Culture from the Inside Out: How Coast Capital Savings Turned Employees into FansErin McKinley After undertaking the largest credit union merger in Canadian history, Coast Capital Savings faced a lofty task. Indeed, the logistics involved in bringing together three of B.C.’s largest credit unions (Pacific Coast Savings, Richmond Savings and Surrey Metro Savings) was a complex and exhausting job. However, it was the human aspect of the merger that proved to be the most daunting. With what could be called a ‘fractured’ organizational culture at best, the credit union was charged with working quickly but strategically to build a unified organization that inspired, invigorated and gained the trust of its some 2,000 employees. “We knew that if Coast Capital was to be a success, we needed to engage and empower our employees,” says Lawrie Ferguson, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Coast Capital Savings. “We were bringing together a varied group of people, many of whom were unsure about what the changes meant for them on a personal and a career level.” With any large-scale merger, marrying different philosophies, policies and procedures can seem like trying to piece together a shattered wine glass, with no two pieces fitting together as they should. The overarching goal of the three mergers was simple: to do things better than any one of the heritage credit unions could do on their own. “We needed to start fresh,” explains Ferguson. “The heritage credit unions were a major part of our history but they had to be just that, history. We needed a clean slate with endless possibilities if we were going to achieve our vision.” Before the goal could be realized, however, it was essential to have an enthusiastic buy-in from the newly christened Coast Capital employees – they had to want to do things better. Bottom line, Coast Capital had to take their employees from just “staff” to fans of this growing organization. “When employees love coming to work and are invested in seeing the company succeed in reaching its vision, they transform from an employee into a fan,” Ferguson elaborates. “We needed to work hard to develop a culture where employees, similar to those at West Jet and Google, are unwavering fans of the organization and who live its brand through all of their interactions.” Starting with no single vision of the future and no unified culture, the organization was left with a team of disengaged employees and low-morale that affected every aspect of the company from corporate head office to each Coast Capital branch. The challenge was evident. How does an evolving organization earn the buy-in necessary from staff and members to move confidently and successfully into the future? The first step in the journey included building a unified vision, mission and strategic business model, basically, to develop the tools necessary to create a culture, a personality and a living brand that Coast Capital employees could eagerly embrace. One thing was clear: everything about the new credit union would focus on the customer. They would be the fresh air in a traditionally hierarchical, siloed and often intimidating banking structure. Generating excitement and energy was important because it garnered enthusiasm from staff, building the credit union’s credibility and allowing Coast Capital Savings to grow. With the acknowledgement that Coast Capital was thinking big and looking toward the future, employees could get excited about the potential that the newly formed organization offered. So, with a new vision (Yes, from Coast to coast), a new mission (simple financial help) and a new brand (How can we help you?) Coast Capital Savings had a powerful and cohesive set of tools to guide its troops toward success. Then, the real challenge began. Building a shared culture across an organization with geographically dispersed locations and employees ranging in age from late-teens to mid-60s wouldn’t be easy. It would take more than an annual Christmas party and a family picnic to get everyone on board. “We worked hard to develop a vision, mission and brand that would set us apart, build connections and engage both internal and external stakeholders,” Ferguson explains. “We established that we were going to focus on simple, helpful and fun. We took that and ran with it to develop some really attention-grabbing employee communications.” In 2004, Coast Capital developed the award-winning corporate employee magazine gist: Straight Talk for Employees, which delivers one message to all 2,000 employees. A vehicle to tell complex stories in refreshing and meaningful ways, gist is written and branded with Coast Capital’s fun, helpful and often irreverent personality using everyday language to keep the issues real and answers accessible. It also provides staff with simple steps to incorporate the mission, vision and brand into the everyday aspect of their work. Perhaps one of the most poignant hooks of Coast Capital’s internal and external communications shtick is its goal to incorporate humour in order to engage its customers as well as its employees. Whether it is a new product, new service or new employee benefit program, Coast Capital uses edgy, fun humour to bring dry, mundane topics to life. “No more stuffy banker stuff,” concludes Ferguson. “We simply don’t ‘do’ pretentious. Ferguson says at the end of the day, “employees are an organization’s culture. They are the faces, voices and hearts behind the products and services provided. Culture has to be built from the inside out.” Coast Capital Savings is Canada’s second largest credit union with total assets under administration of $11.9 billion, 380,000 members and 52 branches in the Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia. Product innovations from Coast Capital Savings include Canada’s first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution and the first business account in the country to offer unlimited transactions for a flat fee. The credit union is one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and is designated a Caring Company by Imagine Canada. For more information about Coast Capital Savings, visit www.coastcapitalsavings.com
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