Starter in the spotlight: Sander Soenens
Six months ago, Sander Soenens walked into KBC for a job interview. He came out with a job, but not the one he expected. He’s happy to tell us all about his new role.
How did you end up at KBC, Sander?
After studying economics, I was looking for a job in the financial sector. KBC has a reputation for having a young, open company culture, so I applied for a traineeship there.
During the interview for the traineeship, I had a chance to speak to Delivery Manager Veronique Verhavert. She put me in touch with my current team, and a week later I was able to sign my contract. I didn’t start working at KBC IT as trainee, but rather as a functional analyst within the Rainbow project.
What exactly does that involve?
For this project, we’re building a new data warehouse that serves as the basis for reporting. This data warehouse consists of four data layers. I ensure that data in the right format flows correctly from the fourth data layer to the application, which generates reports for Asset & Liability Management and Liquidity.
Data quality is not as straightforward as it might seem, even though it is crucial to an application’s value. For example, the innovative new features being developed for KBC Mobile and Kate are only sustainable if the foundation is solid, and that foundation relies upon high quality data. That means I have an important job, and that importance is recognised thanks to the central role data plays in KBC’s strategy.
How did your first months go?
The Rainbow project is a very specific, complicated environment, but my colleagues have been very supportive. On my first day, I was welcomed by my team and had a very open conversation with the scrum master in which he got an idea of my expectations.
I was assigned two mentors, both functional analysts. That gives me a safety net because I always have someone I can talk to if there is an issue. We can then find a solution together.
There is also an onboarding process for everyone starting out at KBC IT. While this is useful for quickly learning new things through different workshops, it’s also handy for getting to know other starters. It’s extremely valuable to know people from other teams. KBC is a big organisation, but this process lets you know which teams are out there and what they do so you can more quickly establish a network.
How would you describe your team?
It’s a relatively large team including both experienced colleagues and starters. If a starter has an idea, the knowledge of the experienced colleagues ensures that it can be implemented. That's a nice dynamic.
I’ve already been able to automate two manual processes this way. The first is a query generator that lets us more quickly see the difference between old data and new data. The second is a script that automatically detects which attributes are used for products. In a nutshell, it eliminates the need to look in 30 different CSV files to see which columns are filled in.
Even though I had only just joined the team, I felt I was given the opportunity to suggest improvements. My colleagues encouraged me to develop my ideas further, and that’s yielded great results. Less manual work also means fewer errors.
Is KBC's company culture what you expected it to be?
When you see advertisements for KBC and all the things you can do with KBC Mobile, you’re expecting a company with a young mindset that adapts quickly and pushes hard for innovation. That expectation has definitely been met. There are several cross-team initiatives that encourage innovation, such as hackathons.
At a job fair, I was able to speak to someone my age who had already been working for KBC for a few years, so I knew in advance that KBC walks the talk as a Top Employer.
