Case Study: A Financial Holding Company

The company needed a common mission to guide their rapidly expanding company.

Situation

This Financial Holdings Company was a major provider of mortgages and consumer loans in the United States. Its rapid growth over a 36-month period had required significant hiring. While the company continued to perform at a high level, the large number of new employees resulted in cultures and philosophies that varied from office to office. An internal survey found that employees did not have a common understanding of what the company was about or where it was going. Management recognized the need for a common mission that would help define who they were, what they wanted to become and how they wanted to be perceived by employees and customers.

Solution

The Client asked Maritz to lead an effort that would provide clear direction to management, and create a sense of community for their entire workforce.

The first step was to help senior management craft statements of Mission (what we do), Culture (how we do it), Vision (what we aspire to), and Values (what we believe in). Associated behaviors were determined and validated by employees to create an Employee Cultural Model and Leadership Model.

A one-and-a-half-day facilitated session for top management incorporated survey feedback, action planning, and motivational strategies. Small-group sessions were held with managers to instill ownership, build knowledge and provide tools for coaching and leading the culture-building initiative. Supports included a launch video and a Learning Map job aid. Interactive employee sessions were conducted to share the mission, describe the business, and gain feedback. The resulting Mission needed to be more than something on paper; it had to be a roadmap to help management and employees make decisions, and operate the company around a common purpose.

To that end, Maritz helped the Client develop and deliver an “Organizational Compass” to assist every employee and leader to navigate in the uncharted territories of today’s business environment.

Results

The Client took the bold step of establishing key measures of success – they wanted to be the Employer of Choice, Lender of Choice and Investment of Choice. That mission, and its related Organizational Compass, is now used to:

• Guide the way the Company recruits, selects and develops employees.
• Guide all decisions relating to product development and customer service.
• Guide all decisions that could impact investment sources and rating agencies.

As management and employees “live” the mission, the Company has continued to have significant growth and it was selected as a Fortune “best place to work” in 2005.