A week after the banking crisis in March 2023, we were commissioned to give a talk at Credit Suisse entitled "The Art of Connected Research." Our premise was simple yet profound. UX Research is connecting. It helps teams make decisions empirically. Research helps get directional information so everyone can connect around what needs to be done and facilitates collaborative conversations.
For Credit Suisse, all of this ultimately amounts to productivity, profitability, and performance. When teams can unify around goals, messaging, and strategy, people are more productive and waste less time arguing over personal opinions. And this is what quality research provides.
The design team at Credit Suisse recognized that people are productive when they feel seen and valued. And people are happy when they are connected: to one another, to themselves, and to the company's overarching goals. They took the time to gather, connect, and share personal stories. This showed the employees that they matter to the company's overall health. The Head of Product Design and leadership team at Credit Suisse knows that this changing tide is a time to foster community and to take good care of the people that work for them. Perhaps other banks will follow suit and remember that keeping people’s well-being at the heart of what matters the most will change the future of banking from the inside out.