Fifth Third Archives - SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine Insights on how you can protect the environment, maintain and increase the value of your company, through a structured CSR/Sustainability process with the use of the GRI Standards. Learn how Today's Best-Run Companies are achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success - and How You Can Too... Fri, 03 Mar 2023 09:10:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Case study: How Fifth Third promotes financial education https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-fifth-third-promotes-financial-education/ Wed, 19 May 2021 06:05:54 +0000 https://ccprowebs.com/new-sustaincase.com/?p=12592 Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company operating four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. , including tackling a gap in financial education and workforce development. This case study is based on the 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report by Fifth Third published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) […]

The post Case study: How Fifth Third promotes financial education appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company operating four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third works to deliver comprehensive and innovative solutions to challenges facing the people who live in the communities it serves  Tweet This!, including tackling a gap in financial education and workforce development.

This case study is based on the 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report by Fifth Third published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.

Abstract

Future success is often dependent upon the opportunities and advantages individuals have when they are young. That’s why Fifth Third developed a suite of L.I.F.E. programmes that offer financial education beginning as young as the first grade. Fifth Third’s L.I.F.E. (Lives Improved through Financial Empowerment) programmes are offered at no charge and are designed to educate people in the ways of personal finance at every age and stage of life. In order to promote financial education Fifth Third took action to:

  • launch the Fifth Third Bank Young Bankers Club
  • support $martPath
  • introduce the Fifth Third Finance Academy
  • offer Fifth Third Empower U
  • launch Retirement University

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report Fifth Third identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and responsible banking, customer privacy and information security, inclusion and diversity, employee engagement and development. Among these, promoting financial education stands out as a key material issue for Fifth Third.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Fifth Third engages with:

Stakeholder Group                Method of engagement
Shareholders

 

 

 ·      Annual shareholder meeting

·      Quarterly earnings calls

·      Investor conferences and presentations

·      Meetings with investor relations team and executive management

·      SEC filings and dedicated investor relations website
Customers

 

 

 ·      Focus groups

·      Conversations through branch interactions and phone calls

·      Satisfaction surveys

·      Social media interactions

·      Customer helplines and corporate website
Employees

 

 ·      Engagement survey

·      Executive leadership communications

·      Learning programmes

·      Performance and development initiatives and corporate intranet
Communities

 

 

 

 

 ·      Community Advisory Forum (national and five statewide groups in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina)

·      Community needs survey and assessments

·      Financial education and outreach programmes

·      Philanthropic investments

·      Civic memberships

·      Volunteerism and non-profit board engagement and corporate website
Regulators

 

 ·      Exams

·      Continuous monitoring and other meetings with senior management

·      Interactions through regulatory affairs and government affairs teams and regulator-sponsored events and initiatives

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics, Fifth Third distributed a survey to representatives from its stakeholder groups.

What actions were taken by Fifth Third to promote financial education?

In its 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report Fifth Third reports that it took the following actions for promoting financial education:

  • Launching the Fifth Third Bank Young Bankers Club
  • The Fifth Third Bank Young Bankers Club (YBC) is Fifth Third’s signature programme developed in 2004 for fifth-graders. Over the past 15 years, more than 28,000 students graduated from YBC. Most were taught by Fifth Third volunteers who visited elementary school classrooms to teach the difference between needs and wants, money basics and to underscore the importance of their education. In 2019, the programme underwent an update and will transition into a newer, more dynamic programme in 2021 that will be more relevant to today’s students and better establish a strong financial foundation for the future.
  • Supporting $martPath
  • The Fifth Third Foundation has also supported $martPath, developed with the University of Cincinnati Economics Centre, for students from first grade through eighth grade. Since 2017, 430,200 students in Ohio, Florida and Michigan were educated through $martPath, an award-winning digital platform that uses animated characters and stories to impart critical thinking, math, economics and personal finance skills.
  • Introducing the Fifth Third Finance Academy
  • The Fifth Third Finance Academy offers two courses: foundational finance and entrepreneurship, to high school students throughout the Bank’s footprint states. The programme is focused on high-need students and schools, with over half of the students coming from underserved communities. In the 2018-19 school year, over 163,000 students completed more than 400,000 hours of learning through more than 2,200 Finance Academy courses. To date, more than 453,000 students have taken Finance Academy courses and completed over 1.1 million hours of learning. In the programme’s second year, Fifth Third reported a 73% learning gain in financial education and a 93% learning gain in entrepreneurship. In 2019, Fifth Third also offered Finance Academy to students at Florida A&M University, a public HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) in Tallahassee. Fifth Third also provides $70,000 in scholarships each academic year to help students meet their education and career goals. At the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, this totalled $210,000 in scholarship awards. When schools were closed due to the lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fifth Third worked to make all of its Finance Academy courses available for free to students throughout its Consumer Bank footprint—regardless of whether or not they were previously Finance Academy schools. This ensured that financial education could continue during the pandemic. Additionally, courses designed for adult learners, typically offered on Fifth Third’s eBus, were made available to the public at no cost, as was the NextJob Job Seeker’s Toolkit, job training services typically available only for Fifth Third customers.
  • Offering Fifth Third Empower U
  • Fifth Third’s financial education course for adults is called Fifth Third Empower U. These courses are taught by Fifth Third’s bankers on-site at various companies with Fifth Third’s community partners. They include a financial check-up, as well as classes that teach financial health, investments and planning, insurance planning, homeownership and college savings. Fifth Third has reached 123,000 people through the programme since 2012.
  • Launching Retirement University
  • Providing a holistic approach to retirement planning, Fifth Third’s Retirement University is a free educational programme to help consumers prepare for all aspects of retirement, from income needs to second careers. Lessons include planning and investments, retirement income, health care needs and life-stage planning. Fifth Third financial professionals also are available to answer attendees’ questions.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs

Disclosure 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs does not correspond to any SDG.

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

  • Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
  • Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
  • Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
  • Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Fifth Third, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Fifth Third: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

The post Case study: How Fifth Third promotes financial education appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> Case study: How Fifth Third promotes employee development https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-fifth-third-promotes-employee-development/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:56:42 +0000 https://ccprowebs.com/new-sustaincase.com/?p=12281 Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, which operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. Employee development programmes at Fifth Third are built upon a growth mindset, the belief that everyone’s basic abilities can be developed through dedication and work inspired by a thirst for learning. This case study is based on the 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report by Fifth Third published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. […]

The post Case study: How Fifth Third promotes employee development appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, which operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. Employee development programmes at Fifth Third are built upon a growth mindset, the belief that everyone’s basic abilities can be developed through dedication and work inspired by a thirst for learning.

This case study is based on the 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report by Fifth Third published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.

Abstract

In 2019, employees at Fifth Third completed nearly 640,000 hours of training  Tweet This!, an average of 32.5 hours per employee. In order to promote employee development Fifth Third took action to:

  • promote on-demand learning
  • develop leadership skills
  • provide early career support
  • implement the Women in Leadership programme
  • apply a performance management procedure
  • implement a talent review process

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report Fifth Third identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and responsible banking, customer privacy and information security, community financial and economic inclusion, sustainable financing, inclusion and diversity. Among these, promoting employee development stands out as a key material issue for Fifth Third.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Fifth Third engages with:

Stakeholder Group                Method of engagement
Shareholders

 

 

 ·      Annual shareholder meeting

·      Quarterly earnings calls

·      Investor conferences and presentations

·      Meetings with investor relations team and executive management

·      SEC filings and dedicated investor relations website
Customers

 

 

 ·      Focus groups

·      Conversations through branch interactions and phone calls

·      Satisfaction surveys

·      Social media interactions

·      Customer helplines and corporate website
Employees

 

 ·      Engagement survey

·      Executive leadership communications

·      Learning programmes

·      Performance and development initiatives and corporate intranet
Communities

 

 

 

 

 ·      Community Advisory Forum (national and five statewide groups in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina)

·      Community needs survey and assessments

·      Financial education and outreach programmes

·      Philanthropic investments

·      Civic memberships

·      Volunteerism and non-profit board engagement and corporate website
Regulators

 

 ·      Exams

·      Continuous monitoring and other meetings with senior management

·      Interactions through regulatory affairs and government affairs teams and regulator-sponsored events and initiatives

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Fifth Third engaged with its stakeholders through a survey that was distributed to representatives from stakeholder groups.

What actions were taken by Fifth Third to promote employee development?

In its 2019 Environmental, Social & Governance Report Fifth Third reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee development:

  • Promoting on-demand learning
  • On-demand learning is a newer point of emphasis for development at Fifth Third. Employees can take advantage of three different on-demand resources, including LinkedIn Learning, offering courses across business, technology and creative categories; Harvard ManageMentor, a learning and performance support resource for critical management skills; and Pluralsight, a technology skills-based platform focused on today’s most in-demand technologies and tools.
  • Developing leadership skills
  • Fifth Third’s leadership development aligns to its vision, strategic priorities and to the enrichment of four leadership capabilities: Create Connections, Be a Great Coach, Lead with Agility and Act Like an Owner. Fifth Third has developed a Learning Journey for each capability that includes an instructor-led learning simulation that is delivered virtually. The immersive learning simulations require Fifth Third’s leaders to demonstrate their leadership capabilities while grappling with the most difficult and defining challenges they will likely face as the company transforms. Learning Journeys, along with Learning Cafes, are flexible, social and grounded in how leaders prefer to learn: online, self-guided and interactive, with group interaction such as discussion boards and debrief sessions.
  • Providing early career support
  • For over 30 years, Fifth Third has advocated early career support. College leadership programmes provide foundational knowledge, skills and experience for recent college graduates. Full-time and internship opportunities are offered in 10 lines of business: Audit, Commercial, Credit, Consumer, Finance and Accounting, IT, Operations, Risk Management, Wealth & Asset Management and Strategic Projects and Analytics. Early career programmes provide visibility to Fifth Third’s operations through rotational experiences, structured education to develop leadership capabilities, exposure to seasoned performers and other early career learners, and resources to support strong performance and development. Over a two-year period, participants have access to formal learning programmes, such as consultative skills, building relationships using DiSC assessments, emotional intelligence and presentation skills. They also participate in the Connect@53 challenge, helping them establish their first 53 connections at the bank. Fifth Third also supports their growth and development through structured community service and volunteerism opportunities, as well as an introduction to its business resource groups.
  • Implementing the Women in Leadership programme
  • The Women in Leadership programme is an integrated development experience that is targeted to high-performing senior female leaders who have significant impact on Fifth Third’s success. The programme is focused on accelerating readiness to lead at the next level and, ultimately, the C-suite. Forty women leaders participated in the programme since its inception, including 11 in 2019. Participants are challenged to look inward, outward and forward to leverage their leadership capabilities through skill building, coaching and exposure to enhance the achievement of business outcomes. Through this experiential opportunity, these female leaders gain increased insights to lead authentically through understanding and promotion of their distinctive strengths and talents.
  • Applying a performance management procedure
  • Fifth Third’s performance management procedure aims to positively impact and optimise both employee and organisational performance. The Fifth Third Compass provides the strategic direction and forms the foundation for how Fifth Third sets expectations and manages performance. The procedure highlights the importance of holding regular performance and development conversations to make sure employees understand expectations, check-in on progress and exchange feedback. This mechanism culminates with a performance review. While managers drive many elements of the procedure, employees take an active role in engaging in conversations to achieve results. Guiding principles of these conversations include:
    • Balance both WHAT and HOW results are achieved.
    • Regularly check-in on progress.
    • Prioritise and align work to business needs.
    • Ask openly for and accept feedback.
    • Demonstrate a commitment to development.
  • Implementing a talent review process
  • Fifth Third’s annual talent review process evaluates employees’ talent strengths and gaps to enable achievement of short- and long-term business priorities. The review process is facilitated by the Human Capital team with the following intended outcomes:
    • Assess Fifth Third’s talent to identify employees with greater potential to take on roles of increased responsibility.
    • Focus on increasing representation of diverse talent.
    • Determine development gaps between current capabilities and what is needed in the next role to target development actions.
    • Identify most critical talent actions to track for accountability.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee

2) Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs

3) Disclosure 404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews

 

Disclosure 404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee corresponds to:

Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs corresponds to:

Disclosure 404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews corresponds to:

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

  • Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
  • Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
  • Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
  • Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Fifth Third, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Fifth Third: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

The post Case study: How Fifth Third promotes employee development appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

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