In the case of XYZ Bank, once you have created your vision
statement, your desired future state and you have clearly commu-nicated
that with your employees, the next step is to craft a story
that helps them see themselves as the hero:
1. When you first graduated from school, you wanted to make a
difference in this world. You were full of optimism and energy.
Every day felt like a new adventure, a new experience, you were
making a difference in this world.
2. One day, you met the partner of your dreams. Two visions
became one and together you were going to take on the world.
Then you became a family and your carefree life became
dotted with new responsibility. As your family grew, so did the
financial pressure and somewhere along the way, you lost sight
of your vision.
3. You had to become more serious about your career and your
future because of this new responsibility. You had to find a
work-life balance that allowed you to realize your vision,
provide for your family and maintain a certain level of health
and happiness.
4. You started sleepwalking through your personal and
financial future.
5. Until one day, you realized that you are not alone in your
financial struggles and that your bank’s customers are people
who struggle financially just like you. If you treated these
people the way you wanted to be treated, they would start to
trust you. If you shared personal tips and strategies for getting
ahead financially, you would become an advocate for financial
freedom for families.
6. Ever since you changed your role from bank employee to
advocate for families and financial freedom, you career,
your aspirations and your legacy to your family and your
community became more meaningful and fulfilling.
The best part about great storytelling is understanding how to
take this six-step formula and help every single employee feel like
they matter. Each time they re-tell their story, they will tell it with
more confidence and passion, so much so that when told enough
times, they will become self-motivated to want to learn and do
more, not because they have to, but because they want to.
People love a good story. The trick is to have a crystal-clear
vision of some future state that everyone will benefit from and
then weaving your employees’ journey into their story so that your
shared vision becomes your reality.
The role of HR in storytelling is not to tell the company’s story
better. The role of HR in storytelling is to help each employee dis-cover
themselves as the hero of their own story, regardless of what
role they play in the organization. We all play some part in the
company’s success or failure. Storytelling is the art of making every
day moments matter, so that your customers think of you as their
only trusted partner who they always think to call on first. n
Dave Buzanko is the CEO of Heartfit Champion.
strategy
ONCE YOU HAVE A CLEAR VISION
STATEMENT, IT’S TIME TO CRAFT
YOUR HR STORY SO THAT CURRENT
EMPLOYEES AND NEW RECRUITS
TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF YOUR
BUSINESS AND MAKE IT THEIR OWN.
solerf / 123RF
28 ❚ NOVEMBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
/profile_solerf