REGIONAL FOCUS Nuts and bolts All-staff event Belinda Howell - convincing staff was key the concerns Howell found quite surprising was the staff's belief that re-branding under the Rabobank brand would cause the rural business to lose importance. Despite their apprehen- sion, Howell reports staff were very pleased that they were being consulted. In November and December, Howell and Stewart met again with staff across the country to explain the scope and timing of the project. 'We made it clear that we were not just changing the logo,' Howell says. 'We had uncovered the key values and were creating a brand personality for Rabobank in Australia from which the visual identity changes and operational changes would follow.' During this second round of workshops, the spectrum of activities that would be undertaken during the re-branding were discussed. These involved marketing Commu nications (the development of a corporate video, website, brochures and calendars), advertising, corporate wardrobe changes, cliënt Communications, internat Communications, public relations (including media relations and sponsorship activities), operational changes such as to systems and IT/tele- com infrastructure, and legal issues management. 'In addition we had an inventory of hundreds of items that needed a logo change,' says Howell. 'We gave people feedback on the progress so far and we explained the timeline. It was a nuts and bolts briefing, including what they should say to clients and what support materials, such as a Q&A dossier, would be available and when. We also revealed our plans for a big all-staff conference in Sydney and said, at the event, they'd preview all the advertising and marketing materials. The staff conference in February created a sense ofunity behind one brand name and helped to address the emotional side of the change by offering staff the chance to question the bank's leaders. Howell says, 'As I mentioned earlier, during our brand exploration sessions we found there was very little knowledge in some parts of our organization about the Rabobank Group and when we'd start to talk about the Group, there was great interest. Therefore, it was important to communicate more information about the world-wide Rabobank organization.' Conference speakers, including Rl Chairman Rik van Slingelandt, local Chairman James Graham and CEO Bruce Dick did just that. 'They provided a greater perspective of the bank's history, current market position and future direction,she says. The information they imparted emphasized the importance of the rural business in fulfilling the 'country banking' initiative, the Group's deep commitment to Australia and New Zealand, and the imperative for 'a business as usual' apjnoach to clients. By all accounts it was a very effective way to lay to rest any lingering concerns people had, create a sense of pride in the 'new' organization, and break down barriers between people. 'This was the largest staff gath- ering ever held here,' says Howell, 'and it was very exciting.' {Left to right) James Graham, Rik van Slingelandt and Bruce Dick - communicating about the world-wide RaboGroup at the staff conference in Sydney

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

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