Barclay’s Bank is no stranger to controversy. Beginning with its involvement in South Africa in the 1980s during the apartheid, and more recently with the Libor scandal of 2012, Barclay’s image has been tarnished by questionable decision-making and unethical practices.

This past week however, Barclay’s made headlines for the right reasons. It appears that the bank is making strides towards a more ethical vision, with new chief executive Antony Jenkins demanding that staff “sign up to ethics or leave”. This declaration of Jenkins is the latest move in his mission to “[repair] Barclay’s battered reputation”.   It appears that Barclay’s has (finally) realized that consumers do care about more than the rates banks offer, evidenced by campaigns such as “Move your Money”. While it is still too early to say whether Barclay’s staff will adhere to the five key values of respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship, we can say that Barclay has begun actively marketing to its employees – both current and prospective.

Employment marketing involves sending positive messages to prospective employees so as to attract applicants to the firm (Grewal and Levy, 10). More than just its prospective employees however, Barclay’s is appealing to its current employees and ultimately, its clients, who will be hearing of the bank’s new values and direction in the news. In sending messages such as these, Barclay’s may be better able to attract top talent who are seeking ethical employers they can be proud of, and might see increased clientele from individuals who prefer to work with banks that share their values. It remains doubtful however, whether small steps such as this will be able to erase Barclay’s past. Good on your Barclay’s, but I wouldn’t expect its Ethiscore of 0.5 out of 20 to improve too much any time soon.