Written by: Karolyn Ferris | US Segment Head, Endowments & Foundations and Healthcare, BNY Mellon
Design thinking, customer co-development… these Silicon Valley mantras may seem alien to institutional banking, but BNY Mellon’s Asset Servicing group has taken them to heart in its approach to client products. We have tailored these approaches to work within the context of our relationship with Asset Owners. That’s where the “microgroup” comes in.
Microgroups pull together a small group of clients and embed them in the development process. They work as a true partner in the process, providing feedback on design and later on prototypes and production-ready offerings. Feedback also flows from us to clients – we help them identify efficiencies and improvements to their own operations.
The microgroup philosophy is to start small and then expand, consistent with BNY Mellon’s broader agile development ethos. When we developed a new digital workflow for New Account openings, we first engaged four clients to take part in the design. We then expanded to 20 clients from development through launch. This expanded microgroup stayed engaged to help perfect the product.
The result is that both sides see better results. In fact, in a microgroup world, even a name can be co-created. The name “microgroups” was coined by a Client Advisory Board and active microgroup member, who added, “I feel like there's a lot of untapped client goodwill sitting right below the surface, and the opportunity to participate in these microgroups with the right people unlocks it.”
The approach can be equally effective in improving mature products. BNY Mellon’s Instruction Capture Online (ICO). ICO is our proprietary trade communication product. It allows authorized users to electronically provide us with trade notification and to take advantage of edits and auto-calculation features that are built into our core system. We wanted to address client pain points and deliver improvements, so we engaged another microgroup to take the journey with us. We gathered first-hand feedback directly from users across our client business segments at their own offices. We saw how users interact with ICO and how it fits into their workstreams. We are now readying the next phase, in which our microgroup will interact with a prototype based on their initial feedback. We are proud of the progress to date.
In both cases, microgroups have brought the best of what everyone brings to the table. We use them to eliminate the gap between client need and banking solution, and we look forward to continuing to engage them.
To learn more about microgroups at BNY Mellon or volunteer to participate, please visit our website.
Karolyn Ferris is a Managing Director and Segment Head for the Endowment & Foundation and Health Care business segments across the US for BNY Mellon Asset Servicing. In this capacity, she has direct responsibility for front office service delivery and directs various aspects of product management and strategic priorities, new business development efforts, and thought leadership work related to these business segments.