An hour of immersion helps the tasks reach their goals

​The conversation goes merrily between colleagues across the desks, but at 9 o'clock the mood and the sound level change. Calm descends, and the employees immerse themselves with their own tasks.

At Personal Banking Zealand, employees have had immersion time every morning between 9 and 10 a.m. for the past few months – with a few exceptions.

During that hour, you avoid disturbing colleagues with questions, but the phone can still ring if a customer is on the phone, and there can still be meetings. In most branches, it is also ok to call out, but you are encouraged to do so so that it disturbs as few people as possible.

In general, the experience is good, say union representatives Morten Egon Olsen (Lyngby), Henrik Kjær Dalum (Employee Bank Aarhus) and Jacob Dagø (Hørsholm) as well as working environment representative Thue Michelsen (Hillerød). Three of them are bank advisors, while Jacob is a bank advisor in training (BRU).

An hour of tomato time is worth its weight in gold

The immersion period is also called the Pomodoro technique after an Italian student who had difficulty concentrating on his studies. He therefore set his kitchen clock, and while it was counting down, he had to work undisturbed. The kitchen clock looked like a tomato – in Italian Pomodoro. Voila!

"If you follow the Pomodoro technique strictly, you have to work concentrated for 25 minutes, take a five-minute break and then continue for another 25 minutes, but most people continue to work for the whole hour without stopping," says Thue.

Morten says that it is mixed how the new initiative has been received and continues:

"I am involved in a lot of tasks myself – both as a union representative and as a mentor – and the immersion time is worth its weight in gold. In the past, I've pushed tasks with credit settings to the days when I was working from home and had peace of mind. Now I can also look at it in the office in the morning."

Wake-up call on disturbances

For Thue, the contemplation time is a wake-up call about how many times he is asked about something:

"I am considered the local 'IT guru', so my help is often needed. I really do a lot more when there are no interruptions."

Henrik has had the feeling that he could not move forward because he lacked an answer to a simple question:

"But if I delved a little more into it, it turned out that the answer was not so necessary. And the immersion time means that tasks that I used to prioritize solving at home can now also be done in the office."

Take responsibility and check Intra first

Jacob feels that the 'tomato technique' has made him more self-reliant:

"When I started at Nordea and asked questions as a newcomer, I was asked if I had looked at Intra first. And the answers to most questions can be found there in a short time. So I pass that advice on to the student assistants in the branch. That they just need to check Intra first. And if they can't find the answer there, they can call user support, who has the professionalism to help. And then, of course, they are welcome to ask a colleague, but it is good to take responsibility for trying to find the information yourself first."

The introduction of immersion time suits some colleagues better than others. Some people thrive on having the radio running in the background, while others prefer it to be completely quiet.

And if you are relatively new and are under training like Jacob, it is important to find some tasks that can be done without help.

"As a BRU, I often need extra help or sparring, so I typically prioritize tasks that can be answered in writing. Or maybe take an e-learning course," he says.

Guardianship in kindergarten

The initiative has also been met with criticism.

"Some people think that compromises are being made because it is not 'protected' enough. There are still meetings, and we still have to answer the phone," says Thue. 

Several of the union representatives report that some colleagues find the initiative paternalistic, that they are treated like in a kindergarten, and that the initiative is forced without their free will – 'now the bank must also decide whether we can talk to each other'.

Finishes it all with fewer errors

In general, however, the feedback from the four union representatives is that most critics after a while have found peace with the new concept and experience the immersion hour actually provides something important. And in addition to the fact that they typically reach their goals faster, they also feel that the risk of making errors is smaller when they are not disturbed in the middle of working.

"And it also gives a greater assurance that I will achieve what I had planned when I show up in the morning. Some days it can come pouring in with urgent tasks, but with the quiet morning hour, it's more certain that I'll be able to make it all anyway," says Morten.