Banca Widiba snagged the New Ways of Working gold award for ‘The Financial Advisors Team’ at the Qorus Reinvention Awards – Europe 2024. Leading this project is Daniela Pivato, Director of IT & Digital Innovation at Banca Widiba. She elaborates on this pioneering approach and discusses the significance of winning this award for both the team and the bank.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us more about your role at Banca Widiba?
I'm Daniela Pivato, and I serve as the Director of IT & Digital Innovation at Banca Widiba. In 2013, I was involved in building and establishing Widiba, a bank that has made innovation its hallmark since its inception. Over the years, my clear goal has been to contribute to creating an environment where technology could facilitate people's relationship with the bank. One of Banca Widiba's pillars has always been listening to clients and the 560-plus financial advisors in the network, considering their real needs and daily expectations, to be ‘the bank as usual, with the tools of today’.
What made you most proud of the Financial Advisors Team project? What was your greatest achievement in making it happen?
At Banca Widiba, we're extremely proud of the Financial Advisors Team project because it facilitates collaborative modes among our consulting professionals through fully digitized processes. This project stemmed directly from listening to the needs of financial consultants and client requirements. A year since its launch, over 120 teams have already been formed, involving 20% of network professionals. This level of project adoption represents an extraordinary achievement, demonstrating great appreciation from both the network and clients.
What is the most important thing you would tell someone considering embarking on a similar project?
I believe a project like this provides the opportunity to increasingly meet customer needs, even the most advanced ones, through collaboration and synergy of qualified and hyper-specialized professionals. This allows for managing even the most complex and diversified needs by leveraging diverse and complementary skills. Furthermore, the team approach facilitates generational transition, not only by involving young financial consultants, initiating them into the profession and accelerating their growth through senior colleague supervision, but also by fostering the exchange of experiences.
What's coming next for the Financial Advisors Team project?
At Banca Widiba we firmly believe that the development of the financial consultant profession will increasingly focus on teamwork to offer a globally comprehensive advisory service consistently keeping pace with the times. Therefore, we've integrated the possibility of partially or fully sharing portfolios among financial consultants with different responsibilities and cross-area/district roles. Lastly, we've adopted a new alert system dedicated both to the advisors involved, to stay updated on shared operations, and for clients, who can have visibility into the management of associated financial consultants on the website's homepage and through the app. Currently, we're continuing to work on evolving tools to ensure the wealth advisory service that characterizes Banca Widiba.
What would you say to companies that might consider entering the 2024 Banking Innovation Awards?
I believe sharing successful case histories internationally contributes to digital and technological evolution, not only benefiting the industry but also society as a whole. Initiatives like the Banking Innovation Awards recognize entities contributing significantly, aiding the acceleration towards adopting increasingly innovative solutions and services. I would encourage all banks and financial institutions to participate in future editions.
What does this award mean to you and your innovation team?
It's extremely significant because it acknowledges, at a European level, the effectiveness of the innovative drive that guides us every day, aiming to continually define new collaboration methods that are simple, smart and always customer-centric, offering a unique and ‘stress-less’ experience. This award demonstrates that we're on the right path to driving change, using technology as an enabling factor, without ever forgetting the value of human capital.
Submission is open for the global Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2024. Submit until 21 June 2024
