Spirituality? In the workplace? In the US, this concept as a way to change a business culture and results seems incomprehensible. For most, the two are kept conspicuously separate. And that difference is exactly why we should be globally open minded and discover how others perceive spirituality and its fit within their business environment.

Plantersbank in the Phillippines, in using the intangible of spirituality, sought to increase both its business base and performance. It defined spirituality in a broader way, as being of service to the common good, and tied it to the goal of becoming the “whole heart and mind” champion of their clients and employees. This unusual, philosophical approach has created internationally recognized business results.

For Plantersbank, core values such as honesty, helping each other, and acting immediately were emphasized and encouraged. They were driven throughout the organization by implementing practices and programs such as Family Prayer, a separate prayer room, retreats, additional benefits and workshops on self discovery and development. The bank’s focus on becoming the ‘heart and mind’ champion of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME) translated to additional responsiveness and relationship building with their clients.

The opportunity inspiring the campaign was to continue to build a larger SME client base and improve business performance. The challenges were to:

• Increase revenue and market share by increasing the number of strong, profitable relationships within the SME market.
• Improve business performance by encouraging employees to be deeply committed to the vision and mission of the bank.
• Incorporate social responsibility with the business model and foster a culture that embeds spirituality in business.
• Manage diversity of religion in the workplace.
• Create meaningful relationships with all of the bank’s stakeholders.

Plantersbank has a vision and mission that all strategic initiatives need to be aligned with to succeed. This vision includes the bank, customers, employees, and the shareholders:

• Plantersbank should be the bank of choice for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs).
• Customers should be happy with the service and value.
• Employees must be fulfilled and should enjoy doing their work.
• Shareholders should realize their development mission and be rewarded by increased shareholder value and better-than-industry return on investment.