Squad Spotlight: Xcellerator
In an agile organization, squads are formed by individual teams that work towards an identified and common goal. These teams work on their roles to contribute to the fulfillment of the goal autonomously. A product owner ensures that the squad’s priorities are followed and are delivered based on the timelines. Squads are usually guided by a coach who sees things in macro perspective and provide advice whenever necessary.
It all started with promoting Blockchain Education – in and out of the Bank and building partnerships with academic institutions. The Xcellerator Squad now has a roster of learning pathways, webinar series, and multi-industry partnerships. We sat down with the squad and learned the dynamics of working on smaller projects within a project with one common goal.
Please describe your squad composition to us.
Our core members are from FinTech and HR groups.
Talent Acquisition
CSR and Sustainability
Abee Caberte
Bea Rona
Dave Devilles
Angela Justo
Employer Branding and Communications
May Buencamino
Louis Ramos
Shangy Montecillo
Rachelle Tolentino
FinTech Group
Nix Syjuco
Camille Lim
Our squad members do not have titles nor ranks. Our roles have always been versatile. Whatever is thrown our way, we take it as a challenge and tackle it together. There are times when we are game masters, talent managers, teachers, students, and content writers.
We heard this is a multi-awarded squad and program (Xcellerator). What are these awards and which one is the most significant to you?
We have received two awards, UnionBank’s Forward-Thinking Award and a Gold Anvil Award. For me, the most important one was the Forward-Thinking Award. It validated that the Bank knew that our senior leaders believed in our project and recognized that our efforts make a meaningful impact as we move forward in our project.
How did this pandemic affect the way you design the program?
At the start, we were a bit nervous because our program relied on our school relationships, and we’re also unsure how it would turn out on their end, given the challenges in the shift to virtual classes. After a meeting with the squad, where all of us contributed ideas on what to do next, we agreed that we would do it ourselves rather than waiting for materials and content from our partners.
We are an ambitious team, so it wasn’t so hard to work together to get the things out there. We achieved our objective during the ECQ, which was to educate 1,000 individuals and solidify school relationships – all thanks to our collaborative ideas.
What were the challenges you've encountered as a team when the ECQ was implemented? How were you able to overcome these challenges?
Our initial plans for this year included a smart campus execution, which we had to change due to the pandemic and its impact to the schools. We have decided to pivot our strategy to create programs, support other schools with their needs, run CSR campaigns to match the current situation, get more content partners, and teach more individuals to reach our objective.
Revisiting the squad's objective, are you satisfied with your current accomplishments?
Yes. We thought that it would be difficult to reach our goal of educating 1,000 individuals. When we started, we often laughed about being “too ambitious”. Now, 9 months into 2020, we have surpassed our target and we aim to do more.
What can we expect from the Xcellerator squad in the coming months?
We will have additional learning programs, a digital garage, and a secret program brewing for 2021.
Are you guys looking for additional members for the squad? Kindly invite our readers.
Our squad is like family from our daily to weekly squad meets, our various chat groups, which include work, food and shopping, game nights, and e-numans.
We are always looking for additional partners and family members.
Those who would want to join us as we follow the higher purpose, PeopleTech, we invite you to be part of our fun, engaged, ambitious, and supportive group where anyone and everyone is open to sharing their thoughts and opinions as we continuously produce more programs.