Changing Culture Changes the Game
A series of Learning Expeditions provided Belfius with the energy and inspiration to innovate and transform customer journeys in their market.
Belfius
A series of Learning Expeditions provided Belfius with the energy and inspiration to innovate and transform customer journeys in their market. Building on early successes the company experienced with their award-winning banking app, WDHB helped shifting the collective mindset of the organization by introducing new practices and tools.
Context & Challenge
Belfius is a Belgian banking and insurance group with a staff of over 6,400 and a total consolidated balance sheet of EUR 172 billion. The organization, with roots going back to 1860, had gone through a major turn-around and rebranding following the financial crisis.
New practices and tools needed to be contextualized with awareness, a
sense of urgency and a mental shift in order to build confidence, inject energy and enthusiasm into a company that was getting cautious and protective but needed to go beyond its then perimeter.
Collaboration with WDHB
In a competitive bidding process, the decision was made by management to do a first set of Learning Expeditions. Two week-long programs on accelerated digital transformation and innovation brought Belfius’ top leaders to New York, Boston and San Francisco.
The target group expanded over time and our partnership progressively evolved as we adapted the thematic architecture to gradually more cutting-edge and specific topics focusing on disruption patterns, hyperconnectivity and ecosystem.
The most recent expeditions had a focus on user experience and technology-driven business model innovation respectively, to leverage the impact that the programs had on the organization with added deep dives and a focus that can be applied in the businesses.
Highlight
Growth Mindset: Accelerating Digital Transformation & Innovation
- Boston, New York City & San Francisco
Powering Disruption with Speed, Scale & Hyperconnectivity
- Hong Kong, Seoul, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Tokyo
Engaging Ecosystems for Innovation & Transformation
- Helsinki & Tallinn
Winning Hearts & Minds with Re-Envisioned Interactions
- Toronto & San Francisco
Creating Disruptive Value in The Platform Economy
- Singapore & Beijing
Impact
Starting as an inspirational program to invigorate a growth mindset, our Learning Expeditions have turned into a staple of Belfius’ strategic discovery, with 7 programs added since 2016, helping the leader in digital banking to stay ahead of the curve and setting the roadmap for the future.
Belfius’ public image as a digital trailblazer and a force of innovation has been confirmed and recognized many times over with awards, disruptive innovations the launch of various white-label products and the first banking chatbot in Belgium, amongst other initiatives.
WDHB helped in bringing those topic front and center and creating a strong networking effect among top leadership and empathy between various business functions and lines.
The recent launch of an internally coordinated immersive development program (Leadershift) on managerial practices and feedback culture was also a direct result of the deeper exposure to progressive workplace cultures and experiential learning approaches.