Case Study
Helping Virgin Money Create the Conditions for Innovation
We helped Virgin Money’s Risk Leadership Team realize the potential for innovation in a highly regulated environment.
Identifying the Need for Innovation
In the finance industry, analytical teams like the one led by Nidhi Agarwal at Virgin Money play a crucial role in risk management and decision-making.
These teams are often composed of highly skilled professionals who excel at data analysis, model building, and ensuring compliance.
However, the nature of their work involves complex processes that span multiple stages and require collaboration across different groups.
“The 3 pillars of innovation—mindset, skills, and strategies—are the tools we provide to leaders to build a culture of continuous improvement and breakthrough ideas.”
Founder @ Make:Iterate – Jack O’Donoghue
Recognizing the Barriers to Collaboration
As is common in many financial institutions, teams often face challenges related to siloed operations.
While the team is adept at managing data and developing sophisticated models, there is an absence of a structured approach to innovation and problem-solving leaving room for efficiency gains and cost savings.
For example, an unstructured approach to stakeholder engagement can lead to delays in identifying issues, which may result in rework – costing time, money, resources and reputation.
“To drive meaningful innovation, we must cultivate a workplace culture where creativity and collaboration are celebrated and rewarded.”
Founder @ Make:Iterate – Jack O’Donoghue
Seizing the Opportunity to Empower Teams
Recognizing these industry-wide challenges, the Risk leadership at Virgin Money saw an opportunity to empower their team with the tools and techniques necessary to enhance their problem-solving capabilities.
By introducing design thinking—a process that encourages creative exploration and structured problem-solving—they aimed to break down silos, improve communication, and foster a culture of innovation that would align with the team’s analytical strengths while addressing these broader industry challenges.
This initiative marked the beginning of Virgin Money’s journey towards building an “Innovation Engine”—a self-sustaining system powered by mindset, skills, and strategies, designed to embed continuous innovation within the organization.
Designing a Targeted Approach to Drive Innovation
The primary goals of the workshop were to introduce the team to the design thinking process, help them appreciate its relevance to their work, and equip them with the mindset, skills, and strategies needed to lead innovation.
This process was designed to reduce bias, increase the chances of success, and build a strategy for testing and refining their ideas before full-scale implementation.
The workshop was also intended to lay the foundation for a culture of innovation within the team.
“Innovation leadership begins at the top. Leaders must set the vision and create the environment where innovation can thrive.”
Founder @ Make:Iterate – Jack O’Donoghue
Implementing a Structured Pathway for Innovation
1. Introduction to Design Thinking
The workshop began with a discussion on the importance of design as a problem-solving method in business. Participants explored examples of successful companies leveraging design thinking and identified key factors that contributed to their success.
2. Deep Dive into Design Thinking
The team was guided through the five stages of design thinking—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Detailed discussions helped the team understand the significance of each stage and how they could apply these principles to their specific challenges.
3. Creative Warm-Up Exercise
A hands-on exercise demonstrated the core principles of design thinking, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, reframing challenges, and nurturing a safe space for idea generation. This exercise helped the team experience firsthand the power of supporting each other in developing and refining ideas.
4. Case Study Discussion
Relevant case studies from other risk teams using design thinking were discussed, providing concrete examples of how this approach could be applied in the context of risk modeling and compliance.
5. Journey Mapping and Problem Identification
Participants engaged in a journey mapping exercise, where they mapped out their end-to-end workflow for delivering risk models. The team identified success criteria, stages, goals, and existing issues at each stage. Using the “4 W’s” (Who, When, What, Why), they clearly articulated a key problem and reframed it into strategic opportunities.
6. Idea Generation and Evaluation
The team brainstormed solutions to the identified opportunities and used the DVF (Desirability, Viability, Feasibility) framework to systematically evaluate their ideas.
Igniting Change and Inspiring New Perspectives
The workshop generated excitement, inspiration, and motivation among the team.
The shift in perspective allowed them to see new ways to innovate within their environment.
They left the session energized, with a clear understanding of how to apply the new techniques to their daily work.
“Our role is to be the catalyst for innovation, helping leaders pioneer new ways of thinking and acting within their organizations.”
Founder @ Make:Iterate – Jack O’Donoghue
Building a Foundation for Sustained Innovation
The next day, during a strategy session, the team observed a more deliberate approach to understanding problems before attempting to solve them.
They used the newly learned techniques to articulate and define problems clearly, ensuring alignment before moving forward.
The team also began reframing challenges to explore them from fresh perspectives, which led to more innovative approaches and solutions.
The process is now being used to reduce rework, increase stakeholder engagement, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages ongoing innovation.
This cultural shift is expected to have a lasting impact, positioning the Risk Model function as leaders in innovation within the industry.
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