No matter how great the concept, execution comes with some risks. 

Today, persona-based end-user services offers great promise for banks the world over. For starters, user satisfaction and productivity rise when they get IT support specific to their job roles and needs. Expense is another reason: when everybody gets mainly the same technology and the same level of service, some are over-served, others under-served, and licenses and devices are wasted. With personas, your bank’s IT team can be confident of delivering the right support, service, and technology without also taking on unnecessary expense.

Of course, it takes a lot more to set-up your persona-based strategy than just flipping a switch. So what are the implementation pitfalls? We often see four:

Starting with the technology. Why do so many fall for the temptation to choose the technology and then entreat the business to make it deliver? For one thing, the technology is the easier decision. Another bank touts its success, and the chorus goes, “If only we had our competitor’s technology. Let’s get it, start integrating it, while the business puts the numbers to the case.” Vendors press favorable terms for early adoption of their particular technology, quoting ROIs at other banks that did start with the business need. Avoid this pitfall by putting a firm pencil to the business case first and letting vendors match their claims to it.

Going enterprise. With all the IT projects contending for funds, naturally contenders try to come up with a vast business case too big to resist. But an enterprise project requires an enormous amount of evangelism and business case building. Much better to build a smaller but powerful proof case by pairing a persona-based alignment with another project already funded and executive-supported – such as a migration to a major upgrade or a critical system replacement. You’ll be working with a committed workforce already focused on solving new IT support issues, so let that success sell your next focus.

Reinventing the wheel. Banking is a unique industry, and your bank is unique within it. However, in almost any enterprise, there are a predictable number of types of job roles, processes, and challenges, call them what you will. Companies with mature persona-based end user services have identified them and described them in detail. Start with what has already been invented and proved in real-world situations. Then, by all means, adjust them if they don’t comport with your bank’s needs. 

Designing for now. Name a sport where the coach isn’t constantly saying, “Stay on your toes.” They mean it literally, because if you set your heels down, you’re not ready to change direction, or leap into the air, or dodge the oncoming linesman, or whatever your sport requires. Same with this persona-based concept. It is critical to keep your program flexible for change that is bound to occur. Its main reason for being is to frame fast action whenever change occurs. Defining reactions according to each unique persona takes the guess-work, cost, and delays out of change. 

About the Author: Bob Olson is a Vice President at Unisys (News - Alert) where he manages the Global Financial Services Practice.  In this capacity he works with clients by providing a portfolio of IT services, software and technology to help them solve their mission-critical problems. His 30 years of experience in the financial services industry includes managing diverse divisions of U.S. banks including IT, data processing, cash management, correspondent banking, check, loan, branch operations, product management, global operations and wholesale banking. He has helped financial institutions reach their growth, expense management and revenue objectives through global solutions strategies.