Overview
Goal
According to a Top Office retention study, where a sampling of Financial Representatives from each office were invited to participate in a brief survey (23 of 28 invited participated). There were 12 questions on the survey, a mix of open-ended and subjective, that invited their feedback on various topics including career choice, motivation, office culture, coaching, and resources.
Their answers reinforced that new representatives, within their first 2-5 years of service, faced challenges in learning effective practice management.
Our goal was to reduce the turnover of Financial Advisors specifically those that are within their first 5 years of service by implementing a comprehensive guidance system.
Hypothesis
If we enable early-stage Financial Advisors to track and manage their performance, we will support them in running their business, managing clients effectively, and fostering overall success.
Target Personas
Britt is a Financial Advisor who has been in the field for 4 years. She has a book of business with roughly 200 medical professionals. Peter is a Managing Director with 14 years of Service who mentors Britt.
Top User Pain Points
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Financial Advisors lack the motivation to record their activity data and achieve activity targets
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For Leadership, there is no easy way to see which Advisor is off track
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Individual advisor data is more helpful than aggregate data for coaching
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Time consuming to collect the gaps in data
Outcome
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A 5-year vision of the Book of Business application and the development of Northwestern Mutual's first homegrown dashboard
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Collaboration with 5 different teams (Success Profiles, Model Advisor, My Business Plan, BI, CRM) and the acquisition of Posting Plus
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Design from 0-1
Results
70% Adoption one year after launch
Intervention
IA Workshop
Qualitative user research identifying top painpoints from the IA Agenda document
Slides of the Business goals, User goals, and IA audits of the CRM and BI tools from the IA Workshop Agenda document
An open card-sorting workshop to create new navigations
Results from a round of Tree tests validating 5 different versions of proposed navigations
The future sitemap for Book of Business
The MVP sitemap for Book of Business
Problem
We aimed to minimize the time-intensive process of gathering information and eliminate redundancies in data entry. To achieve this goal, effective communication of the initiative and collaboration with existing data teams were essential components.
Solution
Using card sorting exercises, we utilized internal resources and synchronized inventory to create a new UX architecture that aligns with the user journey. We conducted a series of moderated open card sorts and Tree Jack tests that involved both stakeholders and end users.
Intervention
The Vision Workshhop
The Advisor and Leadership Persona slide from the VIsion document
Problem
To further alignment among stakeholders in building the Book of Business, clear and evocative communication of what we were going to build was essential. We needed a method of representation for our vision.
Solution
We opted for storyboarding as the method to convey a meaningful sequence of events through the lens of our end users. Narrating the story from the perspectives of our personas effectively conveyed the goals and needs that this undertaking aimed to address.
Intervention
Wireframes of the Book of Business Goal Setting flow and dashboard.
Problem
The vision document served as a high-level overview, encompassing multiple use cases far into the future. To realize this vision, the approach needed to begin at the core of the experience, focusing on empowering Financial Advisors to lead their business.
Solution
A dashboard that provides real-time data visualization of sales, revenue, pipeline, and activity targets, replaces intricate spreadsheets with dynamic charts, graphs, and metrics. Users can easily understand the current state of their business, enabling data-driven decision-making.
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