NU Online News Service, April 18, 1:01 p.m.EDT

Take an award-winning director, add a new code of conduct, andmix them together to produce a message about risk that employeeswill find lively and compelling.

That is the purpose behind a 50-minute movie illustrating Marsh& McLennan Cos.’ new code of conduct, titled “Faces of Marsh& McLennan,” says Scott Gilbert, Marsh & McLennanCompanies’ chief risk and compliance officer.

Revisions in the company’s code of conduct, reflecting Marsh& McLennan President and CEO Brian Duperreault’s imperative toreduce risk to the firm, was the impetus for the movie, saysGilbert.

Reduction of risk is put into an enterprise risk managementframework focusing on the simplification of operations andintroduction of more automation to reduce errors, as well asaddressing cultural risk within the company.

The focus of cultural risk is the company’s code of conduct foremployees. Gilbert says that while it was well written, it wasavailable only online and “was quite legalistic.”

In an effort to update the code, as risks have changed, thecompany wanted to create something that “was much more a factor inpeople’s lives,” making the code more vibrant and helpful.

Having worked at General Electric for 13 years, Gilbert is veryfamiliar with the way film can communicate a strong message. GE hasassociations with NBC, which GE owned, and Gilbert thought afilmmaker could bring a fresh eye to delivering the message aboutthe company’s employee expectations.

He says he wanted to avoid the old clichés and trying to scarepeople into behaving properly.

“What we wanted for this was to bring to life the importance ofthe work people do at Marsh & McLennan all around the world,and in the same moment give people a sense of individualresponsibility for doing that work right, and in the right way,”Gilbert explains.

After a search, he said the company hired RyanFenson-Hood, award-winning director of a documentary on NewOrleans titled “The Sound After The Storm.”

“Fundamentally, the film is about speaking to people’s hearts toachieve an emotional reaction from our colleagues—a sense of prideand responsibility,” Gilbert points out. “We wanted to do it in anunusual way.”

The film follows Saira Jesrai, senior compliance officer, policyand training, as she develops the company’s code of conduct, whichthe film reveals is titled “The Greater Good.”

The film introduces the viewer to several executives in Marsh& McLennan, including its insurance brokerage firm Marsh andreinsurance brokerage firm Guy Carpenter, as they face andnegotiate issues with clients in their daily lives.

“We wanted to make the point to people that this code is notjust a formal exercise, or as Brian [Duperreault] says, it’s justnot a check-the-box exercise,” Gilbert says. “It’s real; it’s a wayof life. And we bring this to life by seeing how these issues thatare in the code present themselves in the lives of real colleagues.There is a reality to it that is very unusual for this kind offilm.”

In presenting the movie and code of conduct, Gilbert says bothare being introduced globally and in local languages granting easyaccess to all employees. The presentation is part of a trainingprogram that promotes high ethical and professional standardswithin Marsh & McLennan, he says.

The trailer to the movie was shared with thousands of employeesin a town-hall meeting last December. The film is being rolled outnow around the world for employees, with the aim of Marsh &McLennan’s more than 50,000 employees seeing the film as part ofits training program. By the end of April the code of conduct willbe distributed to all employees along with a training program toreview and discuss the experience.

“We want to use the film to pique people’s interest and read thebook,” he says.