Connecting with the future
Social media
Social media is an excellent tool for Rabobank to use in its efforts to maintain a connection with
society, provide clients with information and interact with clients on a virtual level. For this
reason, Rabobank professionally embedded social media in its organisation in 2011A webcare
team can now be contacted through Twitter and Facebook between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on
weekdays and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends (CET).The team can provide immediate answers
to most questions. Followers are also provided with updates and information about Rabobank
on a daily basis. At year-end 2011, Rabobank had 19,000 followers on Twitter and had been
'liked' by 14,000 fans on Facebook. Around 93 local Rabobanks are also very active on Twitter.
Other group entities, such as Obvion, De Lage Landen, Robeco and RaboDirect, are also rapidly
expanding their social media activities.
Young people
Part of connecting with the future involves establishing relationships with young people.
Rabobank wants to be there for young people by offering knowhow, expertise and experience.
One project, 'Leren omgaan met geld' (Handling money), enables primary schoolchildren to
learn about where money comes from, and where it goes, while having fun. This project, which
was developed in conjunction with KlasseTV, won the 2011 Comenius EduMedia Award in
Berlin in June 2011The 'Baas over eigen Geld' (BOEG, 'Managing your money') programme has
a special website where 12 to 18-year-olds can learn to handle their own money. Several local
Rabobanks send representatives to visit secondary schools as guest teachers and give classes
on money, economics and business that are connected to this programme. Rabobank Centraal
Twente and Rabobank Leiden, Leiderdorp en Oegstgeest fleshed out the Move Your Skills
learning environment further, in conjunction with local regional training colleges. The first
Wijffels Management Masterclass was attended by 20 young officers of national youth
organisations, acting in association with the Dutch National Youth Council, CNV Jongeren
(a trade union's youth division) and the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER).
Lecturers included Herman Wijffels and Piet Moerland. On top of this, at the end of 2011 the
foundations were laid for World=U, a dialogue for young people, conducted by young people,
at local, national and international level. Twenty local Rabobanks, working in conjunction with
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Nederland in Dialoog and Rabobank Nederland, offer young
people a platform for presenting their views on a number of major issues affecting our times,
including food and economic participation.
Innovations
Rabobank's innovations reflect how the bank is connecting with the future. In this context, in
2011 Rabobank and Albert Heijn experimented with a smartphone payment service at a 'to go'
supermarket in Amsterdam. Customers can pay quickly and easily using a special iD sticker
placed inside or on their smartphones. In addition, Rabobank supports innovative, sustainable
projects through Rabobank Project Fund. The tenth edition of the Herman Wijffels Innovation
Award was held in 2011The award was won by the Schilder brothers from Volendam for their
survival tank, which enables fishermen to keep undersized fish alive and return them to the
sea. The Public Award went to Freena Eijffinger of Autitouch, who developed a tool to simplify
and speed up the diagnosis of autism.
Innovation Desk
Since innovation can be considered the driver of future growth, Rabobank wants to play an
active role in the financing of innovations. For this reason, Rabobank launched an Innovation
Desk in December 2011 to provide local Rabobanks with better support for services to
existing and potential clients working on innovations. In 2011, a start was made with placing
comprehensive information on special possibilities for providing finance on Rabobank's
intranet. This will be expanded in 2012. The guiding principle is to provide local Rabobanks
and clients with added value when it comes to financing innovations. This is achieved by
providing a central point of contact, sharing knowledge and establishing links with various
parties, among other things.
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Strategic Framework Cooperative identity