ASB: TRANSFORMING
AT 'PACE'
ASB Bank Limited is one of New Zealand's leading commercial banks, committed to delivering on their purpose of accelerating financial progress for all New Zealanders through their products, services and how they support the community.
In 2019/20, the company adopted a new work model, called 'PACE', designed to create better experiences for their customers and their people. Using the principles of Better, Sooner and Safer, PACE is a way of working that puts the customer at the heart of what the company does, whilst also making it easier for the teams to get the job done.
/shift worked with the Leadership Team at ASB on their PACE Customer Experience transformation for 12 months, working alongside a talented group of independent consultants and Deloitte as main consulting partner. A new work system was created which included various methods to promote adaptive mindsets including Kanban, SCRUM, Human-Centred Design and Lean. Multi-disciplinary ‘Tribes’ were formed to deliberately brake down the traditional functional silos, and these were both ready and capable of rapidly responding to changes in customer needs.
Key outcomes of ASB's PACE transformation that /shift were involved with included:
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Designing a completely new operating model for the bank based on x-functional teams using Agile, Human Centered Design and Lean methodologies
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Launching three so-called 'Pioneer tribes' to test, iterate and learn as the new model takes shape
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Coaching and mentoring of new Tribe Leads and Delivery Leads appointed into the Pioneer Tribes
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Developing and implementing a Practice/Chapter model which aligns all capabilities and resources across the bank
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Designing interaction models which govern how all divisions of the bank work 'in' or 'with' the new operating model
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Developing the funding and governance frameworks that make the model work
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Rolling out a comprehensive mindset and behavioural change programme that is so central to a successful transformation of this scale
COVID - A Stern Test
New Zealand went into its first COVID-19 lockdown just the the PACE operating model was being stood up and the Pioneer Tribes were really hitting their stride. Ironically, COVID created the perfect platform to demonstrate the benefits of this new ways of working. ASB was quickly able to adapt and remain more customer-focused than ever before through a period of intense change. The company saw both productivity and team engagement increase during this period of uncertainty.
Today, ASB continues to be a highly successful business, posting record profits in 2o21 and 2022. The PACE transformation is alive and well, designed to ensure the company keeps-up with the increasing expectations of both its customer and its people.