Case Study: Onboarding New Clients into George Business and the Design Process at Česká spořitelna
Overview
George Business is a modern digital banking platform developed by Česká spořitelna—part of the Erste Group—for corporate clients. It replaces the older Business 24 system. Given that George Business is one of Česká spořitelna's largest projects, we chose a specific segment that is well-defined and serves as an ideal example to illustrate the application of design thinking.
This case study examines the development of an onboarding process for new George Business clients, with the goal of creating an efficient and intuitive solution. The onboarding process is inherently complex. For instance, a small company may expect a fast process with minimal administrative burden, while a large multinational corporation requires a more detailed approach involving complex approval structures and process controls. Meanwhile, internal stakeholders—such as sales and customer support teams—rely on a smooth process to provide prompt and accurate assistance. Since this process directly influences client satisfaction at the very start of their banking journey, optimizing it is crucial. In this context, design plays a pivotal role.
Who Is Česká spořitelna and What Is George Business?
Česká spořitelna, a member of the Erste Group, is the largest bank in the Czech Republic, serving over 4.5 million clients. The bank places a strong emphasis on innovation and digital transformation. Its latest product, George Business, is designed to offer companies modern financial management tools, simplify daily banking operations, and deliver an intuitive user experience.
The Initial Problem
The onboarding process in the old Business 24 system was slow, manually intensive, and confusing—causing frustration for both clients and employees. This process could not be directly transferred to George Business. Its shortcomings hinder the acquisition of new clients, increase operational costs, and slow down the overall digital transformation of the bank's corporate division.
Who Felt the Impact and How?
Clients: New corporate clients encountered a cumbersome and prolonged process in Business 24, which marred their first experience with the bank. Repeated requests for document submissions led to negative experiences, discouraging clients from using the bank's digital tools. Some potential clients even wanted to start with George Business but were unable to do so due to these obstacles.
Employees: Banking teams were forced to process and verify documents manually, leading to a higher error rate and reduced efficiency.
Designový proces a metody
The design process consisted of several key phases: analyzing the current state, fostering empathy, ideation, defining the problem, prototyping, and testing. This approach ensured a deep understanding of user needs, the creation of innovative solutions, and their iterative refinement.
The process began with a three-day workshop attended by 12 representatives from cross-functional product teams, sales, back-office, customer support, and the clients themselves.
1. Analysis of the Current State (AS-IS):
The team mapped the existing onboarding process in Business 24 along with the entire customer journey.
The outcome was a visualization of the customer journey, which aligned the team's understanding of the process.
2. Empathy:
The goal was to identify the key needs and pain points of both clients and employees.
In-depth interviews with key stakeholders and clients provided insights into users' challenges and expectations.
Major issues uncovered during these initial phases included administrative complexity, unclear communication, a lack of digital tools, an excessive number of interactions causing delays, and the overall length of the process.
Methods used included in-depth interviews, user observations during process interactions, insight analysis, and mapping of specific pain points along the customer journey.
3. Problem Definition:
While the fundamental issue was evident from the start, the empathy phase revealed several "sub-problems" that needed to be addressed.
These insights helped identify improvements that would significantly enhance both the customer and employee experiences while ensuring that no issues from the old system were carried over into the new process.
4. Ideation:
Based on the AS-IS analysis, the team generated ideas to improve the process.
Several workshops were conducted using participatory design principles, involving not only the core team but also current process users and members of other collaborating teams. This approach reduced the risk of designing a process that does not meet user needs.• Key ideas included introducing digital guides, automating data collection, and providing personalized notifications.• Key ideas included introducing digital guides, automating data collection, and providing personalized notifications.
Key ideas included introducing digital guides, automating data collection, and providing personalized notifications.
Methods such as brainstorming and storyboarding were employed, resulting in a detailed user journey scenario and a service blueprint that visualized the future state (TO-BE).
5. Prototyping and Testing:
Various prototypes were created—from paper-based low-fidelity sketches to high-fidelity prototypes in Figma.
These prototypes were iteratively tested with both clients and internal users.
Testing highlighted the need for intuitive navigation, enhanced support during form completion, and rapid access to relevant information.To address these needs, interactive guides were developed to walk users through the onboarding process step by step. For example, forms were enhanced with dynamic tooltips and real-time validations to minimize errors and ensure a smooth process.
To address these needs, interactive guides were developed to walk users through the onboarding process step by step. For example, forms were enhanced with dynamic tooltips and real-time validations to minimize errors and ensure a smooth process.
Iterative refinements based on user feedback led to the final prototype, which is now ready for implementation.
Outcomes and Results
The design process yielded a new onboarding solution for George Business, a clear vision of the future state, and secured stakeholder buy-in. Key outputs critical for future implementation include:
Customer Journey and Service Blueprint: These provide a clear roadmap for both clients and employees.
Interactive Prototypes: These offer a visual and functional preview of the future interface.
Innovative Solution Proposals:
Automated client data collection
Digital document exchange with clients
Integration with external databases
Automatic creation of products in the bank's core systems
An online process guide for clients
Personalized notifications informing clients about the status of their onboarding
Expected Benefits:
Reduction of onboarding time from 7–14 days to 1–3 days
Increased client satisfaction through an intuitive user interface
Up to a 40% reduction in manual workload for employees
Lessons Learned
The customer perspective played a crucial role throughout the process. Understanding clients' needs and expectations enabled the team to identify key issues and design solutions that truly enhance the user experience. The client viewpoint was not only a source of insights but also a tool for prioritizing change areas. Focusing on the customer experience ensured that the solutions were aligned with real needs and contributed to increased satisfaction with the bank.
This project demonstrated that:
An Iterative Approach Is Essential: Continuous testing and feedback ensure that the final solution meets real user needs.
Early Cross-Team Involvement Is Beneficial: Involving diverse teams across the bank from the early stages leads to richer problem insights and more effective solutions, as well as increased motivation among the teams.
Innovation Drives Customer Satisfaction: Embracing innovative solutions is key to enhancing customer experiences.
Design Thinking Provides Structure and Clarity: It gives the project team a clear framework and greater confidence in decision-making when addressing complex challenges.
Conclusion
Design thinking has proven its value as an effective tool for tackling complex challenges. The iterative approach enabled the creation of a practical and innovative solution that will improve the customer experience and support the digital transformation of Česká spořitelna. The next phases of the project will focus on implementing the new processes, monitoring KPIs, and driving continuous improvement. Clients can look forward to significantly simplified interactions with the bank, shorter onboarding times, and overall higher satisfaction.
This experience reaffirmed the importance of cross-team collaboration and a customer-centric approach. Open communication, iterative development, and attentiveness to the needs of all stakeholders were key factors in the project's success. Ultimately, this project underscored the critical role of design thinking in solving complex problems and creating value for both clients and the organization. Based on this experience, future project phases are expected to further enhance client satisfaction and overall bank efficiency.