When is a bank ready for change and transformation? - summary of the episode

The financial industry is currently subject to a variety of influences that require structural change – for example, the pandemic, the demands of new work concepts, sustainability and regulation as well as increasing competition from tech firms. However, various types of silos slow down change and keep outdated structures in place.

One of these silos can be identified on the department or project level: Individual departments isolate themselves and work only for themselves without the overall organization in mind. As a result, project groups only work on their own projects and do not share any information with other groups. This corresponds to classic departmental thinking. However, in order to coordinate the work of the individual groups and achieve the best possible project outcomes, it would be imperative to network and decentralize knowledge. It is therefore important to identify and break down these silos.

You can see the extent to which a company’s current structures and processes support or prevent such silos by looking at the internal communication flows and the degree of in-house knowledge sharing. However, silos cannot be dismantled overnight. Managers and employees alike must develop a collaborative mindset and be willing to share their knowledge within their organization and to network. It is the managers’ responsibility to repeatedly highlight the benefits of sharing knowledge and working as a team and to integrate these practices into everyday working life. Networking can also be improved through interdisciplinary or interdepartmental working groups. 

Another silo is ignoring customer feedback. Customer centricity is becoming increasingly important and is also a key element for agile working. In order to implement this in your organization, customer feedback from surveys or customer advisory boards is of the essence. It becomes problematic if customer feedback is not taken into consideration or if the surveys are only conducted for marketing reasons without allowing the feedback providers to seriously participate. This misses the primary goal of the survey, which is to improve the organization. Moreover, it can, under certain circumstances, have a negative impact on the company’s reputation. Dealing with customer feedback requires courage and a new mentality on the part of the organization. Everyone involved must be willing to work towards meeting customer needs in the best possible way and to interact with customers on an equal footing.

Another silo that is often overlooked is the cookie-cutter approach many companies take when hiring new staff. The shortage of skilled workers and increasing digitalization require a change in recruiting processes as well as an early rethinking of job profiles: What skills will we need in the future? Will we also consider career changers as part of our target group?

Many components of the transformation also fail because of the corporate and team culture. In recent years, however, this issue has not received the attention it requires. Especially in difficult times, a good corporate culture and stable relationships within the company based on trust and fairness are essential. It is therefore important to break down this silo as well, to take a critical look at one’s own corporate culture and think about ways to improve it.