CIBC iMPERIAL SERVICE — Enterprise Innovation
Turning Advisor Transitions Into Moments of Client Trust
Context
At Enterprise Innovation, we use the fundamentals of human-centered design to help several lines of businesses at CIBC articulate their challenges and arrive at their solutions in a collaborative manner. We are a group of experts that work together to arrive at a conclusion, a solution, or a series of options as we keep the human at the center of all our design decisions, inspired by IDEO U's design thinking methodology.
Financial Advisor transitions are high-risk moments for both clients and banks. When an advisor leaves, clients often experience uncertainty, anxiety, and a breakdown of trust—especially if communication is delayed, fragmented, or impersonal. This project fundamentally shaped how I approach complex, regulated problems: designing for trust, clarity, and human emotion during moments of disruption.
The People
Based on the insights from user research, I synthesized this data and created personas grouped into two categories: clients most impacted by the financial advisor transitions, and our internal stakeholders.
Impacted Clients
Mass Affluent, Pre-Retirement
James & Valerie
"I'm ending a relationship with an advisor who has helped me buy my first home and been to my kid's graduations."
Their main concern is the impact the transition will have on their investments so close to retirement. They've had a long-lasting relationship with their advisor—who has been a part of many important milestones for them, such as helping them buy their first home and their kids' graduations.
These clients have worked too hard to save and would love to enjoy life and leave a legacy. How will they do this if the management of their portfolios is slowed down?
Affluent, Mid-Life · Digital Savvy
Heather & Rick
"I'm so busy with the kids that I worry I'm not thinking enough about our financial future."
They were notified of the departure of their advisor by mail. However, as digital savvy clients, they would prefer digital communication. They saw their advisor contact info changed online and received the letter in the mail but no one actually contacted them. As a result, they feel like their needs are not being prioritized.
With the busyness of their lives, they're worried about not thinking about their financial futures enough. If their financial futures are not being looked after, how will they achieve their financial goals?
Area of Opportunity
Promote better communication practices that are clear, empathetic, proactive and simple.
Internal Stakeholders
Banking Centre Leader
Justin
"I think the most important thing to do when an FA leaves is to seal the relationship quickly."
Once a transition has begun, Justin is tasked with several responsibilities. His standard practice is to contact clients within 24 hours. His main priority is to do everything in his power to stop the client from leaving.
New Financial Advisor
Carissa
"There's a lot of anxiety for clients... I'm here to make sure that the transition feels personal."
Carissa's 90-day training period limits her from doing much for clients and causes clients to be reluctant in trusting her with their portfolio, as they believe their previous advisor might have done a better job.
FCG Advisor
Reyna
"My dream place would be where the process is just simple, fast and easy. Where everybody understands everybody's role."
Reyna is responsible for managing portfolios after a transition. However, clients and frontline employees don't actually understand her role. The transition process is very complicated.
Areas of Opportunity
Improve communication practices, clarify roles, automate manual processes and centralize transition workflows.
Our opportunity
Transform FA transitions from a reactive, administrative process into a guided, empathetic digital experience.
Design outcome
A Guided Digital Transition Experience
Remember our mid-life affluent clients Heather and Rick? They are our digitally savvy clients that appreciate proactive communication. I designed a simple onboarding experience tailored to clients like them — a radically simple solution that doesn't already exist. Being able to go through an experience like this will allow them to feel like they are being taken care of.
- Proactively communicating change with clarity and empathy
- Reducing client anxiety through transparency and next steps
- Clarifying roles across internal teams
- Centralizing transition communication within digital banking
Entry Point
When a client like Heather and Rick first log into online banking, they are greeted with a message prompt that will lead them to an onboarding experience. The first screen notifies them that although their FA has left, our team is available to help and they are given a list of steps we are taking to ensure they are taken care of.
01 Initial notification modal
Clients are greeted with clarity and reassurance at the moment of login.
Clarity & Ownership
Once they click to "Learn More", they are immediately notified of who their primary contact is from the home branch and are also provided contact information of FCG, the group that is currently handling their portfolio.
02 Meet your primary contact
Primary contact and FCG details restore a clear ownership path.
Action & Control
Clients can book a meeting with their primary contact and select a time that works for them — restoring a sense of control during an uncertain moment.
03 Book a meeting
Self-serve scheduling puts the next step in the client's hands.
Calendar Selection
A calendar selection flow lets clients choose a convenient meeting time without waiting for outbound coordination.
04 Calendar selection
Time selection reduces friction and speeds connection.
Confirmation
Heather and Rick are then able to confirm their contact details so that their records are consistent within CIBC databases. At the end of this experience, the client is able to review the details: primary contact's information, meeting details and their contact information.
05 Meeting date confirmed
A final review moment confirms contacts, meeting details, and client records.
Multi-Channel Strategy
Communication beyond online banking
Beyond this experience, we are introducing more ways to communicate. Clients can receive this messaging through text message, push notification, our FAQ forums and our public site CIBC.com. Ultimately, these channels can funnel into online banking — the primary home for the message we are trying to give.
Success Metrics
Defining Success
As a sprint-based concept, success was framed around qualitative and behavioral indicators:
Key Learnings
What I Went Away With
For me, it established the importance of designing for emotion, communication, and systems—not just screens.
- 01 — Trust is most fragile during moments of change
- 02 — Communication design is a core UX responsibility
- 03 — Personas must include internal stakeholders in enterprise contexts
- 04 — Human-centered frameworks scale even in large institutions
