Innovation groups are a relatively recent, but an increasingly important, addition to traditional bank structures.
FIs employ different approaches when forming those teams: some banks have full-time, devoted engineers and technologists, while others source their existing employee-base to bring in a mixture of expertise from different departments.
Whatever the approach is, experts tell us, one thing is crucial: innovation teams, just like any other team at a bank, need a set structure.
Structure starts with a leader: so what key qualities must a Head of Innovation have in order to make the team a success?
A mixture of as business and a technical background is ideal, according to Steve Ellis, EVP and head of the innovation group for Wells Fargo.
Ellis told Bank Innovation
I’ve had experience since I first started working at age 12 to interact with thousands of customers across all walks of life. Before my career at Wells Fargo, I was fortunate enough to co-own and manage a tavern where I learned how to successfully run a business…At Wells, I ran some big businesses, like Treasury Management, and started up the Internet Solutions group for Wholesale customers. From these experiences, I learned about the power of technology to change people’s lives in very positive ways.
Part of Ellis’s job is to make sure his team is fully stocked with the right people, and is up-to-date with the recent trends. Sticking to a pre-set list of skills for new members isn’t the way to go—the best structure includes a mix of strong technologists and strong business leaders, according to Ellis.
Wells’s innovation group was re-shuffled at the beginning of this month, and split into teams that are focused on distinct areas for technological innovation. The group now has teams focused on AI, APIs, and payments.
Hiring the right people at the right time, and looking at which individual can bring the most value to the project in the present moment is crucial, according to Kevin Johnson, head of Innotribe innovation programs for SWIFT Innotribe.
“We’re trying to find solutions to specific problems—to be able to explain the problem your technology solves is crucial. It’s about the problem, that’s about 80% of the challenge,” said Johnson. “What we try to do is get [our people] to remove all that detail when [first] explaining, because you just need to get past that first hurdle.”
Innotribe issues “challenges” to startups and companies in the industry, with its most recent one centered around solving problems in compliance and KYC. Those projects, according to Johnson, are consolidated under an Innotribe Project Manager, with the participating startup normally sending in one business and one tech professional.
The rest of the Innotribe project team, of which there is no set number, is comprised of the “right mix” of business, IT, marketing, and other professionals.
As Johnson stated, the most important part of the group’s focus is making sure the value of the technology is visible. That might mean keeping the focus on the consumer rather than forming a formal innovation team.
“Innovation starts with knowing our customers — they are our best resources for what works and what we can improve,” said Sameer Gulati, chief operations officer at Lending Club. Gulati heads product and operations teams, the defacto innovation group for the marketplace lender. “We collect feedback from customer calls, surveys and focus groups, to better understand the successes and challenges our customers experience, and use that data to help inform our product enhancements.”
Wells has a slightly different approach: its innovation group is split into separate, mini focus areas, which creates tight, nimble teams, almost resembling a startup structure.
Ellis told Bank Innovation
The Innovation Group is a small team by design — a little more than 100 team members strong.
Since the announcement of our Payments, Virtual Solutions and Innovation group in October, our goal has been to redefine the next generation of capabilities and offerings, and to prioritize innovation that elevates the customer experience.
To learn more about the latest trends in fintech innovation, join us in San Jose on March 6-7 for Bank Innovation 2017, where the best conversations in fintech take place. Request your invitation here.