The Challenge:

HomeEquity Bank (HEB), specializing in serving retired Canadians, faced growing competition and the challenges of a rising interest rate environment. To maintain its edge, HEB needed a deeper understanding of its customers, especially their comfort with technology, and sought to identify opportunities to enhance service delivery across the customer journey. The bank also needed to streamline internal processes to reduce inefficiencies that were costing them millions in potential revenue.

Our Approach:

We partnered with HEB under their Voice of the Customer (VOC) program to conduct several pivotal studies. A key focus was a comprehensive survey targeting HEB customers aged 55+, which assessed their technological comfort and expectations from financial institutions. Using advanced tools like Qualtrics, Excel, Celonis, and Looker, we conducted an in-depth analysis of both customer attitudes and HEB's internal operations. This led to actionable insights for improving the bank’s service delivery, from applications to funding and beyond.

The Result:

Our collaboration resulted in strategic, data-driven changes at HEB. The insights gained from our research informed a national brand campaign and were highlighted in the Financial Post. We identified inefficiencies in HEB’s lead-to-fund process, which were costing the bank $346K in rework and potentially up to $54.4M in lost loan originations per year. To address these issues, we developed a prioritization matrix that now guides HEB’s Project Management Office (PMO) and Digital Transformation leadership, helping the bank optimize service delivery and enhance the overall customer experience.