Corporate Social Review Magazine 3rd & 4th QUARTER 2012 | Page 111

engaged audience at the very top of the corporate ladder. But once you meet Bernice you soon realise that she should not have been so surprised, because Bernice herself is quite surprising and very impressive. Having worked at IBM, M-Net and SAB she now ?nds herself at FNB – a company that she describes as being one that encourages an 'owner manager culture' and actually values opinion. They've certainly got a CMO who takes ownership of her world and is not short of opinions about what makes that world so exciting. So now another story. FNB have an 'Innovations' programme where they reward internal innovation, encouraging people to come up with suggestions for new products, improved services and better processes. In the last three years they've rewarded multiple winners and given away millions of Rand in prizes. Indeed, staff innovations include FNB's e-wallet and their current Fuel Reward Programme which, all on its own, has delivered an estimated value of well over 100 million rand to FNB's customers. But that's not our story, that's just the numbers. Our story is a surprising winner of this innovators programme and a perfect example of how small acts can make a big difference. So, now to what Bernice actually believes and why she is such a powerful advocate for her brand. “The brand is all about being 'real'. It's about Living the brand promise.” She says. “Everyone has potential and everyone must be allowed and encouraged to live up to that potential. Ideas have an impact.” “When you empower people like this, when you encourage and reward this type of thinking then these people create a Halo Effect – they shine the light on what is possible. Recognition inspires, the winners of our innovators programme become 'rock stars' in the business and they encourage other people to engage and innovate and take ownership.” In a world increasingly driven by cost, a world where products and services are sold to us on the basis of 'value for money', Bernice believes that what she is selling is value AND values. She believes that her brand must deliver and over-deliver. In a world that is quickly moving away from the industrial revolution of mass production the challenge for any brand is to create meaningful differentiation … to ?nd the true value of human potential … In short, Bernice believes in belief: At one of FNB's branches in Soweto they have an elderly and often in?rm customer base. One of the staff at the branch realised that many of these customers have real mobility issues and struggle to move around the branch. Seeing this human problem he applied a human solution. A simple solution. He went out and bought a wheel chair. With his own money. Because he could. He saw a problem, he saw a solution and he did something about it. He helped to land that man on the moon. Now, what was that? Was it a product he improved? Did he add to the bottom line in anyway? Did he deliver shareholder value in a way that can be re?ected on the balance sheet? “We have to create an environment where everyone – our employees, our customers and our stakeholders - all believe in something bigger and better … What we are really selling is not a bank account, it's not ?nancial products, it's not a collection of banking facilities and tools … Our product is service … And our real job is to use our position, our resources and our power to help build a better world.” So, from building a cathedral, to walking on the moon, to building a better world, how's that for a good day at the of?ce? In a world increasingly driven by short term thinking and quarterly pro?t reports we all too often forget to ?ll in the numbers on the more important balance sheets; the ones that matter to our employees and our customers. This simple act of humanity has delivered an invaluable return by treating the customers in that branch like human beings worthy of consideration – and the long term effect of gaining THAT reputation are a balance sheet issue that is impossible to put a value on. The good news end to this story is that the employee received a reward from innovations – R20 000! And his 'innovation' is now being encouraged across the FNB network – humanity delivered on a national scale. CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW 109