Who They Are:
U.S. Bank is the sixth largest commercial bank in the United States. It operates approximately 2,500 branches nationally and offers a variety of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, and trust products to individuals, businesses, and institutions.

 

How Writing Plays a Role:
U.S. Bank’s Government Division writes Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to government entities throughout the United States. Writing is one of its core competencies. Typical writing projects include RFP cover letters, prospect letters, follow-up letters, sales letters, executive summaries, emails, and the RFP itself. From regional managers to assistant relationship managers, employees reported that they spend between 25 percent and 75 percent of their time writing. An analysis indicated several writing issues:

 

• Lack of clear, concise, and effective writing

• A long document production process

• Lack of reader-friendly writing and formatting

 

In the deadline-driven environment of RFPs, the review process sometimes broke down before documents went to the client.

 

The Solution:
Business Writing That Counts! provided customized writing workshops that focused on RFP cover letters and executive summaries. Additionally, strategies that streamlined the document production process were emphasized. One-on-one coaching sessions that addressed writing strengths and challenges along with courses from our e-learning programs created a blended approach to learning.

 

Results of Training:
Participants reduced their writing time by 10 percent immediately after the training. Taking into consideration training costs, varied salaries of the staff, and the number of writing hours saved by each staff member, U.S. Bank estimates a savings of over $180,000. The government division is a growing segment for the bank and with these savings, the division can take on and win even more RFPs than previously anticipated.