If you’ve ever worked for a giant corporation, you know just how easy it is to be ignored or overlooked. Often you can feel like a tiny cog in a huge machine, grinding away day in, day out, getting no real recognition (especially from the bigwigs in the C-Suite). And as the great resignation continues to have an impact on businesses around the world, employee retention and satisfaction is a top priority. 

BMO Bank of Montreal is one such large organization, but with a key difference. The leaders there not only know how important all their people are to the company, but also want them to feel seen, heard, and appreciated. They also know that the people actually doing the work are the best equipped to explain the work to others. And there’s no better way to do that than feature them in a series of videos that puts them front and center for all to see. 

It Started in 2022 with The “Great Looks Like” Campaign

Featuring their top sales performers, the Canadian Business Banking segment of BMO Bank of Montreal created a series of videos that let these superstars share their own secrets to success. Tips, tricks, techniques, and anything else they wanted to pass on to the segment as a whole through town halls and the intranet. 

Basically, sharing is not only caring, but a fantastic way to spread positivity and performance that everyone can profit from. And the videos were a hit, primarily because the unscripted advice not only came direct from the employees, but was also authentic in the way it was filmed and executed. 

“We've really found that the authenticity of the videos resonates with our audience, and we've really leaned into that,” said Robert Mencel, Director of Business Banking Sales Force Effectiveness at BMO Financial Group. “We've shied away from doing big, glossy videos, big expensive, big budget videos that we've tended to do in the past that maybe don't resonate as well. These really do seem to get through to our sales force and to our audience in a memorable way.”

By tapping Cinebody as a direct partner for these videos, BMO Bank of Montreal is able to produce the content they need both quickly and inexpensively, with Mencel going as far as saying “the pace at which you work is phenomenal. We haven't had a video production vendor turn things around as quickly as your team does.”

Not only that, but the style of video produced has created content that’s engaging and motivational, with small business owners and entrepreneurs being able to film themselves and share perspectives in a way they find comfortable and natural. And that, again, makes these pieces all the more real and impactful. What started as a small endeavor has snowballed to become one of the bank’s most engaging internal video communication campaigns. 

Featuring Real Employees Is Also A Fantastic Way To Break Down Barriers

Who doesn’t love seeing themselves on camera? Well, other than the excitement that generates for the people on screen, there’s also another great reason to do it. 

Fame

Not the kind that gets you on the front page of the nation’s papers, but fame within the company. And that means those higher-ups who often can’t put names to faces now know exactly who is behind some of the great successes. That’s a massive morale boost, allowing the folks in the boardrooms of HQ to get to know the people delivering the results. And that creates a feeling of one big team rather than “them vs us” which can cripple any working environment. 

The end result is a company that may be spread out across many locations but operates as a tight knit unit, giving even the most junior employees the chance to speak, or at least know that they are valued by the much more senior staff. 

It doesn’t need to dig into them to have a huge positive impact on corporate culture. Smarter is in, throwing money at problems is out.

“My team is a very small part of the broader BMO Bank of Montreal enterprise,” continued Mencel, “but we get more and more questions all the time about, how'd you guys make these videos? How much did it cost? Can we get in contact with that group? These videos have really resonated. They've really gotten a lot of attention.”

It’s an approach that is not only being used by BMO Bank of Montreal, but other industry giants including Merkle and Celonis. And it proves that even though your organization may have deep pockets,it doesn’t need to dig into them to have a huge positive impact on corporate culture. Smarter is in, throwing money at problems is out.