Project Overview
What is the Business Showcase?
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What is the purpose of the space?
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Who has access to the space?
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How long can the space be used?
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Who is responsible for the management of the space?
Current recommendations for Business Showcase management
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Recommendations regarding the management of the Business Showcase
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What potential business problems stem from these recommendations?
Business Showcase alignment with Vancity 2.0
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Does the Business Showcase align with strategy pillars of Vancity 2.0?
Problem Statement
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How do current state processes negatively impact the management of the Business Showcase?
Requirements Gathering
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Touch point analysis
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Surveys sent to recent users of the Business Showcase
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​Interviews with staff regarding their knowledge of the Business Showcase
Analysis of Findings
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What patterns or trends can be identified in member feedback?
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What patterns or trends can be identified in staff feedback?
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What needs to change regarding Vancity's management of the Business Showcase?
Recommendations and Next Steps
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Who'll manage the Business Showcases?
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Who'll have access to the Business Showcases?
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What needs to change in order for Vancity to leverage the Business Showcase more efficiently?
What is the Business Showcase?
Showcase Overview
The Vancity Business Showcase is a wooden display with removable shelves that can be used to highlight local businesses and non-profit organizations
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Currently available for members & non-members
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Displays can be booked for one week increments
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Displays must adhere to Vancity's list of allowable display items
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Formerly managed by Financial Services Coordinator & Concierge​
Current Recommendations
Outdated Instructions for Showcase Management
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Staff receives request to book the showcase
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The Concierge and Financial Services Coordinator role no longer exist, who should members inquire with? Which staff are comfortable taking these inquiries?​​
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Staff confirm the booking group or individuals intended use of the Showcase aligns to the list of allowable display items
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Not all staff are equipped to speak about the booking process or showcase allowable display items​​
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Confirm the material aligns with Vancity’s values and commitments
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Not all staff are equipped to speak about the booking process or showcase allowable display items​
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Print the Showcase Display Release Form and have booking group or individual complete the form
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Not all staff are equipped to speak about the booking process or showcase allowable display items​
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Book the date and time in the Central Outlook Calendar
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Branch staff have been moved away from Outlook Calendars and now use Coconut Calendar​
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Not all branches have a Central Outlook Calendar anymore​
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Provide booking group or individual with confirmation date/time​​
Business Showcase alignment with Vancity 2.0 Business Plan
Vancity 2.0 will still be a co-operative
It is important to remember that Vancity 2.0 is still a co-operative and is dedicated to
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Being a values driven business
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Developing social and economic objectives that put profits at the service of people
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Creating jobs and wealth that stays within the community​​​
The Business Showcase aligns with co-operative values as it works to promote local businesses and helps them grow within the communities we serve​​​
Vancity's Strategy Pillars in relation to the Business Showcase
Centre the member
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Business Showcase lets members promote their business in ways that best suit their business needs (posters, displays, business cards)
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Embed impact in everything we do ​
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Business Showcase highlights our commitment to strengthening the community
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Business Showcase gives overlooked and underrepresented groups a much needed spotlight
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Make profit, innovate and grow
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Business Showcase inquiries act as touch points to uncover additional needs such as lending, visa, etc.
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Business Showcase helps businesses gain notoriety within the community and should help them experience positive outcomes
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Business Showcase is an innovative service that differentiates Vancity as an FI
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Businesses that have positive experience may refer the service to other local businesses which can increase overall membership
Emphasis on Small and Mid-Sized Businesses from 2025-2027
Small and Mid-Sized Businesses are the heartbeat of local economies and Vancity aims to keep these heartbeats going
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Vancity’s Business Showcase works to promote local businesses so that owners can focus efforts elsewhere
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Small and Mid-Sized Businesses look for partners that help them make good businesses decisions so they can grow the business as efficiently as possible​
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Vancity can act as a partner that provides both financial services and promotion by allowing businesses to display their products and services within our branches
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All-in-one encompassing service for business members
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
Gaps in the management of the business showcase leads to an underutilization of the service and limits Vancity's small business engagement
Key Issues with current state processes
In the absence of the Financial Services Coordinator / Concierge the management of the Business Showcase has been delegated to various roles such as FSRs, MEOs, and BBAMs
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Method of booking the Business Showcase varies across
locations, resulting in inconsistent member experience
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Branch staff who are not responsible for managing the Showcase are not always comfortable speaking about the space, resulting in less referrals and reduced Showcase traffic
Requirements Gathering
Touchpoint Analysis
In order to fully understand current state processes I decided to investigate the different situations in which members and staff could potentially find themselves discussing the Business Showcase.
Branch Processes
I interviewed staff from multiple branches, each of whom were responsible for the management of the Business Showcase. I was attempting to better understand the various ways Vancity manages the Business Showcase. I found that the busiest Business Showcases were at locations where multiple branch staff actively referred members to the Business Showcase expert/owner.
Member Feedback
I asked each Branch to send surveys to 1-2 of the recent users of their Business Showcase. Vancity had not received any formal feedback regarding the experience of members who've used the Business Showcase so it was important to hear what they were saying regarding the process. Additionally we had to uncover whether or not the Business Showcase was providing any value to members. If there was no value then Vancity could consider removing the service altogether. In total we received 5 responses over the holiday break.
Findings & Analysis
What to make of Member Feedback
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Members across multiple branches find the Business Showcase to be easy to book despite branch differences in booking process
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Use of the Business Showcase often leads to positive outcomes for the businesses that use the space
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Business members would recommend the service to other businesses
What to make of Staff Feedback
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Expressions of interest are recorded in various ways
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Email to Branch Showcase Expert
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Shared Branch G-Drive list
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Written list
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Most staff don’t feel comfortable speaking about the Business Showcase, especially those hired during and after COVID as the Showcase wasn't kept top of mind
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Reduced referrals from branch staff results in Showcase Experts spending time looking for leads as opposed to generating business
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Staff do not know where to find the list of members who have expressed interest in booking the Showcase, waitlist, etc.
Next Steps & Recommendations
Next Steps
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Showcase Experts to host product knowledge session with their teams​​​​
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Review the booking process for their Branch Showcase so that frontline staff can make referrals and set member expectations regarding booking of the space
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Frontline staff up-skilled to the point where Showcase Experts do not need to look for candidates and can instead focus on deepening banking relationships
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Review features and benefits of the Showcase so that frontline staff can speak confidently to the service and gain member interest
Recommendations for future
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Showcase strictly limited to Vancity Business Members
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Survey results suggest that the service is desirable and can be used as a means of encouraging new business members to join Vancity
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Track Business Showcase conversations via CRM​
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Track conversations through CRM Activities similar to how Climate Conversations are being tracked. ​
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Assign Business Showcase referrals through CRM Opportunities to make the referral process more standardized as CRM is slowly becoming Vancity's source of truth​​
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