Keeping customers and communities in good hands

MANILA, Philippines - In banking, an industry founded primarily on trust, customer service plays a very crucial role. It is for this reason that the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) attributes much of its success to its people.

Metrobank employees have been able to earn, maintain, and continually strengthen the clients’ confidence. They have become living embodiments of the Metrobank promise, “You’re in Good Hands.”

This was witnessed in the internal communications campaign launched this year by Metrobank. Anchored on its brand promise, the program was dubbed the YIGH Campaign, taken from the first letters of each word in “You’re In Good Hands.” 

The campaign aimed to further reinforce the culture of service excellence that the company has long been cultivating. It advocated among its employees a set of behaviors defined by the acronym HANDS, which stands for Helpful, Accessible, Nurturing, Dependable, and Safe & Secure. The program was positioned as a catalyst to inspire employees to imbibe the HANDS attributes in their daily work life.

A major part of the campaign was the YIGH Awards, a recognition program citing employees who best exemplify the HANDS attributes in their daily work life. Nominations were received nationwide, which then went through a series of pre-screening and evaluation procedures. Shortlisted candidates were further evaluated by a third party organization to validate the results of the screening process. The pioneer batch of winners was called the YIGH Champions.

Beyond a culture of customer orientation, Metrobank also espouses a culture of corporate stewardship. The words of founder and group chairman Dr. George S.K. Ty remain deeply etched in the hearts and minds of the employees: “Leadership in business implies leadership in community service.”

This two-fold philosophy inspires the people of Metrobank not only to provide excellent service to clients, but also to extend extraordinary service to the community.

In this spirit, the Purple Hearts Club was formed in early 2003 to encourage volunteerism among employees. The term “purple heart” was taken from the symbol of valor given to individuals in the military service who display admirable courage beyond the call of duty. Much like the honor it was named after, the club is about going beyond oneself. It serves to inspire people to do more than what is expected of them, and to have the courage to become more than what they imagined they could be.

Serving as a complement to the Bank’s corporate social responsibility arm, the Metrobank Foundation, Inc., the Purple Hearts Club develops employees to become committed volunteers, and trains them to become socially responsible leaders. It is involved in various outreach programs, disaster response and relief operations, and other community-based projects. Its thrusts include the environment, healthcare, and education.

Members are inspired to become stewards of Mother Nature through the Club’s various environmental activities. Volunteers are mobilized for initiatives such as tree-planting as well as coastal cleanup.

The Club partners with the Manila Doctors Hospital (MDH) and the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) for its health and wellness advocacy programs. Among its regular activities are ‘Dugong Metrobank,’ a blood donation drive with the MDH and PNRC, health clinics, seminars on nutrition, and distribution of reading glasses in various communities.

Under its educational thrust, the Club has programs such as Kwentong Bata and Biyaheng ABKD. Kwentong Bata is a 34-Saturday program developed by Jojie Calamlam, 1999 Metrobank Foundation Search for Outstanding Teachers Awardee, and currently a faculty member of the Center for Teaching and Learning in the Philippine Normal University–National Center for Teacher Education. The program, intended for pre-school aged children, encourages values formation and reading skills-development through storytelling and related activities. It includes complete evaluation tools to measure each child’s progress and the effectiveness of the program. 

Biyaheng ABKD is made up of three components. The first includes tutorials for elementary students on major subjects such as Math, English, and Science. The second is financial literacy where the volunteers utilize their experience and knowledge in banking to help the families of the communities they serve with money management and saving. The third is library enhancement, which involves activities that promote a culture of reading, following a specific theme each month. 

As hand-holding activities, the Club intends to transfer the technology of Kwentong Bata and Biyaheng ABKD to the community for them to continue to implement the programs on their own.

The Club is now comprised of almost 4,000 Metrobank employee-volunteers all over the Philippines. It has nearly 40 chapters nationwide, literally spanning Aparri to Jolo. Purple Hearts Club chapters have been formed in the different areas of Metro Manila; in Luzon, specifically Palawan, Ilocos, La Union, Aparri, Tuguegarao, Santiago, Cauayan, Vigan, Laoag, and Baguio; in Visaysas, specifically Bacolod, Cebu, and Iloilo; and in Mindanao, specifically, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, General Santos, Surigao, and Zamboanga.

Among the more recent endeavors of the Club is a three-year partnership with Gawad Kalinga, a non-government organization known for its work in building homes and communities. The partnership is specifically with the Couples for Christ-Gawad Kalinga Caretaker Team and the Gawad Kalinga Kapitbahayan, for the benefit of the Ligaya-Escopa III Gawad Kalinga Village.

Under the agreement, the Club will implement three programs, namely Kwentong Bata, Biyaheng ABKD, and the GK Community Build.

The GK Community Build involves the Club’s volunteers in various construction undertakings within the community, such as the building of the Doña V. Tytana Community Center. The construction of the multipurpose center is from the Doña Victoria Ty Tan Memorial Fund, coursed through the Metrobank Foundation.

The partnership was formalized in a terms of reference (TOR) signing held at the Ligaya-Escopa III GK Village. 

In her welcome speech in the presence of members of the community, Metrobank executive vice president and Human Resources management group head Vivian Lee-Tiu said, “Laging handang magbigay ng anumang tulong ang mga empleyado ng Metrobank para sa Ligaya-Escopa III GK Village. Malaki ang naitulong ng Metrobank Foundation sa pagbibigay ng pondo upang maitayo ang multipurpose center. Ang tanging maibi-bigay naman namin ay ang aming oras at pawis upong maabot ang pangarap na ito para sa community. (The employees of Metrobank are always ready to help the Ligaya-Escopa III GK Village in any way possible. The Metrobank Foundation has given assistance through the funding of the construction of the multipurpose center. What we can offer are our time and sweat to fulfill this dream for the community.)”

Barangay Escopa III Quezon City barangay chair Delia Bong-bonga tearfully expressed her heartfelt thanks to Metrobank for its continuous support to the community. “Malaki po ang pasasalamat ng buong komunidad namin sa lahat ng tulong na ibinibigay ng Metrobank. Pagpalain kayo ng Diyos. (Our community is grateful for all the help that Metrobank is giving us. May God bless you).”

Through the Purple Hearts Club, the employees of Metrobank will continue to thrive in the culture of corporate stewardship that has been ingrained within their workplace. And through internal programs such as the YIGH campaign, they will remain champions of excellent customer service.

Having molded a team that is committed to both business profitability and social responsibility, it is clear that Metrobank has its sights set on being a leader not only in the field of banking, but also in the movement towards nation-building.