DigiSessions - a Key Factor for Digital Transformation?
Published on May 17, 2020
It’s been quite a while, since Susann Dunger and I started our first workshop session “SurFace the Future”. You might remember? The aim was to show our colleagues the great functionalities of our new tablet at work. As we mentioned back then, the digital transformation is still at its beginning and we want to fight for it in the front line.
We do not have to mention that lots of things have changed drastically since November 2019. However, what the current crisis has shown us, is that digitalisation remains the key factor for success. It is hence our mission to push the digital mindset among our colleagues and support their daily work in a fully digital office.
How can we achieve that?
“We have always done it that way” is considered the worst phrase in business. But let’s be honest: Everyone of us aims for at least some kind of stability. We are only human and that is perfectly fine. Imagine a new software update, which changes the visual appearance of a frequently used programme, for example. No big deal for you? As a matter of fact, people must face changes in shorter intervals and for some of us, their work might have evolved to a daily fight. These rapid changes cause discomfort or stress.
For this reason, Susann and I have started a new project called “DigiDienstag” (“DigiTuesday”) in Commerzbank AG. Our concept is simple, but nonetheless effective: The “DigiDienstag” is built on three individual modules.
First, we cover the wide field of Digital Basics. It contains different workshops starting from efficient PDF editing to highly advanced functions in Microsoft Excel. A general rule for us: There are no stupid questions and we invite our colleagues to learn at their individual pace.
As a second module, we define the Digital Banking. In collaboration with the departments of strategy & development in Frankfurt, we provide helpful sessions concerning all our digital banking solutions. So far, we set a focus on great sales analytics tools that have been developed by our Commerzbank internal department Big Data & Advanced Analytics (BDAA). Many more are yet to come.
Our final goal is to equip our colleagues with some basic and advanced knowledge of Digital Trends. Here, you can expect interesting sessions about Machine Learning, Blockchain or IT Security. We seek to create this module as a platform and will certainly report about it in the future.
Workshops in Times of Corona?
For realising our concepts and ideas, Susann and I started with face-to-face classrooms in Berlin. This way, we could create many different workshop sessions and get a feedback directly – because there is no better feedback on earth than a smile! After a first session, we review all the content and make sensible adjustments based on the feedback. Then we are ready to broadcast the digital session via WebEx for all interested colleagues in Germany. Our motto: Everyone should be able to reproduce the content we’ve covered in a session. That is why we went even further and started a YouTube-For-Business approach. Every session is recorded on video in its final version. Did I mention that we are perfectionists? Thus, our ambition is to create content with outstanding quality for everyone. Using a smartphone camera maybe? Not accepted!
This way, the knowledge can be provided for a large target group and accessed at any time on our internal Sharepoint platform. The current situation under Corona has shown that a video classroom is both effective and sustainable. In the end, we want to offer excellent banking solutions for our clients and we hope to make a contribution
to that goal.
Stay tuned for updates in the future, because one thing is sure: We are not standing still in this fight.
Now, we have a question for you: How do you prefer to learn? Do you like face-to-face classrooms or are you more into video sessions? Please tell us – let’s digiTalk!
Christopher Gerling
Commerzbank AG
