Well, first of all, there’s one thing that applies to absolutely everyone in the company, no matter what role they have: everything we do, we do for our users. From launching a new feature to A/B testing emails or the color of a button, it’s all to make life easy for the users.
But how exactly do we make sure that everyone’s aligned with the ultimate goal, when we have so many different people, dozens of nationalities and ways of working ? Well, we’ve got our ways! Here are some core principles that makes bunq a unique place:
Data-driven 📈
At bunq, every project or crazy idea starts with a proposal. Many times, this can literally be a dream you’ve had last night - nothing wrong with that! As long as you’ve got some data to back it up. Now when we say data, this rarely means a website you’ve found that says this is a good idea. Trust me, I’ve tried that one.
We’re looking for data that this is a good idea for our users. What could work for other apps, or other banks, may not work for us - because it simply doesn’t solve a problem for our own users.
For example, a while ago we learnt that our users enjoy getting insights on their monthly activity with bunq. That’s why now we send monthly newsletters that remind you how much money, time and CO2 you saved each month.
As a bunqer, you have the opportunity to solve interesting problems for our users pretty much every day. For that, you just need to know what the issue is - what they’re looking for, what they’re missing, what they love. We have a whole team that tirelessly researches their needs: from phone calls, to surveys or social listening, they’re on top of things. Don’t be afraid to ask them for the data you need to kick off your own project. Once you’ve got that covered, it’s up to your beautiful mind to come up with solutions that are best-in-class and truly make a difference.
Effective communication 🗣️
bunq is growing every single day. We’re always on the lookout for the best talent out there, and we’re lucky to already have hundreds of great people working in our offices or from their homes. We’ve got many nationalities, many cultural backgrounds, and many different ways of saying we’re working on something or even what date it is today.
That’s why effective communication is one of the most sacred things around here. We’ve laid down some ground rules to make sure that no matter how different we are, we all understand each other. For example, any past or present bunqer will know what “ack” means. We use this to let the other person know that we’ve acknowledged their email, message, assignment or question. To know they’ve been listened to and we’re now aware of it. We also use what we call Robospeak - yeah, we kinda speak like robots sometimes. Instead of saying that the next bunq Update is on Wednesday (which Wednesday?!), we’d say 20220615 1800 - just an example, don’t get too excited.
Effective communication will help you easily talk to other teams, save time (hello, fewer meetings!) and will definitely save you some frustration.
Ownership 💯
To make sure that we always know who’s in charge of what and who’s responsible for success (or mistakes, it happens), everyone has ownerships. From step 1 (the data based proposal), until the launch, you’re in charge of your own projects. You’re an expert on the matter and the source of truth when it comes to your ownership. For example, I’m in charge of this blog post and every other blog post you read here. Does that mean I just write stuff and post them as I please?
Not really. I have a process for what I should write, how I know what you want to read and how do I measure what “good” means. Similarly, every bunqer has processes for their ownerships, because it ensures that everyone does it the same way, which increases the chances of consistency across everything we do - internally or externally.
I also write stuff based on data (yes, yes…again), and I get my posts checked by someone else. We call this “the 4-eye”. It means that anything one does, (at least) someone else should check. There’ll always be something that you didn’t see. Maybe not a mistake, but a potential small improvement. Maybe just a better way to say, or code something. Your 4-eye partner can be your manager or just a teammate - as long as nothing goes out without 2 people “having a look”.
At the end of the day, having an ownership is a very measurable, precise way for you to make a difference. Whatever yours is, you focus on it every day and make sure it contributes to our users’ happiness.
These are the 3 core principles that make bunq the place it is and the place we love.
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