Kano
Going Dutch
Business is
blooming
Issue 15/February 22, 1993
Most employees at the
bank's foreign offices will have
seen the Dutch-language Rabo-
band that is produced every two
weeks for the staff of the mem-
ber banks and central offices in
the Netherlands. It looks good,
and every month contains its
sister publication Raboband In
ternational. But what is it
saying? We have summarized
the main features for you.
Raboband 3/1993: The main
picture story on page 1 reflects
a new insurance product intro-
duced by the bank's Interpolis
organization. From now on,
people can take out insurance
which will assist them in paying
their mortgages if they develop
long-term illnesses - in the
past, these people often had to
'eat' their homes.
Page 3 focusses on a new
study on career deveiopment
carried out within the bank. As
personnel structures are adapt-
ed to match changing require-
ments, staff members are
often confronted with changes
which influence their career de
veiopment. The report, compil-
ed by Jo Thijssen of the Social
Policy and Research depart-
ment, focusses on how people
themselves can contribute to
their own deveiopment in
cooperation with the bank's
personnel department. It also
concludes that managers play a
vital role as they are aware of
their staffs' skills and poten-
tial. According to the study's
author, 'an individual employee
should be in dialogue with
his/her manager to explore
training and through-streaming
to enhance his/her skills.'
Pages 5 and 7 also piek up on
The prestigious NTV horti-
cultural exhibition in Amster
dam was the venue for a global
seminar on competitiveness in
the floristry industry. The auth-
oritative FloraCulture Interna
tional, a specialist trade publi
cation for the seed and flower
industry produced by Rabo-
client George Ball of Chicago,
hosted the meeting and Rabo-
bank's Agribusiness Research
Department was responsible
for the program.
An international audience of
around 80 from as far afield as
Japan and the US gathered in
Amsterdam at the end of Jan-
uary to participate in a seminar
entitled 'A view of international
competitiveness in the floristry
industry'. FloraCulture Interna
tional had invited representa
ties from the horticultural sup-
ply sector, includingthe packag-
ing industry, propogating and
seed business and fertilisers,
and other (potential) adver-
tisers in the publication.
The Amsterdam exhibition has
grown into an important inter
national meeting-place, not
least because of the Nether
lands' premier position as top
global exporter of cut flowers.
Participants examined what
new technologies had to offer
and also the potential compe-
tition from new floriculture
centres, such as Columbia and
Kenya, which is a major issue in
the international market today.
Rabobank focussed on this fac
tor in a report published last
year - International competition
in the floristry industry. 'This
aspect of the seminar generat-
ed a lively discussion,' says
Arend Heijbroek of the agribus
iness research team. 'What the
participants were interested in
was a comparison of major flori
culture supply centres and what
the emerging competition
would mean for the future of
suppliers.' However, the sem
inar also gave the bank an op-
portunity to present the broad
range of its agribusiness in-
sight and activities to a wide, in
ternational audience. 'This is
an ideai way of introducing or
reinforcing Rabobank's role in
this area,' says Heijbroek. 'We
not only strengthen our links
with a cliënt - George Ball is
one of the top US producers of
horticultural seeds - but we
can also get our message
across to specialists in specific
fields. I really believe that con-
tributions to seminars of this
kind and to trade publications
is an effective way of bringing
the bank's activities to the
attention of our target cus-
tomers in agribusiness.'As the
activities of the agribusiness
research department grow,
more and more relevant stud
ies are appearing which de-
monstrate the breadth of the
bank's expertise in a wide range
of commodities. Heijbroek
stresses that the department
will be only too willing to offer
any assistance it can to inter
national offices in developing
seminar or publication ideas.
For more information, contact
the Agribusiness Research De
partment on +31 30 901178.
this factor. Last year, a ques
tionnaire was sent out nation-
wide to bank staff. 'The results
of this study are indications of
the culture and climate within
the organization,' says Albert
Feddes, the project leader re
sponsible for the research. One
of the main points to emerge
from the study was a lack of
communication between man
agers and staff, especially at
the member banks. The results
have been sent to all 1,250
managers within the organiz
ation and, says Feddes, they
are being taken into consider-
ation increasingly. However,
there appears to be a real need
for change in the attitudes of
managers themselves.
Page 9 (photo): In Septem
ber 1991, one of the mem
ber banks began a Direct
Service trial, and last year
a number of others intro-
duced this new service.
Direct Service means that
clients are able to do their
routine banking using elec-
tronic equipment in the
bank's reception area. The
Raboband feature exami-
nes clients' and staffs' re
sponse to the new system.
'Generally speaking,' says
Harry de Greef who coor-
dinated the response,
'both clients and staff are
enthusiastic about the
new equipment, although
some counter staff said
they found it difficult to re-,
direct people who are
used to personal service'
through to the machines.' How
ever, the overall response has
been positive, so it has been
decidedto continue the trial for
a further experimental period.
The feature on page 13 looks at
the bank's travel organization.
More than one million people
book holidays through the Rabo
bank every year, but the bank
also organizes corporate and
business travel. As more and
more companies request this
type of service from the bank,
the Special Travel and Group
Travel department in Einhoven
has created a comprehensive
brochure designed to inform
(potential) corporate clients of
the travel options available to
them at the bank. 'At present,
our market share is not very
great - yet,' says Nico Munk of
the Travel Product Group, 'but
the brochure is a marketing tooi
to give more prominence to our
services in this area.'
Raboband 4/1993: The main
picture story on the cover fea
tures the Apeldoorn member
bank which organizes a person-
nel's meeting every January.
The staff are informed about
the bank's performance over
the preceding year and looks
ahead to targets and aims for
the next 12 months.
All organizations develop their
own systems of rules and regu-
lations that serve as guidelines
for all kinds of activities. Rabo
bank is no exception. By using
the guidelines laid down by the
organization and a bit of com-
mon sense, most decisions
taken within the bank are sound
- for all concerned. However,
there are times when moral
considerations play a role in de-
cision-making. How do we deal
with dilemmas arisingfrom ethi-
cal or moral questions? A new
series of articles on these
topics begins on page 6.
The introduction of complex
information systems re-
quires a professional ap-
proach to computerization
and automation. Page 9 fo
cusses on a new project -
the Professionalization of
Information Technology at
Member Banks (PIA) - de
signed to assist the devei
opment of these skills in
the member banks' staff. In
addition, the article also
examines a training course
specially developed for man
agers. The Unico Banking
Group is a strategie alliance
of European cooperative
banks which was set up 15
years ago. Rabobank is a
member and one of the
main aims of the group is to
promote the service of its
members to both corporate
and private clients by develop-
ingjoint products and services.
The article on page 13 is devot-
ed to background on Unico and
the way alliance networking
works.
