The Problem 

At Genesys, there was a need to transition the business model for working with Partners. Partners make up a significant portion of product sales, and as the business scales, the need to adapt how we charge and engage with Partners also scaled. 

Preparing for working sessions

I led this project from scoping, through research, artifact creation, and workshop planning. The goal was to weed through lots of noise, establish a baseline of vetted information, and bring a group of SMEs from across many functions through the final identification of opportunities, and finally designing the solution. My team and I crafted a research playback and foundational artifacts to present the synthesized research. While in the workshops, these presentations aligned the participants, bringing everyone up to speed, and inviting them to build upon the work and take ownership moving forward. 

User Research and Document Reviews 

Secondary Research – Understanding SaaS partner models and learning about Genesys’ existing Partner base and program.

Primary Research – Interviews with dozens of stakeholders and users from a variety of roles and locations. 

Document Review – Materials from previous work, current work-arounds, strategy initiatives, sales handbooks, etc. 

Persona Development

Based on the UX Research conducted, I built personas to kick off the workshop. These served as an introduction to the roles and scenario. Leveraging the experience of the 20 participants, the workshop groups built on top of these personas, by drafting more comprehensive empathy maps. 

Unpacking the Current-State 

I created service blueprints for both users, based on generalized research findings. These set a foundation for the structure and flow of the experience, and invited participants to contribute or elaborate in targeted areas. This sped up conversation and revealed deep sticking points early. These Service Blueprints were used to identify key areas of opportunity to ideate around. 

From Opportunities to Ideas 

I led the teams to unpacked the top opportunity areas for each user,  and reframe the most important areas into job-stories for each user.

For the Partner Account Manager: 

Job Story 1

As a PAM, when we have the initial conversation with the prospective partner to qualify and position, I want to understand if there is a true opportunity with the partner, so I can confidently open a new route to market / partner to achieve Genesys goals and my personal goals.

Job Story 2

As a PAM, when we have the initial conversation with the prospective partner to qualify and position, I want to assess if this partner can help Genesys to grow the business based on a sustainable, profitable partner business model/plan, so I can invest time with the correct partners to successfully onboard for the business and meet my KPIs.

For the Partner:

Job Story 1

As an Enterprise Partner in a referral motion when considering how Genesys's program is different and better than competitors, I want to Grow my business
and market opportunities, so I can increase my profitability.

Job Story 2

As an Enterprise Partner in a referral motion, when considering how Genesys's program is different and better than competitors, I want to add more value for my customers, so I can build my reputation so more people pick us.

These job-stories were the jumping-off point for ideation. 

Designing the Future-State  

To ensure we are clear on the new ideas selected, I brought the teams back to a service blueprint to outline the experience for each user. There were many unknowns that needed to be flagged to leadership, so as an output to the workshop, I created an executive playback with every detail. An excerpt of this detail is found below.

Assessing the value-exchange

Misalignment among group on program details and executive decisions on this transformation, opened up more questions than answers.

By conducting this activity, we revealed concerns about insufficient value provided to partners, making it unlikely for partners to undergo the transition to the referral motion. 

This finding initiated a discussion with senior leaders about incentive structures, and investment in customer success managers.