Enabling self-service support

With Australia’s largest bank, CommBank, I designed a self‑service strategy using touch‑screen kiosks, geofenced notifications, and digital queuing to help customers self‑serve in branches.

Context

In 2024, CommBank pursued a simplification agenda to reduce interaction complexity, saving customers and the organisation time and money.

Their key goal: unify triage across channels and shift branch staff from everyday support to expert help on complex issues.

We needed clear navigation that triaged and escalated via a stepped‑care model, enabling digitally savvy customers to resolve issues quickly, supporting those who can’t more directly, and prioritising complex problems for bankers.

An actor demonstrating branch self-service for a common issue.

Consistent inconsistency

Our primary strategy centred on a common language across branch interactions. Channels varied (phone, kiosk, in‑person), but service vocabulary and triage rules stayed consistent.

We prototyped formats to learn what best enabled self‑service and quickly prioritised complexity into a digital queue.

Our experiments

After quick field research (including signing up as a new customer), I prototyped interfaces for the ideal support journey.

1. App support and escalation

I designed an in‑app flow using the bank’s design system to triage support, guide self‑resolution, and, if needed, escalate seamlessly to branch support.

In our scenario, most steps were self‑service, but a document required banker sighting to prove it was real. Escalation continued the conversation at the exact step, prompting a customer to finish that document step in-branch with no need to abandon their progress.

2. Branch check-in and geofenced notifications

We lab‑tested entry flows for both first‑time and continued support: QR check‑in, simulated geofenced notifications, and concierge guidance.

We also simulated a waiting room where staff resolved minor issues and, at appointment time, a shared‑screen view showed progress and the next step.

The test branch setup that accompanied the prototype.

3. Self-service kiosks

We built functional self‑serve kiosks: an iPad and a Mac driving a vertical screen in a clamshell layout. The flow mirrored the app, letting customers wait for an appointment, get concierge help, or continue on their phone.

Continued conversations

Context is critical. Forcing customers to repeat themselves, especially after escalation, was a major barrier to self‑service adoption.

If you believe an app can’t solve your issue, you won’t waste time trying. But if you believe you could try, get as far as you can, and then seek help from where you got to, customers could trust that their efforts weren't wasted.

We found quickly that confidence and trust that failed attempts weren't wasted was essential to self-service acceptance. When a customer arrives after trying the app, we should resume exactly where they left off — even if only a 60‑second step remains.

Shared screen in a banker’s office showing the step the customer left off, and where the appointment would start.

This may have temporarily increased in‑branch demand, but banks have to think in decades: a few positive escalations might create increased branch load in the short term but can shift long‑term behaviour toward digital‑first.

This idea was amplified by our intention to treat branch support as a concierge, teaching digital touchpoints with hands‑on guidance to build a customers confidence in their own ability as well as the digital channels they have access to at home — which helps to decrease the immediate and long term support load over time.

Key learning

A simple, consistent service vocabulary is critical to cohesive, easy‑to‑use experiences across every channel. Consistency drives self‑service adoption; it shouldn’t feel like a different organisation each time.

Large‑scale behaviour change takes time and trust, and rely on clear measurement, evaluation and learning with a consistent internal narrative over time to drive and realise.

In collaboration with

Nick Puckett, Product Manager
Bella Miller, Research
Yasin Masukor, Product Design
Laura Ryan, Research and Strategy
Inbal Zeichner, Strategy
Irene Hanna, Strategy
Louise Ives, Strategy