Revitalizing Corporate Purpose Through Employee Crowdsourcing

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Revitalizing Corporate Purpose Through Employee Crowdsourcing

April 04, 2023 | Article

This case study of ERSTE Group Bank explores one company's efforts to define its corporate purpose with crowdsourcing with participation from employees.

Founded in 1819, Erste Group Bank operates in Central and Eastern Europe. With over 2,000 branches and employing 45,000 employees, the group’s purpose and strategy is to build financial health in the regions where it operates.

In 2020, Erste Group embarked on a culture change journey to “rediscover” its purpose and to build a collective vision of how this purpose translated into cultural values and behaviors. The appointment of a new CEO and executive board provided a unique opportunity for the group to re-appreciate its 200-year-old legacy and envision what success would look like in the decades ahead.

Former CHRO Adriano Bruno, who led the purpose-driven cultural transformation, explains that while the bank’s purpose of building prosperity in central and Eastern European economies (such as Austria, Romania, Czech Republic) remained unchanged, it nonetheless needed to be “rediscovered” and translated in modern times. Bruno says: