Citizens looks to employees to evolve product roadmap

A “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition has been launched at Citizens Bank, allowing employees to compete for internal innovation fund dollars with ideas focused on the next generation of products and services. The bank intends to make 10 to 20 investments per year.

RJ Sherman, vice president of innovation at Citizens, did not specify the level of funding the bank allocates toward the initiative, but he emphasized that the focus is on supporting on bigger-picture, forward-thinking ideas. The monthly pitch competition, which began in December, brings together six finalists, who each deliver a 10-minute virtual pitch to a panel of judges at the bank.

“These are meant to be ideas that are that are more of long shots — big bets where we think that there are opportunities around but they’re still so early,” Sherman told Bank Innovation.

Citizens joins other large banks that are trying to disrupt their product development processes from within with programs that offer employees roles that resemble startup founders, a paradigm also employed by Citi Ventures’ D10X internal incubator.

See also: Inside Citi Ventures’ internal ‘Shark Tank’ D10X

Sherman explained that the program, which is open to any employee regardless of level or function, begins with ideas submitted through a virtual portal called “Bright Idea.” The judging panel consists of a cross-section of Citizens’ senior team members, including the chief data officer, head of customer experience and others in more operationally focused roles, such as the head of compliance. The panel includes representatives from the commercial and consumer sides of the bank, along with those who bring a tech perspective.

“’We’re hoping that multiple leaders see that nugget of an idea and see the potential,” Sherman said.

Asked about the types of ideas that have been pitched, Sherman noted that the bank works to ensure a balance of front- and back-office initiatives; a range of “innovation ambitions,” and ensuring that the program works across the enterprise. He would not offer more specifics as to the ideas pitched, but he noted that some proposals involved the deployment of artificial intelligence to help streamline and build efficiencies into back-office processes.

Once an idea makes it past the pitch, the internal “founders” have a critical path of eight to 12 weeks to build out their ideas for further consideration and have regular check-ins with senior leadership. The business line under which the initiative would fall ultimately makes the decision as to whether the idea is taken further.

Sherman stressed that ideas that don’t win aren’t considered failures: Employees are given detailed feedback, and ideas still live within the Bright Idea portal for further consideration. It’s an activity that’s spurred an internal “innovation community” among employees, he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of what I call ‘radical collaboration,’ where individuals in different parts of the bank are working on similar projects through this transparent mechanism,” Sherman noted. “We’re hyper focused on the lessons learned and really understanding why an idea went forward or why it was not pursued, so we can continue to share that across the entire bank and drive change.”

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