VR-Bank Würzburg: What The Meister Bundle Gives Them That MS Teams and Planner Can’t.

Volksbank Raiffeisenbank (VR-Bank) Würzburg may have been founded over a century ago…but it’s anything but old-fashioned. Lean management, agile team processes and digital transformation ensure everything runs like clockwork for the bank’s 88,000+ customers.

At the helm of the Bavarian financial ship is Sebastian Kraft, Head of Bank Administration, IT and Digital Transformation. For the past 12 years, Sebastian has been at the forefront of IT leadership, overseeing smart data usage, organizational development, standardization, and process automation for over 30 branches and 350 employees. A topic high on Sebastian’s agenda since 2023 is change management. As the Chief Digital Transformation Officer, his latest goal is to enhance innovation across all bank functions, including revamping the digital communication infrastructure.

Sebastian introduced MeisterTask and MindMeister to his team five years ago. They started with 50 Pro licenses – and since then,  team collaboration has improved significantly.

As Heraclitus once poignantly said, “Nothing is as constant as change.” VR-Bank Würzburg is no stranger to the shifting tides of government regulations, which requires it to be both adaptable and highly organized. Within the next few years, all VR banks in Germany will have to switch from HCL Notes to Microsoft 365. VR-Bank Würzburg will be one of the first banks to move to Microsoft Teams and Outlook, and with it, tools such as Planner and To Do. 

So, what does this mean for the Meister software that the team has come to rely on? One board member asked Sebastian:

Because the bank knows a thing or two about saving money – and cutting “duplicate” software is an obvious way to reduce expenses –  Sebastian needs a solid argument for keeping MeisterTask and MindMeister. He explains:

Sebastian is jointly responsible for authorization management, another critical topic in the organization. As a bank, VR-Bank Würzburg is subject to MaRisk (Minimum Requirements for Risk Management) from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin. Therefore, their IT service providers and software solutions must meet the highest security standards.

If you ask Sebastian why he wants to continue using MeisterTask and MindMeister, even though the bank will be working in the Microsoft ecosystem, he has several reasons. One of the most important is usability.

Sebastian explains that before joining VR-Bank Würzburg, he worked in international management consulting and developed CRM systems for SAP. As such, he knows how vital usability is, and how it’s intrinsically connected to design.

But in addition to the design and usability of a tool, there are other decision criteria to consider. Sebastian goes on to explain why Planner isn’t a practical solution for his team:

For Sebastian, Agile project management and communication are necessary to become an “innovation bank.” For this reason, VR-Bank Würzburg will continue to use Meister software alongside MS Teams and Planner.

VR-Bank Würzburg has mapped its entire project management process and methodology in Meister software. The project overview is created in MindMeister, which acts as a “one point of entry” or table of contents for the project. The mind map contains links to SharePoint files, MeisterTask Kanban boards, other mind maps, status reports and logs. With a clear and accessible starting point, the team can easily navigate through the project and all related materials.

Sebastian would also like to see this flexibility from Microsoft. It’s why Meister software is so well received and accepted throughout the entire organization, right up to the Management Board.

Sebastian is familiar with the broader productivity tool market, including Trello, ClickUp and the like. However, a key reason for choosing Meister over competitors is security. Meister is strictly GDPR-compliant – essential for a bank like VR-Bank Würzburg. And, the fact that the tool is intuitive and based in Germany was also a decisive factor for Sebastian and his team.

This is precisely why Sebastian opted for the Business licenses (instead of Pro). The guest role is a crucial function for secure, flexible collaboration with external parties. It also saves time – everyone can work together on the same board and no additional boards need to be created.

Even though team management at VR-Bank Würzburg will be handled via MS Teams in the future, Sebastian sees limitations of Teams and Planner in regards to self-management.

The ability to create tasks and communicate on the go in the MeisterTask mobile app is a huge benefit for Sebastian and the team. The Management Board is also enthusiastic about this flexible way of working as it ensures timely and uninterrupted project communication.

Similarly, creating tasks directly from emails via a MeisterTask integration helps Sebastian work efficiently from anywhere. Instead of sending a task to five colleagues via email, Sebastian follows up on action points by creating a task on the relevant project board in MeisterTask. This way, he avoids information getting lost in email chains, or team members being accidentally missed from CC. In MeisterTask, task details are centralized in one place and the team can use @ mentions to inform stakeholders of updates.

Ask Sebastian what the greatest advantage of using Meister software is, and he’ll tell you it lies in the daily, intensive use across all departments:

Seamless, asynchronous and efficient documentation is another positive result of working with Meister software.

When Sebastian reflects on the company’s meeting culture, another advantage comes to mind:

This structured way of working makes it possible for Sebastian to work on multiple tasks at the same time – without losing track.

This alleviates stress in Sebastian’s daily work and facilitates the team in achieving their goals. With the right tools in place, VR-Bank Würzburg has positioned itself as a forward-thinking bank, fully committed to innovation.