Experts weigh in on HSBC’s new head of culture

HSBC has created a new role of group customer and culture director to help embed its customersʼ voice at the heart of its strategy. HSBC UK chief executive, Ian Stuart is taking on the role, and experts say its success or failure will rely on both his personal authority with the bankʼs senior leaders and the remit he has to make change.

“A role might look good on paper, but it’s worthless if the person in it lacks the power to make changes or the authority to be taken seriously. Without that, they can’t drive real change,” said Christian Hunt, founder of behavioural science consulting firm Human Risk.

HSBC is not the first global bank to encapsulate culture in a senior executive role. Tracey McDermott, former interim chief executive of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has been group head of culture, financial crime and compliance at Standard Chartered since March 2021. However, HSBC has chosen to link the culture role to customers rather than the financial crime and compliance brief.

Given the interests of numerous global regulators in culture, Roger Miles, who runs the Conduct and Culture Academy at UK Finance, said there was a danger that multinational firms might create such roles to “influence the perception” they take conduct seriously and enhance their public image.

Meaningful role

But Miles added there was potential for such roles to be meaningful “particularly when held by individuals with significant standing within the organisation”, and the creation of such roles could “demonstrate that banks were moving in the right direction”.

Announcing the new post earlier this month, HSBC group CEO Georges Elhedery said: “Ian will consistently challenge the group operating committee in shaping the culture, ensuring that the voice of the customer informs every decision and action we take.”

Elhedery’s comment indicates buy-in from the very top of the bank, which empowers Stuart to make the necessary changes and fulfils another of Hunt’s prerequisites for success. “Such a roving mandate requires significant authority to cut across different departments and challenge existing practices,” Hunt said.

Stuart has been chief executive of HSBC UK since 2017, before which he was head of Europe.

Ruth Steinholtz, founder of business ethics consultancy AretéWork, also believes someone with Stuart’s background should have the connections, network and influence with his fellow senior leaders required to deliver change. “This role requires working across silos and because he knows the business, other executives will be more willing to sit down with him. He will have the gravitas to command facetime with colleagues,” Steinholtz said.

Values assessment

Steinholtz recommends new heads of culture (especially those whose brief includes customers) carry out an assessment to understand what both employees and customers believe the organisation’s values are, and compare them to the organisation’s stated values.

“It’s a great way to figure out whether you are coming across to your customers the way you think you are — and if there is a disconnect, whether that is because of internal cultural issues,” she said.