The Campaign

Post recent controversies, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka needed to build its reputation and a new vision was the key. But to succeed, the bank needed this vision to first connect with 750 employees and not be a mere ‘political’ statement. An ordinary HR communication had to be transformed into a companywide phenomenon. Enter the Agency! First we removed the jargon and captured the vision in just one word – ‘IT’. ‘IT’ was a teaser to the opportunities ahead for the bank and highlighted the role employees will play to improve the bank’s performance and reputation. ‘IT’ was introduced through a CEO’s letter to employees, which spoke of ‘IT’s potential. ‘IT’ was seen on the walls of the bank, elevators, computer screens and even the ceilings. An intranet competition asked employees to guess ‘IT’. This simple word soon created debate, discussion, persuasion and anticipation among employees becoming the hot topic of discussion across the bank, even before the vision was revealed. After weeks of anticipation, ‘IT’ was revealed as ‘To be the best bank with a passion to serve’ at an employee event themed “THIS IS IT”. This strategy – of communicating the power of the vision without falling into the trap of words - helped over 90% of employees understand the vision even before it was revealed. It inspired them to improve productivity and win for the bank its first top corporate reputation award in Sri Lanka – The Best Corporate Citizen Award 2013 by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The Brief

Our challenge was to ensure the vision connected with, motivated and stimulated employees instead of being just a ‘political’ statement. Over 750 employees of the bank were needed to be communicated to, motivated and inspired about the vision. The success of the initiative was to be measured through an employee survey to be conducted by the bank’s Corporate Affairs department.

Results

The survey conducted by the bank’s Corporate Affairs department found that over 90% of employees across the Standard Chartered network island wide understood the vision and its potential, even before it was revealed. This inspired them to improve productivity and win for the bank its first ever top corporate reputation award in Sri Lanka – The Best Corporate Citizen Award 2013 by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Execution

‘IT’ was launched three weeks before the revelation of the vision to all employees of the bank. ‘IT’ was introduced internally through the CEO’s letter to employees, which spoke of ‘IT’s potential. ‘IT’ was seen on the walls of the bank, elevators, computer screens and even the ceilings and an intranet competition asked employees to guess ‘IT’. This simple word soon created debate, discussion, persuasion and anticipation among employees. ‘IT’ became a hot topic of conversation within the bank, even before the vision was revealed. After weeks of anticipation, ‘IT’ was finally revealed as ‘To be the best bank with a passion to serve’ at an event themed “THIS IS IT” to employees, who were now convinced and pre-sold of the vision’s potential.

The Situation

In the last 5 years, Sri Lanka’s uber-competitive banking industry has been marred by controversies. Established financial houses had lost trust and consequently - business. After 155 years of presence, Standard Chartered needed to improve its reputation and drive business growth. To do this, it needed a new vision that would inspire trust. The success of this vision depended on the bank’s employees imbibing and living it first before delivering it to the customers. But often, a company’s vision runs the risk of being limited to websites, annual reports and corporate office corridors, meaning little to employees in faraway branches.

The Strategy

We understood that such an important internal communication ran the risk of being lost in the heap of HR messages meaning little to employees. So we transformed an otherwise seemingly verbose vision statement into a pithy yet evocative slogan – ‘IT’. ‘IT’ became a teaser to the possibilities and opportunities ahead for the bank and highlighted the role employees will play in realising the vision. ‘IT’ aimed to generate anticipation, understanding and acceptance for the vision, before its revelation.