Insights: growing a culture of innovation

Innovation has always been at the heart of what Barclays does. Over the years, the bank has created value and better experiences for customers, clients, colleagues and society as a whole. Barclays’ Head of Innovation Mindset and Intrapreneurship Andy Elphick tells us why people have been, and still are, the driving force behind it all.

During the industrial revolution, Barclays supported the first tech-disruptors, and in the last few decades the bank has been the first to introduce industry-changing products and services.

More recently, Barclays has been adopting emerging technology like AI and machine learning to improve decision-making, and researching practical applications of quantum computing. We also partner with one of the largest fintech ecosystems in the world, bringing innovation into the bank and financial services more broadly. 

Enabling colleagues to be truly innovative

We know, however, that power mostly comes from within. So, empowering colleagues to come up with new ideas that can improve the way we do things each day is a key priority for Barclays.

Nevertheless, innovation isn’t something you can just mandate or purchase off the shelf and, when people are tasked with ‘being more innovative at work’, they often freeze up. It can be seen as intimidating – and this is what we’re working to change.

There is the assumption that innovating means making a pioneering breakthrough or disrupting on a grand scale, and that it’s all about technology. This is not the case. 

There is the assumption that innovating means making a pioneering breakthrough or disrupting on a grand scale, and that it’s all about technology. This is not the case.

The truth is that to have the greatest impact, companies need a portfolio of innovation. Only 5% of this should be considered ‘disruptive’ innovation; the other 95% should focus on making improvements in efficiency and ensuring smaller, continuous development happens. This is the type of innovation that keeps a business thriving for over 300 years – and it comes from culture and mindset.

While we value our technologists and the incredible expertise they bring to Barclays, we want to encourage the whole organisation to experiment, be curious, and connect their personal aspirations with our goals. Innovation does not belong to a specific business unit or function.

A fundamental element to be able to innovate is empathy: knowing our customers – whoever they are, whether consumers, clients or our internal stakeholders – and understanding their needs and pain points. We also need to be mindful of their connections, and how these impact their experiences, so that we can make things better for them. Our colleagues have shown us time and time again that they excel at this.

Having the right culture and tools

Giving time to our people to be innovative is crucial, but another very important element for creating an innovative culture is listening. If you do not listen to, properly consider, and feedback on every single idea from colleagues trying to innovate, you find they stop trying. So, senior leadership support and participation are key to drive the cultural shift required.

And to ensure that each idea is given appropriate ‘airtime’, the right tools and processes also need to be put in place. Specifically, tools that allow colleagues to collate ideas from across the organisation, in a way that reduces duplication and makes the feedback process easily manageable. 

At Barclays, one way we are enabling colleagues to share ideas and feel supported is through a platform called IdeaHub, a digital space where people can submit ideas for change within the bank, based on specific challenges set by senior leaders. These challenges could be detailed or broader – asking, for example, how we can improve the customer experience in a certain segment or in relation to a particular service.

Since it was established 18 months ago, over 10,000 colleagues have submitted an idea and shared thoughts. The platform is completely collaborative; colleagues can comment on each other’s ideas and, more importantly, join forces. We have seen several multi-team ideas generated, and people collaborating across different countries, in large numbers. This is what we call the “power of the collective”.

Fifteen ideas are better than one

Using IdeaHub, the mortgages team at Barclays – who are based in different regions across the UK, as well as in Chennai and Mumbai, in India – have been able to collaborate more easily and engage the entire team (not just those that could fit into a meeting room) in creating ways to improve their products and processes as well as both colleague and customer experience.

Of the many ideas that were submitted, more than 15 have already been implemented to improve the lending journey. For example, for those using the Help to Buy scheme in the UK, a small change to the underwriting process has enabled all colleagues and customers to understand more quickly whether Barclays could support their dreams of owning a new property. Although the change was simple, it led to an enhanced experience for both the mortgages team and their customers.

Similarly, for those applying for a mortgage on new build homes, the process has been made much more efficient due to a colleague suggesting that they should give all colleagues advising on a new build mortgage increased visibility of certain data sets, so they now have access to the most up-to-date information to provide to our customers.

And with colleagues facing the challenge of working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, IdeaHub has been integral in helping everyone stay connected – regardless of their location – and share ideas, like the suggestion to set up Wi-Fi calling on bank issued mobile devices, to facilitate communications with our customers and ensure we are available for them when they need us. So, whilst working remotely, the mortgages team has been able to continue to find creative solutions to improve our services.

Shifting the mindset

Our objective is to continue to grow a culture of innovation at Barclays for years to come. In practice, this means rolling out tools like IdeaHub more widely so that even more colleagues, at every level, feel empowered to contribute ideas for change and improvement, alongside our legacy initiatives, and hosting events like hackathons, innovation forums and our intrapreneurship programme.

As we create a stronger culture of cognitive innovation at Barclays, we hope no colleague will feel they need to seek permission to innovate – it will be part and parcel of daily life for everyone at Barclays.