Shifting to a digital, agile paradigm at BBVA

Client need

In a constantly changing environment with high complexity, BBVA, a multinational financial services company, faced the challenge of improving to meet customer expectations. To this end, BBVA began to promote a new model that was digital, agile, and flexible. Achieving this objective required a profound change in how the organization operated, along with a significant technological change from IT. The migration from one technology to another also required a new leadership model which would allow the IT teams to be an active part of this change process, leading one of the most critical technological transitions ever faced by the organization.

The solution

To help BBVA respond to this challenge, Netmind, a BTS company, undertook a co-creation process with the team, sponsoring the management of this change initiative.

This led to the creation of Tech Managers, a training and support experience, which:

• Develop the necessary skills (knowledge, techniques, tools and behaviors) in BBVA Engineering Managers, giving way to a new leadership model
• Promote a modern and solid leadership culture for BBVA’s Engineering Managers based on common agile values, principles, and practices
• Implement new work models, promoting Agile and DevOps to achieve a more efficient, productive, and flexible way of working
• Promote a culture of continuous, active, and collaborative learning within the engineering management community at BBVA

Tech Managers has been a particularly innovative model within BBVA’s training system. It combines 4 days of intensive training with experiential learning labs in which students solve real challenges and apply the knowledge acquired in training. This format combines action plans and the implementation of new desired behaviors for IT teams, thus ensuring a more significant impact on the organization’s strategy and objectives.

The results

50% of BBVA’s tech managers have gone through the training. Netmind and BBVA are currently in the process of determining the experience’s impact by analyzing fundamental changes in behaviors, habits, and attitudes within Tech Manager teams, ascertaining the degree to which these changes are aligned with the organization’s strategy, and identifying the overall impact on business results.