Knowledge sharing

Johannes Schneider has already experienced many times over that communication is the be-all, end-all to success. One example of this is when he moved to Sweden with his parents at the age of 16. He then again demonstrated this a few years ago in 2014 when he decided to move back to Germany to join Helaba as an IT specialist. The in-depth guidance provided by his supervisor, Thomas Poerschke, was pivotal during this time.
“I can certainly add a great deal of nerd knowledge gained either through personal experience or at school”, laughs Schneider. “However I am still a long way away from knowing all about the international banking business.” A year after completing training, communication and professional development remain essential for his role. All team members are kept informed through daily meetings and monthly rounds. No one individual is responsible for a project on their own. The objective here is to gather collective knowledge. “A lot will still happen as we move into the digital future,” of that Schneider is sure. “Systems and technologies are changing at a mind-boggling pace – with the tendency towards more complexity. We will not get very far with lone wolves.” 

“Digitalisation has not just begun, but in recent years it has merely gained momentum. When I started at Helaba in 1991, our team was much smaller than it is today. Our small team size and the typical lone-wolf mentality at the time often led to individual co-workers having all the knowledge about certain cases and applications. That became evident when we had a wave of individuals announcing retirement. We worked hard on passing the baton to the next generation despite this challenge, and I am proud of that. Today we not only ensure earlier on that our expertise stays with us, but we also utilise the opportunity to further enhance this expertise together with younger co-workers such as Johannes Schneider. As digital natives, they have a more intuitive and also more indiscriminate approach to the latest technologies than the older generation. In this respect, we still learn from each other every day.”

“Meticulous is the word that best describes our work. We look after the corporate lending business, assess and monitor credit risks, as well as are responsible for contract preparation and administration. The customers we serve come from various industries. It is crucial that we understand their business models and really become familiar with the subject matter to be able to recognise current trends and the impact they have for our customers. One of the topics we are currently dealing with is the future of automotive suppliers, given that e-mobility is a major trend in the industry. With such a wide spectrum of subject areas, our work is very exciting and varied. However, you must also have perseverance in this job in order to obtain all the relevant information. Having experience helps immensely, but new questions always arise. When we are working on a topic, we take action and learn. You won’t get very far without being open to new ideas and having communication skills – regardless of whether you are experienced or not. Our job is relatively challenging and I am pleased to see Jonathan Franz and the other junior staff go through training. The truth is, when I am in the midst of sharing knowledge, I also ask myself: Is that the right way to do it? Does that make sense? Having a diverse team in terms of age fundamentally helps in seeing different perspectives. For one, Jonathan Franz has a completely different network than I do, and we benefit from that.”

“I need to have a broad overview of many topics in my area of responsibility. It is like solving a system of equations – except that there is rarely only one right answer. For our work, it is particularly important that we keep to the multifaceted processes. When starting out in this area, you of course cannot be familiar with all of them. On top of that, we need to be aware of legal issues such as different company structures as well as internal regulations. That is where I definitely benefit from experienced team members like Andrea Mohr. It helps immensely that I can simply go over to her desk quickly and have a conversation. We have very open collaboration in our team. Now in March 2018, I have been with Helaba for two and half years. I know how to do my job and can now broaden my horizon and advance professionally. I not only receive support from Ms. Mohr and our team, but also from individuals across networks at Helaba. The bank organises a regular get-together for all junior staff. And all trainees – current and alumni – meet once a week as a large group. It’s a great opportunity to exchange ideas, as people from different areas meet up, and you can benefit from the wide spectrum of perspectives and knowledge.”