Changing the culture at a 400-year-old business
For the London-based offices of a Japanese bank, Covid presented the challenge of introducing modern working practices, while respecting long-held corporate values
Before the pandemic struck, Japanese bank SMBC (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) was already in the process of consolidating three of its existing London offices into one. Although Covid-19 delayed this move, it also provided important context about what the consolidation should embody. And, although the sectors are very different, there are lessons here for UK housing in terms of the importance of culture when engaging in business transformation.
Graham Hodgkin, head of communications in EMEA for SMBC, describes the consolidation of the buildings as “way more than an office move”. That’s because, for an institution that can trace its roots back more than 400 years, the move has been about trying to simultaneously modernise a traditional business and retain its centuries-old values.
Hodgkin says the delay to the move which Covid brought about allowed the bank “to really think about our business in terms of how we operate [and] what we expect of our people”.
Shift from presenteeism
The particular cultural shift that the pandemic brought about was from an emphasis on ‘presenteeism’ in the office – which is a feature of Japanese working culture – to a more agile approach, while simultaneously retaining the traditions and values of the bank.
“So we were thinking about how do we sweat our real estate assets a bit more in terms of taking some pressure off the bottom line? And how do we think differently about the workforce [and] its relationship with the office – and that’s where the Japanese context is really important,” continues Hodgkin.
“One element of Japanese corporate culture is centred around presenteeism. It's very much about being visible. The perception is that you have to be seen and if you’re not at your desk then ostensibly you’re not working and you’re not contributing. So we were already thinking about how to break that bit of the heritage.”
Graham Hodgkin Head of Communications in EMEA, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
“One element of Japanese corporate culture is centred around presenteeism. It's very much about being visible. The perception is that you have to be seen and if you’re not at your desk then ostensibly you’re not working and you’re not contributing. So we were already thinking about how to break that bit of the heritage.”
Hybrid working
As part of the move, SMBC has adopted a hybrid work model, with employees expected to be in the office two or three days a week, although Hodgkin describes that as “a loose expectation” depending on your function and role. It may seem a small change, given the wider workplace environment, but for an organisation such as SMBC, it marks a major cultural transformation.
“Ultimately what’s important here is the conversation that individuals have with colleagues and with their line managers – depending on the task that’s in front of them, depending on their personal circumstances, depending on what needs to get done that day,” says Hodgkin. “It’s really about repositioning the office as a place to come in and collaborate as opposed to a place to come in and just do work; we’re trying to redefine work as something you do and not place that you go to do it.”
Building trust
The challenge for the organisation’s traditional leadership comes in this redefinition of what work is in the first place. Hodgkin believes that the unprecedented circumstances of the last year has helped ease this transition.
“It’s one thing to have frameworks, to have new models, but unless the culture really supports it and allows it, then some of those changes aren’t going to go too far,” he explains. “And that’s where I think Covid has been super-helpful: we’ve had no choice other than to trust our people to turn up to their home office and continue to do their best work on behalf of their customers. And I think there was some scepticism around that from senior management, particularly because of that legacy and that heritage. But we’ve had to trust our people to turn up and continue to do that good work, [and] equally people have had to trust senior leadership to make the right decisions and to communicate in the right way.”
