Merging two customer experiences
As an Experience Designer embedded within a dedicated CX design squad, I played a pivotal role in merging two customer experiences into one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds. This was a complex and high stakes transformation, involving two heavily regulated, large scale organisations. Our task was to ensure a seamless customer experience for millions of members on Day 1 of the merger and beyond.
My focus within the squad was to bring the customer voice into every stage of planning and decision making. I worked to design the experience beyond traditional marketing and channel silos, ensuring our direction was always anchored to real customer insights. Through collaboration with researchers, strategists, and product owners, we led weekly sprints, daily stand-ups, stakeholder workshops, and prioritisation sessions to surface opportunities and shape the new, unified experience.
To guide our design efforts and align the business, we co-created a set of Customer Experience Principles that reflected the needs and expectations of all customer groups. These principles weren’t just theoretical, they were paired with key operational and customer data points that allowed us to baseline and track performance over time. These became a powerful tool for both strategy and measurement.
As a data driven team, we activated qualitative research to better understand what customers needed on Day 1 of the new fund. The insights we gathered enabled us to anticipate friction points and design with empathy. We translated research findings into clear, actionable CX artefacts like journey maps and experience frameworks that business leaders could use to anchor decisions and plan communications. These tools were well-received and helped build confidence and alignment across the organisation.
This project was filled with complexity and ambiguity. Regulations were shifting, systems were evolving, and priorities changed daily. Despite the uncertainty, we pushed forward by staying grounded in the customer perspective and using our CX artefacts to drive meaningful conversations and decisions. Our ability to adapt and stay focused on customer outcomes was key to progressing the work.
Following the launch of the merged fund, we conducted a comprehensive customer experience health check. This helped identify where the experience had fallen short and where quick action was needed. We shared our findings with senior leaders and clearly called out the areas where customers were negatively impacted. This feedback loop allowed the organisation to respond quickly and begin addressing pain points from day one.
Overall, this work demonstrated the value of embedding customer-centred design into large scale business transformations. It highlighted how CX design can not only inform better experiences but also influence ways of working and decision-making at all levels of the organisation.