By Jacinta McMahon, Senior Manager Strategy, Architecture & Design, Core & Personal Technology
— 6 minute read
Rarely as a designer can you work on something that shapes the way a service supports a whole company in a visible way over a few short months. Our tech support experience was reimagined and brought to life in partnership with a cross-division, multi-disciplinary team.
Tech Assist is our technology support service for all Macquarie staff and visitors across the globe, and is:
It is focused on delivering on our Tech Assist service principles: Smooth Experience, Smart Tech and Simple Processes , which put our people at the core.
This year, our employees in Sydney are moving into our new global headquarters, bringing them together in one campus for the first time in more than 25 years. Designed to accommodate the dynamic needs of over 10,000 staff members, this pivotal moment marks a milestone in the transformative journey of Macquarie technology support services. Simultaneously, the way our Sydney staff access Tech Assist is evolving from a structure that previously involved four sites to a centralised support system at a single site.
The ambition for the new service was clear: craft a space that exceeds customer expectations, significantly reduces wait times and streamlines the process to enhance overall satisfaction. The previous system was manual and relied on Tech Assist staff inputting data to generate tickets for each customer. This created bottlenecks, particularly during peak times, and the walk-up experience was characterised by long queues, unclear wait times, and a lack of direct assistance. These issues collectively led to lost productivity and frustration among staff.
The challenge was multifaceted, involving both a redesign of the physical support space and an overhaul of the service delivery model to make both fit for purpose.
Our team within Core & Personal Technology leveraged design thinking to move from opportunity to solution in a very short period. To craft the experience for our main Tech Assist hub, we employed a unique capability called Experience Master Planning . Experience Master Planning intends on creating digital enhanced experiences within physical spaces, like our wonderful new building. Key stages we undertook in this process were:
During the Discover phase, we used observational research, data analysis and gathered customer feedback to inform us. This allowed us to illustrate the critical pain points, such as prolonged and unpredictable wait times and a fragmented support process when resolutions were not immediate, that often led to staff frustration and decreased productivity.
We also explored the make-up of service requests across the different sites and different divisions to understand any unique needs that we needed to meet. A salient point amidst these groups was the consistent need for face-to-face service. There was also confusion on the various ways employees could seek Tech Assist support for different technology needs.
Collaboration was the cornerstone of the Define and Design phases, bringing together the expertise of the central design, corporate real estate, and brand teams to align on an approach. Through it, we were able to understand constraints and considerations for the Tech Assist space, share progress and action feedback on a regular basis.
We applied our Experience Master Planning methodology to the customer and service insights generated to develop a clear purpose and requirements for zones within our space. An example pictured shows requirements for our Fast Zone.
The interior design of the new space was planned to embody principles of flexibility, accessibility, and efficiency. The space was then segmented into distinct zones, each tailored to accommodate various customer behaviours and expectations:
These zones were then overlaid onto our floorplans to ensure that we could execute these customer experiences seamlessly.
The introduction of a multi-channel ticketing system marks a significant innovation, guiding users to the right support zone and specialist, all while allowing them to join via a virtual queue. This system, coupled with the development of critical apps by our user experience (UX) and design team, has significantly improved the efficiency and quality of our tech support service, setting a new standard for tech support experiences across our global locations.
Our UX and design team developed 5 critical apps in partnership with the internal Microsoft Power Platforms team.
All solutions followed a validated UX design process including user flows, information architecture testing, wireframes, usability testing and detailed UI design. This method of delivery ensures that these applications are scalable to other office locations to further drive this exceptional Tech Assist experience across our global locations.
As we continue to refine this experience at our Sydney headquarters, we remain committed to leveraging real-time feedback to ensure our tech support services meet and exceed the evolving needs of our staff.
