Trust Bank has marked a milestone in its commitment to innovation and ongoing improvement by conducting its first-ever internal hackathon. This initiative offered employees an opportunity to create and present pioneering solutions aimed at enhancing customer experiences and streamlining work processes.
According to the institution, around seventy personnel grouped into teams and brainstormed on how they could take advantage of contemporary technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), automation APIs, and chatbots, to make their operations more efficient. The top twelve teams selected from the ideation phase were given just two days to craft a prototype of their idea and present it during the pitching stage.
This transformational initiative aligns with Trust Bank's ethos of constant improvement by empowering its teams to pioneer superior customer experiences and creating a workplace atmosphere where employees would love to work.
Trust Bank has led in innovation, showing commendable achievements during its first year in existence, which were aimed at making banking easier, more transparent, and rewarding for its customers. Notable among these are a three-minute onboarding journey and the launch of the industry's first fully digital supplementary credit card.
In a euphoric atmosphere, the top twelve teams worked together to develop and test their prototypes, then prepared to pitch their ideas. Trust Bank mentors were on site to offer guidance and feedback. The final display was rather theatrical, with teams pitching their ideas to a judging panel, including the CEO, CIO, COO, Head of Legal, and a guest judge from McKinsey & Company, in a format inspired by the American TV series Shark Tank.
But to come out on top, the teams had to convince the judges and win public votes. The victors of the day were 'Code Conduits' and 'Trust Pea'. The Code Conduits team promoted the idea of data-driven decisions using large language models. Trust Pea emerged as a winner with an innovative approach to streamlining data storage that yields a better understanding of the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
The winning ideas will not just remain as plans on paper. The victorious teams are scheduled to travel to one of the world's largest technology conferences, Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2024, where they hope to find inspiration for more innovation. These trips are a reward for their efforts and a tangible step towards actualising their ideas.
Commenting on the event, Stewart Gray, Agile Coach at Trust Bank, remarked, "The ideas and energy generated by the teams were an inspiration to us all and a great reminder of the opportunities we have for continuous improvement."
"This is essential for us to be able to deliver the sort of customer experience we aim to and to create an environment that our teams love to work in," said Gray.
