OUR STRATEGY
ENTHUSIASM AND NETWORKING ON ALL CHANNELS
  • Finance
  • Dialogbild

With around 163,000 customers, more than 550 employees and total assets of around 4 billion euros, we are one of the largest cooperative banks in Germany. Our core business area consists of the districts of Harburg, Lüneburg and Heidekreis and covers an area of approximately 4,800 km². With 39 branches and 26 self-service locations (as of December 31, 2021), we have a strong presence in the area. For us, however, customer proximity also means being there for our members and customers outside branch opening hours. This is ensured by the almost 40 employees in our in-house DialogCenter. They can be reached by phone, e-mail, chat or video service from what are now 13 branches. Thanks to the consistent expansion of digital service offerings, we are available to our members and customers 24/7 and even outside our business territory.

Volksbank Lüneburger Heide eG (VBLH) is a partner of private and commercial SMEs and offers a high quality of service as well as financial services tailored to their needs. As a member- and customer-oriented cooperative bank, the tradition is to be preserved and the cooperative promotional mission is to be ensured in a future-oriented and sustainable manner through the vision of ENCOURAGEMENT and NETWORKS on all CHANNELS.

In order to position Volksbank well for the future, the new vision of VBLH was developed at the end of 2019. The target images of the individual areas developed from the vision, as well as the projects and measures derived from it, were summarized in a picture within the scope of a graphic recording together with the executives. It was important for us to make the strategy, the goals and the way to achieve them tangible and to visualize complex topics clearly. In addition, we wanted to use the picture to enter into an exchange with the employees on an emotional level. The employees should know where we want to go as a bank and what contribution each individual makes to achieving the strategic goals.

In the further course of the process, a strategy picture was to be created from the hidden object picture. Together with the company DIALOGBILD GmbH and a small team consisting of the Board of Management, executives and employees, scenes were clustered, added and deleted.

THE CLIENTS

Stefanie Bosselmann und Björn Grande

Corporate Development Team

What was the objective of the picture?

As bankers, we are traditionally very fact-oriented and fixed on numbers. With the strategy picture we want to try out a new form of communication. With the help of the picture and the communication proposals that were developed at the same time, we encourage people to talk about our strategy and the bank's goals. By getting employees to see the big picture and work out their contribution to success together in their teams and with their managers, we can achieve our vision. Because strategy only works if everyone participates.

What is the target audience for the medium?

The target group for our strategy picture is the employees of Volksbank Lüneburger Heide eG and the employees of our subsidiaries (Gesellschaft für Entwickeln und Bauen (GEB) mbh, VBLH Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Immo-Konzepte GmbH).

What are the advantages of visual communication?

By visualizing complex topics, objectives, links and dependencies are easier to recognize and more understandable for most people: a picture says more than a thousand words.

How did you perceive the cooperation with DIALOGBILD?

The collaboration with DIALOGBILD lasted over 2 years. In all phases of image development we were well advised and accompanied by the consultants and draftsmen of the agency. Franziska, Toby, Carina and Egor guided us in the process and repeatedly gave us suggestions on individual topics. If necessary, they were always available to us as sparring partners.

How did the image development work?

We started with a graphic recording during a planning conference. For this, we first developed a picture world, on the basis of which the target pictures of the individual areas were drawn. The result was a "hidden object" of strategy, target images, challenges and visions.

In further development, the picture book was to become a strategy picture. Together with the company DIALOGBILD and a small team of the Volksbank, the picture world was first changed. Topics that had not yet been depicted were added and then all the scenes were clustered. The most important scenes were then positioned on the new imagery world. Key elements such as values, competitive advantages and regional characteristics of Volksbank Lüneburger Heide eG were integrated. Graphically, the diversity of VBLH was also depicted: so there are young and older people in the picture, light or dark skinned, men, women, children. The employees and the customers differ in their clothing.

Simultaneously with the graphic creation of the image, we started describing the individual scenes. Our employees will find an explanation of each scene in the interactive version of our strategy picture, so they can easily find out about the measures on the way to achieving our vision. At the same time, we have encouraged exchange between managers and employees in their teams. Each team is working out for itself what contribution they can make to individual scenes so that together we can achieve our goal of "enthusiasm and networks on all channels." At regular intervals, the managers receive reminders from the project team (e.g. mouse pads for a "clear view", apple boxes for "yield harvesting") so that they always have occasions to include the topic of strategy in their team rounds and conversations.

Do you have a favorite scene?

One of our favorite scenes is the "further development" scene, because we are always experiencing changes and driving innovations as part of our work in corporate development. In order to do this successfully, it is important to attract and involve qualified and motivated colleagues.

Further development and lifelong learning are a matter of course for us. Because only those who continue to develop can successfully master change. We promote the personal development of our employees through numerous seminar offerings and encourage them to seize the opportunity for further qualification at any time.

Our favorite graphic recording is our "team spirit", because only together can we achieve the goals of our bank.

 

Our team spirit accompanies us at events and workshops, is included in various presentations, adorns our "nerve food" and coffee mugs, and serves as the "mouse pointer" of our interactive version to the StrategyPicture.

What is the feedback from colleagues?

The degree of use of the strategy picture varies greatly. In an initial survey on this (about 2 months after the image was rolled out), the following picture emerged from the participation of about 50% of our managers on the question "How often have you used the strategy picture in discussions with your employees?"

 

One feedback we received in response to the question "What has been your experience with using the strategy picture?" included the following statement: "The strategy picture serves as a translator of our strategy. We use it to discuss practical situations and make our bank's change process more tangible."

And even though not all colleagues have yet been able to work intensively on our strategy picture, we are confident that in the coming months we will repeatedly have the opportunity to use the picture to engage in an exchange about our strategy, our goals and the associated change process.

Can you recommend DIALOGBILD to others?

Yes.

 

INDIVIDUAL SCENES AND THEIR MEANINGS

WE are Volksbank!

We are the bank for everyone in our region. Regardless of whether you are a private or corporate customer: everyone is welcome here! The customer is always at the center of our thoughts and actions. As a partner at eye level, we provide needs-based advice and find the right offer for every type of customer.

Mutual support

Our successes are also based on the good cooperation of all employees. We are there for each other and support each other to achieve the best possible result for everyone involved.

VR Prime Eco System

VR Prime is more than a product name - it is a growing "ecosystem" for the sustainable business success of our bank. Under this name, we offer new services from which all our customers and members can benefit.

Digitalization and automation

The use of new technologies supports us in achieving our goals. That is why we consistently focus on digitalization, automation and standardization of our processes.