Case study

Writing the manual mid-flight: a KYC operating model built around a new platform

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Co-founder & PartnerMatthew Neill

A European retail and commercial bank was two years into replacing its two KYC workflow and case management tools with a single platform. The budget had been agreed and work was under way, but nobody had decided how cases would move through the new system.

Under the old set-up, cases passed between teams by email. The new platform could automate that workflow, but it couldn’t decide which team started a case, which team finished it, or who owned each step in between.

The bank also ran 16 versions of the same onboarding process across its countries and business areas. Teams were siloed, so a team with a backlog couldn’t pass work to a team with spare capacity. Leadership also had a demanding headcount reduction target.

Industry segment
European Bank
Function
KYC Operations
Core capabilities
KYC, TOM, Design Authority

Key outcomes delivered

Operations teams restructured from four business areas to two
One management layer removed
A route to savings of around 150 FTE, about 15% of the workforce, beyond existing targets
Virtual teams set up to share work across the countries

Approach

The Head of Group Financial Crime Prevention asked us to design a target operating model (TOM) for the new platform.

We began by reviewing the bank’s strategy, the KYC strategy and leadership’s goals for the TOM. We then assessed the current state, reviewing processes in detail and mapping the existing organisation structure.

From those findings we drafted a TOM and took it to a three-day workshop with the senior KYC leadership team. Day one covered organisation design, day two process, and day three MI, data and performance management. Each morning we presented current state findings, with examples from the client’s own teams. Each afternoon we worked through the target state and made the main decisions in the room.

The high-level TOM took 12 weeks and ran to around 70 slides. Rather than trying to cover everything, it identified the bank’s biggest problem, its organisation structure, and set out where to start.

We then worked with the leadership team on detailed design and the move to the new structure. The new structure is now live, and we’re supporting managers as they run it.

Outcome

The bank’s operations teams now sit in two business areas instead of four, with one management layer removed. Virtual teams work across countries, so work can move from a team with a backlog to one with spare capacity. The new design also identified savings of around 150 FTE, about 15% of the workforce, on top of the bank’s existing targets. The new structure is now live, and BeyondFS is supporting managers as they run it day to day.

Writing the manual mid-flight: a KYC operating model built around a new platform

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