In June, I had a 3-month sabbatical from Optimal Usability and went to work for a US-based user experience consultancy called User Centric. As well as interacting with the smart people from User Centric I also spoke with IDEO, Adaptive Path, Chicago Institute of Design, Paypal, McDonalds, Salesforce.com and SAP.

In the course of those conversations I gained a unique perspective on how New Zealand businesses compare to US businesses in regards to customer experience. In short, we more than hold our own! While usability has been around longer in the States, being a nation of small companies means that we are able to more easily adapt and improve the way we do things. Can you imagine what it would be like to make a change to the Wells Fargo home page given that there are 1,200 people in their online team?

One of the most surprising things I heard was the high opinion North Americans have of New Zealand design. I can see how the Lord of the Rings has helped our reputation, and many people were familiar with Air New Zealand’s Skycouch. However, a lot of the people talked about visiting New Zealand and seeing evidence of our design culture in everyday things like café menus.

While it makes me proud to see New Zealand being recognized overseas for good design and innovation, I think we’re barely scratching the surface. This is one of the reasons why at Optimal Usability we have been talking so much about Service Design – it takes our unique service culture and combines it our reputation for great design.

So while I was in the States I also made sure I spent time talking to people who teach, talk about and are implementing Service Design.

Interestingly, US firms are struggling with the same issues as us in regards to service design. How can you make design a part of an organization’s DNA? How can you convince people that Service Design is a valuable approach that makes a real difference?

On reflection, it’s clear that success in business is driven by relationships. I likewise believe that if Service Design is to transform an organization, then it is going to happen through relationships. To get people to believe that Service Design is a valuable thing to do and is good business, there are a few key steps:

• HEAR – It is important that the story of Service Design is a simple one. If Service Design is perceived as black magic it is going to be tough to sell.
• EXPERIENCE – After hearing a story that makes sense, it is critical to experience service design in action. Inviting people to be co-designers goes a long way in achieving buy-in from others in the organization.
• BELIEVE – It is only after experiencing tangible successes that skeptics will believe in the value of service design.
• ACT – When many people in your relational network believe in the value of Service Design, then it is much more likely that people will think about holistic customer experience and break out of channel-specific silos

At Optimal Usability we always talk about making a difference in the world. This trip was a good reminder that the best way we can do this is by making our clients successful on the global stage.

By Shailesh Manga, General Manager Auckland.