NATWEST GROUP wanted to optimise their software engineering department and improve the employee experience
Background
Within the NatWest Group, a substantial community of software developers is engaged in various projects. The management held the belief that by harnessing a robust "engine of insights," they could gather comprehensive data on the employee experience and subsequently enhance it. The underlying hypotheses posited that an improved work environment would yield heightened work efficiency, bolster staff retention, and ultimately contribute to the overarching success of the bank. With an introduction to the concept of Service Design, they sought to explore its potential application as a methodology to advance this very ambition.
Problem
At NatWest, the software engineers encountered a tumultuous employee experience characterized by disarray. The resulting frustration prompted numerous individuals to opt for departure, subsequently resulting in project setbacks and a depletion of knowledge. Moreover, inadequate practices gave rise to project delays attributed to dependency bottlenecks and ineffective dissemination of research and insights within the community.
The repercussions extended to crucial factors such as time-to-market, team morale, and staff retention, all of which suffered considerable setbacks for the affected teams.
Solution
Service Design to the rescue. Adopting the perspective of the engineers as our primary customers, Spective Global undertook a comprehensive exploration of their experiences throughout their tasks. This encompassed everything from the initial onboarding of new engineers to overseeing customised projects, day-to-day operations, and even the departure process from the organisation.
These diverse customer journeys were systematically transformed into data-driven models and placed at the forefront of the service blueprints. These blueprints served as alignment frameworks, vividly illustrating how the activities of all teams, spanning the entire organisation, interconnected. They effectively captured both the visible customer-facing actions and the behind-the-scenes backstage processes, all of which were carefully examined. This holistic approach aided in identifying pain points and unveiling prospects for enhancing the contextual encounters that transpire during each significant and minor juncture of the job execution journey.
As dynamic "living documents" in the digital realm, these service blueprints were receptive to both qualitative and quantitative information. This facilitated the accumulation of insights into areas of concern and potential risks. Serving a dual role, these blueprints acted as repositories of Management Information, aiding in the evaluation of historical performance, and as invaluable sources of Business Intelligence, enabling strategic planning for a more enriching future.
Impact
Impact Mapping frameworks were devised in order to plan for and assess the hypothetical benefits of changes. Tables were set up with a provenance from goals to delivered changes, via people affected, impact planned and metrics to measure the impact. These were popular with both staff and management as everyone could clearly see the vision and strategic ways of achieving their goals. They could also speak in a common language, about issues, risks and how to improve.
