At KBC, they know in order to be a front runner you need to invite change instead of merely reacting to it. The company knew they wanted to not only follow the growing trend of digitization, but change the entire mechanism of online banking. This meant building their own banking app, website, and diverging from the status quo that many other companies inevitably have since followed. To support them in their journey, they decided to transform to working in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) in 2018. 

It was the business owners who truly believed in the transformation and were the forerunners of  the movement. This allowed optimism to spread throughout the organization as the business  leaders were also motivated. Not only with the endless imagination of building state of the art technology but with anticipation of uniting Business with the IT department.  KBC transformed as a whole knowing full well that both sides needed to collude in order to deliver best value for their customers. 

Teams were reformed and team members showing strong leadership rose to the challenge and became Change Agents  in every area of the company. The consequence of which, provided opportunities for growth for employees as well as the company as a whole. SAFe training was a key to success according to An Willaert, a Transformation Agent at KBC.

Introducing large-scale change after 20 years is a big feat, and therefore it came with a lot of doubts from people, as An Willaert recalls.

• Why should we change?
• How will you prove that it’s better?
• Can you prove that all companies using SAFe really improved?

This led to in-depth discussions, and addressing these concerns allowed teams to become educated on the need for change, and to be more invested in it in the long run.

A SAFe transformation during corona is quite a large challenge, but many companies went through similar feats. When it became time to do PI Planning, that is when KBC realized the need for a tool to replace their brown papers. A google search in 2020 led them to Kendis, where they have continued to perform their PI Planning and Tracking of their increments ever since.  

When asking An what advice she has for other companies who are looking to innovate, she encouraged patience. An emphasizes the need to find a sustainable way to create change, and involve everyone in the process. When teams feel empowered to make improvements on their own, they will continue to push for growth.