It's hardly surprising that the mood was one of impatient excitement when the first 200 notebooks were handed out in Düsseldorf at the start of September. Dr. Friedel Neuber, chairman of the WestLB management board, stressed the growing importance of the Internet and other new technologies for the bank and its staff. "As information technology becomes ever more prevalent in the banking sector, we are all affected by these trends. In order to make optimum use of the associated opportunities, both as an organisation and as individuals, it is vital that we master the relevant electronic tools."

It is already evident that new technologies are set to change the face of banking and will have an even greater impact on individual jobs in future. The challenges facing the industry are huge, given the fact that banks are estimated to spend ten times more on IT than the manufacturing sector. WestLB invests over half a million euros every year in IT systems and developing its IT infrastructure to open up new areas of business. As a result, the bank has created around 500 new IT jobs over the past two years, mainly at its subsidiary WestLB Systems. The establishment of a new training course combining business and IT skills further underlines the determination to boost the bank's IT competence.

Through its new "Fit for Future" initiative, WestLB also plans to harness the energy and enthusiasm of its staff, encouraging them to devote some of their free time to developing their skills. "The overwhelming response shows that there is huge willingness among WestLB's people to actively support the process of change," says Dr. Neuber.

The bank also expects this programme to help generate innovative ideas. So in addition to the customary cash rewards, any staff suggestions for improvement that are actually implemented also trigger reimbursement of the monthly notebook payment. The main reason why Toshiba notebooks were chosen was the strong track record of the Toshiba systems deployed by WestLB in recent years.

To provide the perfect combination of comprehensive specification and attractive price, the bank opted for Satellite Pro notebooks from the 4300 series. Powered by a 650 MHz mobile Pentium III processor backed by128 MB of RAM and a 6 GB hard disk, the package also includes a modem and ISDN capability, as well as a carry case and 40-month extended warranty. The notebooks come with Windows 2000 pre-installed, because WestLB wants to use the opportunity to prepare its employees for the roll-out of Windows 2000 in the workplace.

The bottom line is that both sides benefit from this initiative: The staff get powerful notebooks with Internet access at a low cost, while WestLB as the employer reaps the rewards of a more highly motivated workforce and better IT skills base throughout the company.