Member snapshot – Kym Hampton from CommBank
Three CommBank Innovation Labs, found in Sydney, Hong Kong and London, allow customers to interact with real-time data, interpret trends and brainstorm solutions to their individual business challenges with specialist project teams.
The bank has taken a pop-up lab from Melbourne to Perth, with plans to extend to other capital cities later this year. But first, it’s Wagga’s turn.
CBA Executive Manager Kym Hampton explains that Wagga is the only regional city to host the Innovation Lab this year.
“We’re always trying to bridge the gap between the city and regional Australia. Whether that’s with new thinking, creative innovations or dynamic events, we ask how we can personalise and expand reach so we can bring it to a regional centre. There are challenges with that, but we ask why shouldn’t we have the same opportunities here?”
Opening its doors last Thursday, CommBank’s pop-up Innovation Lab is designed to challenge thinking.
“It’s about asking the right questions and finding new solutions to existing business challenges,” Kym said.
“For us, it’s about how we challenge our customers in a different way to find solutions to their real-world business problems. We have innovation and technology specialists on hand, working alongside our bankers to ensure we get the best results for our clients, businesses and our community.
“We’re also taking our bankers on this journey of asking better questions to build greater empathy and better relationships to, in turn, create better joint outcomes.”
The Innovation Lab features:
collaboration spaces for ideation
a presentation area to hear from Innovation leaders on lessons learned
interactive technologies stations providing a range of experiences including access to the latest consumer data and immersion in new virtual worlds enabling clients to view the future
“I think the most exciting thing for us is that we’ve got six ‘Design Jam’ thinking sessions with some of our corporate customers who have identified a real-life issue they want us to help them solve. We’re looking forward to collaborating with them and co-creating innovative solutions.
“CommBank’s Innovation Lab is a platform for us to show our innovation to the community, and we’re really proud to bring it to Wagga Wagga.”
To arrange a tour of the pop-up Innovation Lab, 21 Blake Street, please email kym.hampton@cba.com.au.
Why does CBA support Committee 4 Wagga?
The reason we sponsor Committee 4 Wagga is because we care about the community we live and operate in and we want to partner with organisations that have similar values to us. It’s also because it’s the right thing to do for our community and our businesses, we want to support innovation for the region.
It’s independent. That’s important for me. We’ve also been fortunate to participate in the Emerging Leaders Program and I’ve seen how much that has helped develop some of our staff and other members. I’ve been particularly proud of that program. I think we’ve had 5-6 members go through. I’ve done it myself and I really enjoyed it. It helped me fit into this town because it was one of the first things I did when I got here.
