Customer Experience Designer at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

The bank is on a Customer Experience Transformation with an aim of clearly defining end to-end customer journeys that improve interactions with our customers. To achieve this, the role-holder will drive the mapping of key Customer Journeys in the bank in a bid to deliver exceptional customer experience and clearly define what existing and potential new-to-bank customers need in order to either take up a solution with us or join the bank. The bank’s goal is to elevate customer connections and deliver seamless experiences by providing positive ‘moments of truth’.
They key activities to be undertaken are:

• Identify the key Customer Journeys which will drive the highest impact for the bank in elevating customer experience.
• Map out these Customer Journeys, to provide a CX perspective to the customer engagement process, noting the experience the bank wants to provide the customer and the experience the customer wants to receive.
• Identify key customer needs that need to be met from the mapped customer journeys.
• Articulate the gaps coming out between the actual customer experience and the desired state.
• Transform these Customer Journeys by delivering customer-centric designs incorporating systems thinking, customer experience/customer research, and service design, operating model review, commercial analysis and market knowledge.
• Outline the key areas of action to enable the bank maximize benefits (including efficiencies), and co-ordinate resolution of these, working with the business process re-engineering team and other business stakeholders, to deliver best-in-class customer journeys.
• Conduct analyses required and problem solve with the team on specific delivery, design and strategic issues.
• Drive rapid delivery for higher impact throughout the process.
• Provide subject matter expertise on the industry, products, distribution, and innovation trends.
• Act as primary liaison to 3rd Party Vendors who will be supporting our Customer Experience design efforts.

Job Description

Main Accountabilities and Approximate Time Split

Customer Journey Design: Time Split: 45%

• Design and implement the Customer Journey Design Policy for the bank, which will guide all future work on Customer Journey Design.
• Business analysis of critical customer journeys across the bank and prioritize areas of focus.
• Map out the identified critical customer journeys, using appropriate design tools/systems.
• Identify customer needs emanating from the mapped customer journeys and work with the business teams to solve for these needs.
• Identify key gaps and pain-points from the mapped customer journeys, and work with a cross-functional team to solve these.
• Employ best-in-class analyses to identify focused actions which will provide the maximum impact, to address critical areas of resolution.
• Work with the Process Engineers to identify key processes for transformation based on the customer journey output.
• Track the closure of all identified actions to ensure full delivery of transformed customer journeys.
• Liaise with the Africa Regional Office (ARO) Design Office and external Vendors as required.
• Be the custodian of all customer journeys.

Stakeholder Engagement and Management: Time Split: 30%

• Ensure clear understanding of what customer journey mapping entails across key business functions and stakeholders.
• Provide the required subject matter expertise to steer customer journey mapping in the bank.
• Ensure regular updates to key stakeholders and bank leadership on the customer journey transformation agenda.
• Drive cross-functional engagements to deliver transformed customer journeys.
• Ensure the right stakeholders are involved in the discussions to transform the identified customer journeys.

Team Management: Time Split: 15%

• Drive the required output from the assigned team.
• Ensure timely delivery of actions and agreed deliverables.
• Provide the required support to the assigned team to ensure the agreed business objectives are achieved.

Governance, Risk & Controls: Time Split: 10%

• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Policy Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.
• Ensure compliance with operations risk and rigor requirements e.g. KYC and anti-money laundering measures.
• Ensure that all staff adhere to all Absa Information Security policies and procedures through regular communication to staff and spot checks.
• Conduct any regular quality checks on processes, including Crisis Management, systems, reviewing control reports, etc.
• Ensure that all Absa Africa procedures are followed.

Technical skills / Competencies

Education and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field
• Relevant design certification or experience – Design Thinking, Human Centred Design, Customer Journey Mapping etc.
• More than three years’ experience in Customer Experience Design

Knowledge & Skills Required

• Customer Journey Mapping skills
• Application of the Human Centered Design approach
• UI Design, using products like Sketch, Illustrator and Photoshop
• Deep knowledge of UX Design principles
• Prototyping both low and high-fidelity prototypes using tools like InVision and Protopie
• Facilitation and participation in Google Design Sprints
• Well versed in Design Thinking Methodologies
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Analytical and evaluation skills
• Business communication and interpersonal skills
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Presentation -Confidence and commitment, Persuasive and credible
• Decision making and ability to act on own initiative.
• Taking responsibility for decisions
• Teamwork skills

Competencies Required

• People Management
• Communication and Presentation
• Business awareness
• Business management
• Performance management
• Resource management
• Relationship management & Influencing
• Team building
• P C skills (including navigation of appropriate design software/tools)
• Planning

Knowledge, Expertise and Experience

(Relating to specialist knowledge and expertise required to undertake the role. May include knowledge of the Bank’s products, services and policies) Essential.

• In-depth knowledge of design and customer journey mapping.
• Up-to-date knowledge on international activity and best practices in design and customer journey mapping.
• Working knowledge of competitor and market activity in Kenya.
• Good understanding of banking products and services, and customer expectations in the Kenyan market.
• Basic understanding of Absa Risk Policy and Group governance requirements.
• Basic understanding of Absa’ strategy, operating structure and interface with other functions.
• Basic knowledge of Risk and Credit policies and procedures.

Measures of success

• Bank/Segment/Business/Branch Customer Experience Measures performance including the Customer Experience Index (CXI) and Net Promoter Score (NPS).
• Achieve high results in other Customer Satisfaction Surveys (Mystery Shopping)
• Achieve consistently set goals on Turn Around Times for various services and touchpoints
• Reduce customer dormancy and attrition
• Increase in active customers