Wells Fargo 2011 Annual Report Download - page 10

8
“Living our Vision & Values is about
trust, personal responsibility, working
together, admitting mistakes when we
make them, and making things right
for our customers. Whether you’re
abank teller, a relationship manager,
acomputer programmer, or a leader
ofone of our business groups, these
are the values that guide us.”
the needs of our team members, customers,
and communities. More than 28,000 of
our team members — up 33percent for the
year — participated in our nine team member
networks, groups that are aligned with our
company’s diverse customer segments and
business strategies. We’re committed to
diversity and diverse representation all across
WellsFargo, including on my own leadership
team. I’m proud to serve as chair of our
company’s diversity council, and I take personal
responsibility for our progress.
We make our Vision & Values booklet
available to all of our team members. It’s a
living document. We encourage all our team
members and leaders to use it as a guide for
their daily work. It’s our gold standard for
serving our customers, working together as
team members, serving our communities, and
honoring our shareholders for investing in our
company. You can read our Vision & Values
in the “About Us” section on wellsfargo.com.
Check it out and let us know how we’re doing.
You can also read about the important role
our Vision & Values plays in the WellsFargo
culture in the February13, 2012, issue of
Forbes magazine. Search forbes.com for the
January25, 2012, article titled “WellsFargo:
The Bank That Works.”
5. Connecting with communities and
stakeholders
From WellsFargo’s Vision & Values:
“Ourresponsibility goes far beyond protecting
our customers’ assets. We’re responsible
for being leaders to promote the long-term
economic prosperity and quality of life for
everyone in our communities. If they prosper,
sodowe.”
For 160years, WellsFargo has been committed
to the communities where our customers live
and work. Each of these communities has
unique needs. Our teams in these communities
know how they can make a dierence. They’re
closely connected to their customers. They
know them by name. They know how to help
them succeed financially, and they help support
them when the going gets rough. One such
crisis happened in the town of Bastrop, Texas,
near Austin, last year. Bastrop (population:
7,200) was one of many communities parched
by drought, record heat, and wildfires in the
summer of 2011. Ten of our 12 WellsFargo team
members in Bastrop had to leave their homes
and live in shelters, churches, or with friends
and family. Despite that, they still chose to come
to work so they could serve our customers.
When the oer was made to bring bankers
from outside the community to help, they said,
“We know the customers. They’re our friends,
neighbors, and customers, and we don’t want
to leave.” I believe you can find similar courage
and selflessness among our team members in
every community where we do business.
Because of our record earnings in 2011,
WellsFargo was also able to excel in giving to
nonprofit organizations and in team member
volunteerism. WellsFargo contributed
$213.5million to 25,000 nonprofits across the
U.S. Fortune ranked us 23rd among the 500
largest companies in America, and the Journal
of Philanthropy ranked WellsFargo No.3 in
corporate giving. Our team members set a
company record by contributing more than
$63.9million of their own money to nonprofits
across the country, including $41.6million
through our annual community support
campaign. That was a 16percent increase over
2010, and the ninth straight year of double-digit
increases in pledges. Even though we’re the
12th largest private employer, not the largest, in
2010 WellsFargo was recognized by United Way
Worldwide for the second year in a row for having