Speaker Interview- Jocelyne Chahwan

HOME / Speaker Interview- Jocelyne Chahwan

Mrs Jocelyne Chahwan is the current Deputy CEO- Head of Retail Banking at BLOM BANK s.a.l. Lebanon. She started her banking career in 1990 at the Bank of Montreal in Montreal.

She was awarded the Retail Financial Services Person of the year in the Middle East and Africa - 2018 by The Asian Banker.

Mrs Chahwan will be speaking live at Finnovex Middle East Summit.

Please have a look at her view on our upcoming Leading Summit on Financial Services Innovation and Excellence held from 7th – 8th September 2021.



Q- What do you suggest should be the main goal for improving the overall customer experience?

The main goal should be the continuous improvement of all the processes that impact the customer journey across all channels. The big players in payments such as Apple and Samsung have significantly improved the overall customer experience and introduced a new concept which is “partnership” instead of “competition”. We are also witnessing the same trend with Fintechs whereby they are partnering with financial institutions and adding a new flavour to the overall customer experience and this is resulting in adding the same models and services in a new approach that is fast, trendy and convenient. We adopted the partnership approach in improving our customer experience journey by partnering with the big players such as Visa & Mastercard and indirectly with Apple and Samsung; that is in addition to adopting the same approach by partnering with Fintechs as this will add value to our business model and customer experience journey.



Q-How can CX Leaders identify the need to upgrade the overall customer experience journey needs any form of improvement?

One of the most important pillars of our customer experience journeys is data. We use data collected such as the adoption rate and drop off rate of a specific service in order to study the behaviour of our customers and identify areas for improvement. By following this strategy, we would be able to understand the customers’ perceptions and accordingly develop customer journeys that match their expectations. Additionally, it is important to always monitor the market trends in order to stay ahead of the competition.



Q- What are the 4 most important components necessary for an outstanding customer experience journey?

When we design our customer journeys, we follow our STEP methodology that we have developed and implemented across all new products and services to be launched:

I think it is important to separate lending and payments as the former is moving at a different rate and is largely driven by the same business objective (RoI) than payments which incorporates all money movements.

  1. Secure – we are in the money business and our customers expect the highest levels of security.
  2. Transparent – to enable trust and encourage usage.
  3. Easy – our customers are used to being served in a simple manner in our physical branches, we have to replicate this simplicity across all platforms.
  4. Personal – to reflect a more tailor-made solution.



Q- 4. What should be the systematic principles to implement in understanding the way that your customers perceive your institution?

Previously, customers used to get in contact with the bank through limited channels (example: visiting the branch and calling customer service centre) then new channels were added such as internet banking mobile applications. Today, customers are becoming highly demanding and they are relying on social media channels in order to get in contact with the bank while also expecting to be assisted promptly; adding to all the above, the communication strategy related to the branding. That’s why it’s important to monitor customers’ feedback on all possible channels as this can give significant insights on areas that need to be upgraded and improved.



Q-We are strong advocates of fostering partnerships and collaborations between Fintechs and Banking Financial Institutions, what are 3 simple ways to leverage in identifying technology partners that will help you best meet your customer needs?

Partnering with Fintechs is one of the important strategies that financial institutions should consider to adopt in order to be able to meet the ever- changing customer expectations and digitalisation trends. That’s why the 3 simple ways to leverage in identifying technology partners include choosing a partner that can offer:
1. Innovation
2. Fast to market
3. Agile in future enhancements and changes



Q-. In engaging with your customers to acquire feedback and make informed product development decisions, what possible approaches can CXOs adapt to implement these decisions effectively?

The approaches that Chief Experience Officers need to adapt include ensuring that customer journeys are being continually and properly implemented and improved. Additionally, employees are rewarded for their proactive initiatives and teams from different departments are participating in the implementation in an agile way.



Q-. Customer Experience vs Customer Service – what makes them mutually exclusive?

Customer Experience and Customer Service are two concepts that should not be mixed up and each should be handled deliberately because the value and impact that each one brings is different than the other. Customer experience is the full journey of interactions the customers with the bank and customer service is advice and support that is offered. Both should include a customer centric approach as they are at the core of doing business and delivery of service; however, the resources needed in each concept are not the same; that is in addition to the different evaluation metrics (KPIs) that are used to identify the areas for improvement.



Q-. What role should employees play in promoting an overall improved Customer Experience?

Customer service is ensured by offering our products and services via competent and enthusiastic employees who are passionate about delivering an exceptional experience to the customers. In fact, employees have an important role by being proactive in drafting the customer experience journey and ensuring its proper implementation because everyone comes from a different background; and they can help a lot in improving the customer experience by providing input on the design, technical and product aspects and marketing approach. For instance, when launching a new service, we first introduce it to our employees through a soft-launch in order to gather feedback from them and get ideas on new initiatives before fully launching the service to clients. Employees’ input highly helps us prepare for a successful full official launch and implementation of an improved customer journey.