Driving behavioural and cultural change through communication

Chad Rogerson

Snapshot of Nationwide

Largest building society in world

Founded 173 years ago UK only

Members700+ branches

and sitesColleagues

A burning platform…

• New CEO

• New strategy

• New organisational structure

• Greater competition – resurgent and new

• Shifting customer expectations

How do we evolve our culture to remain competitive?

The cultural challenge

Creativity

Curiosity

Bravery

TARGET BEHAVIOURS

Complacency

Comfortable

Fear

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

?COMMUNICATION RESPONSE

Changing how we communicate to evolve our culture

THINKSmall

&

Experiment

Challenge the status quo

Story tell behaviours

Don’t give all the answers

Leader role models

Don’t take ourselves too seriously

FIVE COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES

A case study - meet Arthur Webb…

Creating the Arthur Webb Challenge Cup

A campaign with a simple concept….• Recreated the Cup

• Tied to PRIDE / Annual Awards

• Teams of up to 8

• 12 month challenge - series of judging rounds

➢But designed against our new communication principles to drive behavioural and cultural change

Challenge the status quo

• Unique tone and style – gorilla marketing approach

• Confront ‘brutal facts’ about the theme of each year

• Not another ideas scheme - colleagues deliver change projects themselves

Creativity

TARGET BEHAVIOUR

Complacency

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

Don’t give all the answers

• Set the challenge each year (e.g. efficiency) but no funding or guidance on ideas/projects

• Provide collaboration tools (e.g. Yammer, Teams) but no support forming teams or finding sponsor

• Freedom to innovate but teams have to navigate Nationwide processes & governance themselves

Curiosity

TARGET BEHAVIOUR

Comfortable

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

Story tell behaviours not outcomes

• Arthur used as a role model

• Story telling focused on celebrating learning / failure more than the success of teams

• Scoring weighted towards the ‘how’ rather than the ‘what’

Bravery

TARGET BEHAVIOUR

Fear

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

Leader role models

• Leaders play role of sponsors and judges through rounds of competition

• Focus on coaching colleagues involved and recognising right behaviours

• Personal leader stories focused on their career learnings from being brave and making mistakes

Bravery

TARGET BEHAVIOUR

Fear

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

Don’t take ourselves too seriously

• Humour used to disarm fear – Arthur’s iconic moustache and cheeky style/tone

• CEO and ExCo seen in comic light through campaign collateral and creative

• Annual Arthur launch film – has become a must watch ‘event’ each year

Bravery

TARGET BEHAVIOUR

Fear

UNDERLYING BLOCKER

Exceeding all expectations in first two years

232 teams with 1,333 colleagues participated over first two years

Analysis against our annual survey found participants were:• 8% more engaged• 11% more likely to say they were able to have a go and innovate• 10% more likely to say they had freedom to make decisions• 10% more likely to have taken action to improve efficiency (Year 1)

Over £2 million of efficiency benefit delivered in Year 1