited from my “training period” as part of a team on the ground. But I didn't stop there.
Because after we had set up the mock-up in a tennis hall and tested it intensively, we converted five branches in all parts of Switzerland into pilots. It was now obvious to spend another week in one of these branches and thus experience the effect before and after at first hand and to make any necessary corrections and additions for the upcoming conversion of the remaining almost 300 branches.
To sum up, I can say that this experience of reality, instead of the frequently seen pure anticipation from the outside/above, is a worthwhile effort that greatly optimizes the acceptance and the strategic intentionality of the new branch. And thus results in less rework and corrections. I recommend that every similar programme manager introduce such milestones – of course, these have to be adapted according to the abilities and background of those involved. I was lucky enough to have had a banking training, which made it easy for me to get to know the day-to-day work.
So the reason for the “in training” tag was to proactively ask the customers for a little leniency – I was never as fast, efficient and intentional as my experienced colleagues…
ความคิดเห็น