I’d never been in the Standard Bank Offshore building on Circular Road before.

There, I was greeted warmly by Lee Francis, the chief executive and island head for Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited.

He showed me up to the top floor communal staff area for our interview, a lovely open space with a quaint kitchen, pool table and air hockey table.

On the way up, everyone we met greeted us warmly with an infectious enthusiasm. It’s an ethos stemming from the values that lie at the heart of Standard Bank Group globally; prioritise employee satisfaction and that will shine in the work delivered for our clients.

‘I wanted to bring you up here just to experience the culture we are immensely proud of.’ Lee tells me earnestly.

‘People often talk about culture and values of an organisation but for us, it's not about having those values on the wall in the boardroom. It's around what we do, it's how we show up every day.’

This heartfelt ethos has led the company to sponsor the ‘Employer of the Year’ category at Thursday evening’s Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.

It’s an area close to their heart and not their first foray into awards of this nature, with the Standard Bank Group recently being named as one of the World's Best Employers by Forbes.

‘The Employer of the Year Award is very important to the Standard Bank Group and to us Offshore.’ Edem Ankude tells me.

He’s head of business and commercial banking for Standard Bank Offshore and has more than 20 years’ worth of experience working in countries including Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, establishing businesses and investment banking teams from scratch for the whole of southern Africa.

Standard Bank Group is the largest banking group by assets in Africa with a legacy of more than 160 years.

Standard Bank Offshore is proud to be a part of this heritage, contributing to the local economy and being involved in events like the Awards for Excellence (not only are they sponsoring the Employer of the Year category, they’re also nominated for Business of the Year). It also brings a richness and diversity to the community.

‘It’s so great seeing the best of the best in the island, which the Awards brings together’ Lee says.

‘We're looking forward to competing against some very well-deserved finalists.’

In the three years Lee has been in the island, Standard Bank Offshore has been a finalist twice for ‘Employer of the Year’ in previous Awards for Excellence campaigns.

From his 30 years in the industry globally he’s built the belief that if they get the culture right for their 280 plus colleagues, it will have a ripple effect into every interaction they have with a client.

It’s a belief Edem also stands by: ‘People are central to our business, because our business is purpose driven. So, the kind of fulfilment our team members derive from being associated with the bank, is what drives our business and ultimately, client service.

‘We must ensure local relevance to each jurisdiction we reside in; so whatever drives value in that economy, we endeavour to play a rich part in.’