Case study
OUR WORK
Metzler Ireland
Defining the next chapter
At 340 years old, Bankhaus Metzler is the world’s fifth oldest bank. In 1998, the bank set up Metzler Ireland (MIL), a new Dublin-based subsidiary, to provide back-office administration services to the Asset Management division.
“This new story we’ve created together has given the team a shared sense of purpose and pride; and has highlighted the future opportunity for us as a team.”
Keith Milne, MD
The challenge:
In the 20 years since, MIL has grown into a full Management Company that provides Metzler’s main link to international markets and clients.
Although the business is doing well today, Keith Milne, MIL’s MD, knew that the team had the potential to do more. In addition, his colleagues in Frankfurt were considering other ways the Irish business could support the bank’s ambitions going forward.
But he needed to motivate his team and get them thinking differently.
What we did:
Working with a project team from across the business we got feedback from their colleagues on what was good about working for the company; and how we could make it even better. We looked to Frankfurt for feedback too – to find out what they thought of the Dublin-based team and what more they wanted from them.
Using their words, we created:
-
a purpose and vison
-
set of values
-
a compelling illustrated story for MIL
The team launched the story, purpose and values to their colleagues at an all-staff event at which the working group members read each chapter and brought it to life through personal stories and anecdotes. It was very different to your average company event and went down really well with the wider team.
The benefits:
The new purpose and narrative :
-
brought their history to life
-
provided everyone with a consistent ‘North Star’
-
helped them to understand WHY they had to change; and
-
highlighted their role in making that happen.
Their new values provided a baseline for ‘how we do things around here’ and gave them license to call-out colleagues who weren’t living by those values. Now, based on their new story and values, the team is rolling out a number of new initiatives and programmes to really bring it to life for their people every day.
