Not IT professionals by trade, but IT professionals now. Not everyone in the IT development department has an IT background. Business analyst Jonathan and Head of Product Development Charley translate business operations into technology, and vice versa.
How did you end up at Brand New Day?
Jonathan: ‘I used to work at a start-up, but at a certain point I realised I wasn’t getting anywhere. So I looked for a job at a larger company where I could focus more on my interests and didn’t have to do administration, customer acquisition and technical support as well. The position of business analyst appealed to me because I’ve always been involved in IT, but not so much as a developer. Always somewhere in between.’
Charley, you yourself were a business analyst at Brand New Day and sat on the selection committee for Jonathan’s job. What were you looking for?
‘Someone who is analytical but, above all, can act as a bridge between business and IT. I remember Jonathan saying that he really enjoys puzzles. During the interview, we also gave him a small practical flow assignment. Those are mainly to see how someone thinks.’
You followed a different career path within the company, starting as a student with a job in customer service.
Charley: ‘I was studying economics and looking for a part-time job that suited me better than serving beer. Brand New Day’s customer service department was much smaller back then; there were only about ten of us. It really had that close-knit start-up/scale-up atmosphere. It was very interesting to learn about the products, and work with customers at the front end of the organisation. Once I graduated, they happened to have a position for me as a business analyst in IT. That was a good match because I knew the financial products well. In the beginning, I always carried a notebook with me to write down software terms though.’
Was it obvious to you that you wanted to continue working here after your studies?
‘No, sorry, haha! Because it was a job in the IT department, it was certainly not an obvious choice for me. But because I knew how good the atmosphere is, I ultimately made my decision.’
Jonathan, you don’t have an IT background either. What struck you once you came here?
‘That’s true, but I find it very interesting and I enjoy working with IT. I really like the way we work as a team. The culture here is also much more diverse than I had expected. And, strangely enough, I hadn’t really considered beforehand that everything we do is ultimately a banking product.’
What kind of people do you work with here?
Jonathan: ‘I see a lot of open-minded people. People who are willing to help and aren’t afraid of change. That’s an important quality here. Change is always very difficult in companies. People are resistant to it. When you’ve worked as a consultant, you notice that this is really the case. Here, it’s not so bad. Many people recognise the need for improvement, in particular.’
Hopefully that’s not because everything is so bad.
Charley: ‘No, and we should count ourselves lucky sometimes. Because, look. We have legacy… but the big banks have real legacy. Brand New Day is still growing rapidly, but we are also still flexible, so we can respond well to market developments. And yes, sometimes we tackle things because they simply have to be done. But for new ideas, the sky really is the limit.’
You have experienced quite a few changes in ten years, of course.
Charley: ‘I really have to take a step back to see that. That there are now 70 people working in customer service, for example. It has all happened very gradually, which is positive. And the atmosphere has remained the same.’
Why do you think that is?
‘The Brand New Day DNA is not only characteristic of our business operations, but also of the people who work here. Founding Brand New Day went against the established order of the boring banking life, and that is also very much reflected in the office atmosphere. New colleagues sometimes come to the office wearing a tie. Well, you do that once and never again. Many people who were there from the beginning are still here. That also helps a lot to maintain that atmosphere. It’s remarkable that there are quite a few relatively young people who have been working here for ten or twelve years.’
What do your daily activities look like?
Jonathan: ‘Every day, I work to ensure that what the business thinks and wants is clear to our IT department. And vice versa: that it is clear to the business what the IT department does. If they ask why things are done one way or another, I can explain it. That way, I create clarity on both sides. Sometimes that also means doing research. If we want to get from A to B, what is A exactly? Where are we now? Everyone knows a little bit about that, but the real details and how you can change them are often not immediately clear.’
Charley, you went from business analyst to product owner. What does that job entail?
‘As a product owner, you determine the priorities of projects and ensure that the development team is working on the right things. There are always multiple initiatives running within teams, and it is the product owner’s job to bring focus to them. We work in sprints, so I also deal with the question: what are we going to tackle in the next sprint, and what is planned for after that?’
You are now Head of Product Development.
‘Yes, and that means I am now more involved in the bigger picture of all our digital products. Our development teams are spread across different domains – such as back office and customer applications – and I ensure that there is consistency in what we do and that we are heading in the right direction. It’s important that our products continue to meet customer needs and that we are ready to grow further. And when there’s some spare time, I like to focus more on the long term: where do we want to go, what is our vision, how do we remain scalable? Et cetera.’
What are you proud of?
Charley: ‘I am proud that I have managed to achieve all the goals I had in mind and that Brand New Day gave me the opportunity to do so. I have been vocal about them and the answer was always: okay, let’s see what’s possible. Where do I still need to develop, what do I need to do to get there?’
Jonathan: ‘What I am proud of is that, even though we work with IT, we still have a very human approach. We work primarily with people, not with computers, processes or money.’
Charley: ‘If someone at a birthday party asks me where I work and I say at a bank, I immediately feel the urge to explain that it’s actually really nice here. We’re not stuck in bureaucracy and processes.’
Want to experience what Charley and Jonathan mean? Have a look at our open vacancies. Or contact our HR department for a cup of coffee or tea. They look forward to it!
