THE SITUATION
The Ask: a tactical move of 11 existing loan applications onto a new infrastructure platform and design standard while addressing a few pressing compliance issues.
The Problem Redefined: A need for cheaper, faster maintenance of 11 different loan applications while simplifying and improving experience for our customer service reps.
The Goal: To provide any compliance quick wins to meet the tactical short term needs, but also to deliver research on a longer term solution.
THE RESPONSE
The Strategy: While the tactical work included superficial changes and was quickly completed, my team started a longer parallel journey to understand the Customer Service Representatives' (CSR) challenges with the current Consumer Lending application process, and how they interact with members from pre-application through close.
__•_How to improve the experience for CSRs working on loan applications
__•_Consumer Loan product pain points and actionable insights
__•_Emulate the experience interacting with CSRs in an online application
The Process:
__•_Y-chording with CSRs and development of test plan
__•_Conducted a series of interviews with CSRs
__•_Multiple rounds of synthesis to pull out most useful insights
The Result
As-Is Statements
Definition of the Problem Space
The Status Hunter:
Linda is a Consumer Lending CSR who assists customers with loan applications and refinances. She’s been an CSR for about two years so she’s comfortable with all of the servicing tools. She genuinely likes helping customers and she’s proud that some of her family members work for the bank too.
She just wishes there was a way for her to find the status of loan applications at a glance.
The Distracted Navigator:
Landon is a Senior CSR who can handle all types of loan applications from simple auto and personal loans to complex boat loans. Landon is focused on meeting goals each month for submitted applications and referrals.
Landon just wishes that he could access the appropriate tools as he needs them when going through the application so he can focus attention on the customer.
Frustrated by Compliance:
Jake is a bank employee of eight years, but new to Consumer Lending. He's very empathetic toward customers because he relates to the life events - good and bad - that they are going through.
Jake is exasperated when's he’s caught in the middle of a compliance checkbox and what the customer wants.
Translating Disclosures:
Jorge has been working as an CSR for about five years. He’s confident in guiding bank customers and likes to treat each conversation as if it’s one happening on a living room couch with a family member.
Jorge has developed his own approach to helping customers understand disclaimers, but he wishes that disclaimers were written in language easy for customers to understand.
Flexible Work Patterns:
Jennifer is a seasoned CSR with more than 20 years of experience. Jennifer is comfortable helping customers since she’s worked through most of the common and uncommon application issues, but she’s less confident in advising customers about the best financial decision.
She just wishes that the tools were flexible enough to allow her to access offer details at any time since customers usually ask follow up questions later in the call.
Insights
Lessoned Learned
Members lack the knowledge and understanding of complex loan processes to complete online applications therefore rely on CSRs to translate terminology and guide them.
CSRs find themselves in circular patterns of triangulating information throughout the loan process while being impeded from moving between tools and information as needed.
Member “best solution” outcomes are variable due to relying on individual CSRs’ experience, knowledge, communication style and confidence level, putting The Business at risk for being a compliant company.
Design Principles
How We Will Achieve Design Goals
Simple Language: The application offers context and tips to explain information to members in a simple way
Smart Efficiency: The application surfaces statuses and need-to-know information at the top level
Enhanced Guidance: CSRs’ ability to help members is enhanced by accessing and adapting tools as needed
Detailed and Broad: The application set up is informed by the most common scenarios, and an understanding of fringe scenarios
Who We Are Designing For
The Archetypes
The Listening Collaborator:
__•_Views members to be like a family member or friend.
__•_Deeply empathize and connect with customer experience and goals.
__•_Guide members through process, but not advising financial decisions.
__•_Most satisfaction from connecting and working with customers.
The Doer:
__•_Focused on checking all of the boxes they need to during an application call.
__•_Connect with members as much as needed to complete the application.
__•_Relies on the prompts and tools to guide them through the application.
__•_Focused on completing tasks and are frustrated by process deficiencies.
The Confident Advisor:
__•_Believes in their ability to help members find a great loan solution.
__•_Feels comfortable to go beyond tools and prompts to explain things.
__•_Each call is an opportunity to help and practice their expertise.
The Driver:
__•_Focused on exceeding expectations and demonstrating expertise.
__•_Sees their relationship with the customers as authoritative.
__•_Finds it frustrating when members don't defer to them as an expert.
__•_Is a multitasker who aims to exceed expectations in all performance metrics.