Digitalisation and agility

• On the digital academy’s page on KfW’s Intranet, staff can find a wealth of information about issues such as “digitalisation”, “agility” and “new work”. It also provides videos on activities within KfW, relevant articles, podcasts and external events, as well as opportunities for internal dialogue.
• KfW addressed the issue of the future of work in an exchange format referred to as “cultural dialogue”. The Executive Board, high-potentials and all junior staff have already participated in this format. In an event with Richard David Precht, several hundred employees also asked themselves the question of what we at KfW can do now, in order to be at the top in some aspects of the “digitalisation”, “new work” or “more agile world of work” in the future.
• In order to demystify the buzzword “agility”, we have organised events that explain to our staff what agility really is the answer to, why the topic is currently so popular, and how agile methods such as “Scrum” and “design thinking” work in concrete terms.
• In a roadshow, we show the company’s departments the technological drivers underlying digitalisation at KfW, such as data analytics and the cloud. This enables the departments to apply these technologies to their area-specific challenges. A good example here is the distribution of development aid funds using BlockChain technology.
• Since the middle of this year, a department in Mittelstandsbank (SME Bank), has been working in a completely agile form of organisation using the Scrum and Kanban methods. KfW is thus piloting agile methods outside of typical IT and project tasks.

Agile working methods and principles enable projects to be managed more flexibly, faster and more adaptively as they include, for instance, short work cycles and regular reflection loops. But agility is more than just a range of new methods. Successful implementation depends on the embodied values, the people involved and the resulting behaviour.

Agile methods therefore not only change working methods through their framework and rules, but also have a significant influence on the attitude and the management style of those involved. The self-organisation of interdisciplinary teams in agile projects changes the interaction of the players and managers, who are increasingly taking on the role of a coach, supporting the team from the sidelines. As a result, personnel development and change management are part of the process supporting KfW on its way to a more agile working environment.

As part of the digital academy, we are conveying the basics of an agile attitude and information on particular agile methods such as design thinking and Scrum. An agile approach can be tried and experienced in various training sessions and workshops.

Managers in particular experience a fundamental change in their role through the introduction of agile methods. They no longer dictate “how” a team should do things, but only define “what” and ensure that the framework conditions of teamwork are right. The team organises itself. If requested, we provide managers with very specific support through coaching and reflection work in order to find and perform their role in an agile world.

At the end of 2017, a “community of practice” was launched in order to gather experience within KfW and to bring users of agile methods together with interested parties. At the initiative of the KfW Digital Office and Change Management, users and interested parties network there once a month and discuss specific questions about the implementation of agile methods at KfW.