POP Bank has been recognised for having some of the most satisfied customers in the Finnish banking sector. High customer satisfaction is built on excellent customer service and first-class products and services.
In recent years, POP Bank has carried out major transformation initiatives focused on renewing its core banking systems and modernising its ways of working. Initiatives of this scale are exceptionally demanding: they impact the entire organisation, require close alignment between business and IT, and call for deep financial services expertise. Taskmill has been a trusted partner to POP Bank since 2018.
“Taskmill’s experts have professionally led our initiatives in line with our strategy. They have been quick to take ownership and have driven the work forward with determination,” says Rainer Sahlberg, CIO at POP Bank.
Taskmill’s project management, product leadership and development professionals have led some of POP Bank’s most critical development initiatives while simultaneously improving and streamlining ways of working. Together with POP Bank, Taskmill’s experts have designed and implemented effective development practices tailored to the specific requirements and characteristics of each initiative.
“Both communication and transparency improved significantly when we started managing our work with new methods and tools,” says Juha Hallikas, Program Director.
Deep Expertise in Core Banking Transformations
Core system renewals are among the most challenging transformations in banking. They are not merely technology projects, but business-critical transformations where even small mistakes can have significant consequences.
Taskmill brought POP Bank:
- extensive experience in large-scale core system renewals in the financial services sector
- the ability to break down complex transformations into manageable components
- expertise in proactively managing dependencies and risks
- confidence and experience in delivering changes that simultaneously impact multiple systems and business processes
Our experts have worked in key roles ranging from project management and product ownership to requirements engineering and testing, ensuring that complex initiatives progress in a controlled manner from start to finish.
Operating Models That Enable Successful Transformation
Technology renewal alone is not enough. A successful core transformation also requires new ways of working.
Taskmill helped POP Bank develop operating models that:
- support the successful delivery of complex transformation initiatives
- improve transparency and predictability
- enable effective collaboration between business and IT
- scale to support multiple simultaneous development initiatives
Quality and Testing as an Integral Part of Core Development
Quality assurance becomes even more critical in core system transformations. Together with POP Bank, Taskmill’s experts:
- built testing operating models tailored to the requirements of core transformation initiatives
- coordinated extensive testing activities across the programme
- participated hands-on in testing to ensure quality throughout every stage of development
This enabled effective risk management and helped ensure controlled deployments without business-critical disruptions.
Change Leadership That Makes Transformation Last
A core system renewal impacts the entire organisation, making change leadership a critical success factor. Taskmill’s Change Lead:
- systematically led the implementation of change across the organisation
- established and coached internal change agent networks
- ensured that new ways of working became embedded in everyday operations
Particular attention was paid to building POP Bank’s own capabilities, ensuring that the organisation could continue developing and improving independently also after the transformation initiatives.
Taskmill helps banks, insurance companies and other financial services organisations deliver complex business and digital transformations, core system renewals and large-scale development programmes.