Delivering Transformation in Wealth Management and Private Banking

Large scale change and transformation programmes are increasingly common in the Wealth industry as the landscape evolves and firms update their business and operating models. At Alpha, we are seeing particular focus on post-merger integration activities and initiatives to set robust foundations for scalable growth. Successful programmes need to be business led, value driven and well communicated to avoid blown out budgets, delays to timelines and diminished benefits.

We observe that budget and time over-runs in the Wealth industry are often due to challenges managing dependencies across multiple vendors, a reticence to prioritize and push back on business requests and with the nature of change often reactive and/or mandatory, an impatience with a detailed planning process. In fact, many initiatives are hamstrung from the very beginning by an underinvestment in change, stemming from a misinterpretation of the business / benefits case.

While there is eagerness for teams to demonstrate progress early on, it is essential that large scale programmes are set up for success from the outset. Disciplined planning leads to better outcomes.

That said, there is a balance to be struck as programmes are often hindered by attempts to plan to the n^th degree and this is especially true when plotting granular timelines into the far future. Projects need to be driven by highly experienced leadership and their teams who can plan to a realistic level of detail while remaining flexible. This ensures critical dependencies and assumptions can be explored as early as possible and avoids planning fatigue.

In Alpha’s experience, adhering to the following five key change principles avoids many of the common mistakes we see across the industry:

• Ensure the change is owned by an invested senior sponsor, who knows their role and can represent the customer of change, rather than the enactor
• Put committed, experienced leadership in place for the project – accountability and ownership drives adoption across an entire organization as leaders sponsor key decisions and ensure adherence to guiding principles
• Lack of or low engagement with the front office is a common pitfall, and can cause friction, delays and inefficiencies in delivery

• Clearly define the value and/or benefits at the outset to all parties and track the benefits and desired outcomes regularly. Keep focused on the delivery of these benefits, both to the business and end clients
• Do not get distracted from the targeted outcomes by day-to-day challenges and politics, and fall into the trap of not re-visiting the business case
• Embed the benefits firmly into the life of the project to provide purpose to the teams, buy-in from stakeholders, a foundation for decisions and to increase the likelihood of benefit realization

• Ensure that any large change programme takes priority over other smaller side projects being conducted
• Do not under-estimate the pull on BAU resources and recognize that tough compromises will be needed, often impacting Front Office colleagues and sometimes clients (i.e., changes to client valuations following an integration)
• Prioritization must come from the top of the business and be communicated clearly to avoid delays to timelines, increases in cost and reduction in the programme’s benefits

• Set-up your teams to react quickly and pro-actively to any changes as your programme matures, assumptions are tested, and new information emerges
• Instill a culture where the team is eager to improve by leveraging regular retrospectives and refining processes regularly – the cumulative effect of minor adjustments over time can be very powerful
• Lack of flexibility when needed affects the realization of benefits, team morale and the success of the programme overall

• Communicate benefits of the change programme for the organization, individual team members and clients from the very outset
• Ensure all impacted parties are regularly informed on progress, quick wins, key milestones, major changes and celebrate success together. Consult for feedback at the appropriate times and tailor your message and frequency of communication to your audience
• Clear communication is central to fostering a winning culture and avoid institutional malaise and change fatigue

It is imperative that there is a team of charismatic, hard-working, and experienced people at the core of the Programme.

Programme leaders need to be accountable for weaving these principles together, ensuring specific expertise is leveraged internally and externally, as required, to drive each principle forward.