Across the OTP Group, each member bank had itsown way of handling crisis communication management and procedures. Thesemethods often clashed with one another. Although the harmonization of systemshad begun in previous years, regular training was only conducted in a fewcountries. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This created a greater need to unifycrisis management while making face-to-face training impossible. OTP tasked usto develop a training format specifically focused oncrisis communication that would effectively help introduce the basics of crisiscommunication in all markets, familiarize participants with OTP Group'sexisting protocols, and help practice them in the most lifelike manner possible.Not to mention, it aimed to build unity between OTP Group members andcoworkers at the Budapest main office.
We made a special online training format that put all the needed parts into a four-hour training setup. Two tools helped us move the previous in-person training entirely online: Microsoft Teams and Mural. Mural is a team-work platform where we showed the story of the third part's practice drill. We tracked the most important indicators of crisis response on a separate, dynamically updated dashboard, complementing the shared interface with dedicated sections for small group work and supporting aids for solutions. The training can be conducted by only two people. We built the scenarios with help from IT and business backup teammates from each bank to make them feel real. OTP has all leaders of the local branch who would need to join in crisis control in real events: CEO, IT BCP, PR, HR, legal, and comms heads. The online training has three main parts each of which we can tailor for the taking part country, while the core parts that form the spine of the training stayed the same. We keep improving our plan, adding new bits each year to ensure that learning and practice together stay fun and hands-on.
In the first phase, over 40 management members from eight countries took part in the training in just three months. The solution was so successful that we've been using this method to train the leaders of OTP's subsidiary banks ever since. The survey done after each training shows an average satisfaction rate of 95% among participants year after year. The online solution saves the bank millions on travel costs each year and is better for the environment. The solution created by FleishmanHillard's Budapest office made it to the shortlist for the European Excellence Awards in the Digital Events category in 2022.
