Case study

Setting 300 banking teams up for double-digit growth.

Results

Set-up and facilitated a scalable program to build cross-functional growth plans with 300+ account teams globally

Participating teams outperformed other teams with double digits
Over 50 internal ambassadors trained to sustain the new approach
Strong platform established for cascading new initiatives, such as ESG Transition Plans

As a leading bank, ING brings financial solutions, from lending and bonds to payments and market services, to multinational clients across various sectors. Maintaining strong client relationships and providing integrated, value-driven services are essential to staying competitive. However, with client needs on the move, the need for a collaborative, client-centric approach in wholesale banking teams is more critical than ever.

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Key Challenge

The 4000+ global account teams of ING Wholesale deliver custom solutions to clients in domains such as Financial Markets (FM), Payments and Cash Management (PCM), or Sustainable Finance (SF). But the pitfall of high product expertise in any organisation is the natural focus on products instead of clients. Teams may miss key opportunities to deliver cohesive, high-value solutions and prioritize strategic actions.

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The challenge lay not only in aligning these diverse groups on a shared client-approach, but also in driving a cultural shift among senior professionals who had achieved success within traditional structures. Add to that the scale of the organisation and its clear that you need more than an idea.

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Approach

Overcoming this required a structured, scalable approach to embed client-centric strategy and cross-functional alignment across the organization.

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We designed and launched a pilot program with two select teams, introducing a structured, client-focused framework for commercial strategy. It included four dedicated sessions to define ambitions, set SMART goals, outline opportunities, and map key stakeholders. With early successes, the program scaled rapidly, first to 100 teams, and later to 300 teams in a streamlined format with two sessions.

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A simultaneous "train-the-trainer" program equipped 50 internal ambassadors to continue the movement and ensure its sustainability by embedding this strategy-driven mindset throughout ING.

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Ultimately, the approach equipped each team with actionable plans that aligned cross-functional resources and expertise.

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^{Participants and trainers of the first 'Train the trainer' cohort}

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Outcomes

The program's success led to double-digit growth for participating teams compared to the others. Besides the financial gains, it boosted team cohesion and built the robust platform to executie future global strategic objectives with ease, such as the ESG Transition Plans.

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“Bringing in external support isn’t always easy, but the team delivered real, tangible results that have had a visible impact on our program. The feedback from our team has been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you for the seamless execution and value you’ve added to our program. Couldn’t be more pleased!

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Mark Pieter de Boer, CCO ING Wholesale Banking

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