Inside USAA Doré S. Redfern USAA San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

Inside USAA Doré S. Redfern USAA San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Inside USAA is a monthly newsletter for the employees of USAA. The purpose of the publication is to help employees understand business priorities and the organization s unique members (customers), and to reinforce and build loyalty to the USAA brand and help foster the desired culture of commitment to world-renowned customer service. Need/Opportunity / USAA is a Fortune 200 worldwide financial services company that has served the U.S. military community and their families since 1922. USAA s mission is to be the financial provider of choice for the military community. The organization has a very strong culture of commitment to service and respect for members of the military. While the USAA intranet delivers the daily news and information employees need to function as part of this large organization and serve nearly six million members, the newsletter is the communication channel that employees turn to for context and deeper understanding of the business, the industry and the organization s members. The following are the opportunities that Inside USAA addresses. The Business Needs 4 Increase customer base/market share (customer acquisition and retention) 4 Increase revenue (products sold) 4 Increase productivity (encouraging online customer service) The Communication Needs 1. USAA is a complex business in a highly regulated, rapidly changing industry. The challenge is to ensure employees understand evolving business priorities so they have a clear line of sight to achieving the mission. 2. The majority of employees have not served in the military and do not understand military life and its challenges. The opportunity is to help employees understand the unique lives, challenges and needs of USAA s members so they can build strong relationships with them (multiple products) and retain them as members. 3. Emerging technologies are changing the way customers and businesses interact. Employees must understand those new technologies so that they can continue to grow USAA s business and become more productive. The business need: Provide unrivaled customer service that builds brand loyalty. The communication need: USAA is known for its strong brand reputation of customer service excellence. In 2008, USAA rolled out new brand messaging. The challenge was to solidify and strengthen a connection with the new brand promise and Commitment to Service in employees hearts and minds, and strengthen the passion for providing exemplary customer service. _ 483

Intended Audience(s) / Inside USAA is produced for all 22,000 employees. Employee demographics are as follows: 4 Sixty-two percent are female; 38 percent are male. 4 The average age is 39, and the average tenure is eight years. 4 Eleven percent have a military background. 4 Fifteen thousand are located in the San Antonio, Texas, headquarters; the balance are located in four regional offices. 4 The vast majority of employees are college educated and have multiple licenses/credentials. 4 About 60 percent of USAA employees have customer contact. Research shows that USAA employees, when compared with most other call-center companies, are mature, educated and loyal to the company. Data and qualitative observation show that, as communicators, USAA is very fortunate to be working with an audience that is highly engaged, passionate about the noble mission to serve the military and almost obsessively dedicated to the organization s members. Most employees, because of the nature of their work, are on the phone all day and have little to no discretionary time. The team knew that if they were going to get their attention they had to do so with portable communications (print) that grabs their attention with timely, relevant and eye-catching themes/graphics, and isn t a drain on their time (concise content with many entry points). Goals and Objectives 1. USAA s business objectives: Increase its customer base, revenue, products sold, multi-product households (increased customer loyalty) and productivity (productivity can be increased by getting more members to go online to conduct routine transactions). Communication objectives in support of those business objectives: 4 Increase employee awareness and understanding of USAA s business priorities, products/service updates, company performance and online/mobile capabilities by a minimum of 5 percent. 4 Help employees build strong relationships with members by increasing by 5 percent their awareness and understanding of members lives, needs, and the products and services that will help support their financial security. Help employees be customer advocates rather than just salespeople. Desired behavior change and business outcomes as a result of those communications: 4 Employees will have the knowledge and techniques to bring in more members, sell more products, and direct members to use online and mobile capabilities. As a result, there will be an increase in market share, an increase in the number of products sold, and more employees and members using online capabilities, which leads to increased productivity. 4 Employees will make appropriate product recommendations that will lead to an increase _ 484

in multi-product households, high customer satisfaction ratings, and favorable ratings from members regarding trust and advocacy. 2. USAA s business objectives: Provide the best customer service in the world. Create a work environment in which employees feel good about the work they do and the brand they represent; they enjoy coming to work and serving USAA members. Communication objective in support of those business objectives: Build awareness and adoption of new internal branding that includes the rally cry of Going above for those who have gone beyond and the six employee Commitments to Service. Build brand ambassadors out of employees. When surveyed, at least 75 percent of employees are familiar with the brand messaging, and at least 75 percent say the communication they receive helps them provide best-in-class service. Desired behavior change and business outcomes as a result of those communications: Employees are consistently providing unrivaled customer service that results in high ratings from members and external third parties. Data will show that employees are brand ambassadors and are proud of their company. 3. Overall newsletter objectives: 4 At least 75 percent of employees are reading the newsletter. 4 At least 75 percent of employees say the newsletter helps them better understand the company. 4 At least 87 percent of employees say the newsletter helps them perform their jobs. 4 At least 75 percent of employees say Inside USAA is a trusted source of news and information. Solution Overview / Inside USAA provides context on complex topics. Print allows the team to explain business initiatives in an easy-to-understand way by using engaging graphics and illustrations, telling stories, and employing the practice of service journalism that chunks the information into manageable pieces. Print also works best for explaining complex topics because it s portable, and employees can absorb the information when they have the time. Each month, a key company initiative is featured, and on a rotating basis regular columns such as Military Snapshot, Our Industry, Products at Work, The Way I See It (employee editorial), Dear USAA (customer comments), and more are included. This year the organization launched a new Going Above campaign that was woven through all communications, including the newsletter. As part of the campaign, the newsletter told stories about employees who exemplified the commitments to service in the new Going Above series. So how does USAA provide employees with all of the information to achieve its objectives? By telling stories. These stories bring USAA members to life, model exemplary employee behavior and explain the complex in a way that can be understood. _ 485

Implementation and Challenges / Inside USAA is eight to 12 pages and is published monthly. The team will occasionally skip a month of print if they distribute an electronic newsletter that month that is focused on a single topic. The publication is distributed throughout USAA s corporate headquarters and at each regional office location via the organization s internal mail delivery so each employee receives a copy. The publication staff includes the managing editor and two writers. The managing editor is involved in each step of the process. The designer is externally contracted and has a very close, collaborative relationship with the in-house staff that helps ensure content and design work together. The budget for printing and design is US$125,000 annually. To keep costs down, the team makes good use of internal resources: writers, photographers, graphic artists, and a photography and graphics library. Challenges The majority of the audience is tied to a computer and a phone (not literally, of course). They have little time to dedicate to reading, so the biggest challenge is to get them to pick up the newsletter and spend a little time with it. Inside USAA competes for their attention, so the team tries to create covers that are eye-catching with a contemporary mix of colorful illustrations and photography that tap into current themes and styles that will appeal to the audience. In addition, the design and writing work together to create a publication that is easy to read. Articles speak directly to the reader in language they can relate to, the employee face and voice are clearly represented in each issue, opportunities for two-way communication are frequently included, and a call to action is included in most articles. USAA is a complex, highly regulated business. Creating content that is engaging and easy to understand is a constant challenge. The team is faced with internal clients who want to inject jargon and unnecessary detail, lawyers who are risk-averse (Aren t they all? But imagine working with lawyers at an insurance company!), and regulations and legislation that require copious disclosures on certain content. Their ongoing battle is to create content that is easy to scan; interesting to read; and is written in a tone and style that is conversational, candid, and reflects the employee voice. The approval process is lengthy and tedious, and can include filing copy with government agencies. This demands working well ahead of schedule, yet working fast and remaining flexible to meet changes in the business and industry. _ 486

Measurement/Evaluation Objective Measurement/Outcome The results below (*except where indicated) are findings from monthly employee pulse polls conducted by the in-house research team. Methodology: In the annual communication audit, 1,100 employees were asked a series of questions to determine which business topics they felt well informed about. Results are statistically valid with a +/- 5 percent margin of error. While the newsletter can t take full credit for influencing financials, external validation or customer satisfaction, the team is confident Inside USAA is a contributor to the success because it influences employee behavior. Increase awareness and understanding of USAA s business priorities, products/service updates, company performance and online/ mobile capabilities by a minimum of 5 percent. Increase awareness and understanding of members lives and needs by at least 5 percent. Favorable ratings from members regarding trust and advocacy. Increase in market share, more products sold, and more employees and members using online capabilities, which leads to increased productivity. Topic 2008 Feel well informed 2007 Feel well informed 1. Product/service updates 72% 33% 2. Updates on usaa.com and phone channels 67% 54% 3. Employee benefits 87% 56% 4. How I can help USAA achieve its goals 86% 73% 5. Member needs 83% 54% 6. Business priorities 90% 75% 7. Company/department performance 84% 72% Military awareness: Eighty-five percent of employees responded well or extremely well to the statement, How well do you understand the lives, culture and challenges of military families? up from 72 percent in 2007. *External validation: USAA received the highest scores in the industry for customer advocacy, according to a Forrester Research Inc. survey. *USAA end-of-year financial results: Despite a rough economy, the Wall Street meltdown, and the worst catastrophe (hurricanes, fires, tornadoes) year in history that wreaked havoc in the financial services and insurance industry, including the demise of huge financial giants, USAA increased its net worth, retained its AAA ratings from the rating agencies, and gained 2 percent market share. Adoption of mobile capabilities resulted in over 5 million member logins (exceeding the 2008 goal of 500,000 logins) and 500,000 transactions. Productivity: USAA increased productivity an incredible 7.7 percent. _ 487

Objective Build awareness and adoption of new internal branding. Build brand ambassadors out of employees. USAA receives high ratings from members and external third parties. Employees are brand ambassadors and are proud of their company. 4 Ninety-one percent of employees indicated they are familiar/very familiar with USAA s brand. 4 Eighty-nine percent are familiar with the Commitment to Service principles. 4 Ninety-one percent say they frequently hear about the internal brand in USAA internal communications. 4Eighty-eight percent indicate they are proud to work for USAA. 4Ninety-one percent enjoy coming to work each day. 4Ninety percent of employees would personally defend the company. 4 Eighty-one percent of employees say the communication they receive helps them provide best-in-class service. * External validation: For the second consecutive year, USAA was named No. 1 on BusinessWeek s list of Customer Service Champs. * Customer validation: In 2008, 94 percent of USAA members rated their satisfaction with USAA as high or extremely high (4 or 5 on a scale of 1 5). The results below are findings from USAA s 2008 Employee Communication Channel Survey. The survey is conducted by USAA s in-house research team. Methodology: The audit is part of a monthly employee pulse poll conducted by the in-house research team. Methodology: Each year 1,100 employees are polled for the audit. An average of 78 percent respond, and results are statistically valid with a +/- 5 percent margin of error. At least 75 percent of employees are reading the newsletter. At least 75 percent of employees say the newsletter helps them better understand the company. At least 87 percent of employees say the newsletter helps them perform their jobs. At least 75 percent of employees say Inside USAA is a trusted source of news and information. Measurement/Outcome Eighty-eight percent read Inside USAA regularly, up from 71 percent in 2007. Ninety-five percent say the publication helps them understand the company s goals and direction, up from 73 percent in 2007. Ninety-one percent say Inside USAA helps them do their jobs, up from 85 percent in 2007. Ninety-three percent of employees strongly agree or agree that Inside USAA is a trusted source of news and information about the company. _ 488