Lloyds TSB Group
Lloyds TSB uses the balanced scorecard across the Group enabling it to clarify both its vision and strategy and to translate them into action.
Organisation Size: 70000
Sector: Financial Services
Organisation Location: National
"Staff now feel they have that all-important clarity. They can see a much clearer link between what they do and the overall aims of the organisation." Steve Mapp, Senior Manager, Talent and Learning Process Development
Comments
Business units across the Group have been recognised with the Investors in People Standard for over 10 years
The Organisation
Lloyds TSB is one of the UK's leading financial services groups, created in 1995 following the merger of the TSB Group and the Lloyds Bank Group. A High Street name, the Group provides a wide range of banking and financial services to both personal and corporate clients both in the UK and overseas.
The bank has three core businesses: UK Retail Banking, Insurance and Investments, and Wholesale and International Banking. The organisation's High Street presence is fronted by branches of Lloyds TSB Bank as well as its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Lloyds TSB Scotland.
The company's origins stretch back to 1765 when John Taylor and Sampson Lloyd set up a private banking business in Birmingham. Since then it has expanded with a series of UK and international acquisitions. By the early 1990s, Lloyds Bank had offices in 30 countries from Argentina to the USA.
In 2000 Lloyds TSB acquired Scottish Widows making it one of the leading suppliers of long-term savings and protection products in the UK.
At the end of December 2004, Lloyds TSB employed 70,000 people, had assets totalling £280 billion and a market capitalisation of around £26.5 billion.
The Challenge
Lloyds TSB has been involved with Investors in People for over 10 years as, prior to the merger, units in both organisations had been recognised at various times with the Standard. However, after 1995 there was no clear impetus within the Group for business units to get involved or indeed remain recognised.
Then two years ago, the Group appointed a new Chief Executive who, right at the beginning of his tenure, made a strong statement of support for Investors in People.
"We use our intranet to communicate internally across the Group - the Chief Executive published a statement on it which gave his public commitment to the Standard," says Steve Mapp, Senior Manager, Talent & Learning Process Development. "This was important as it meant he was championing the Standard and it created a new focus for the business unit heads. Those who were already recognised were keen to refocus their attention on it; for those who were not recognised it created a fresh impetus to get on and start the process."
The Group was also facing a host of challenges as a result of the merger. Staff at all levels were trying to get a clear picture of where the business was heading and what their involvement in it would be in an environment that was constantly changing.
At the same time the financial services industry itself was also in a period of flux, facing a host of regulatory changes.
The Strategy
"Across the Group, business unit heads started to re-examine how things were being done. We collectively came to recognise that Investors in People would be a good umbrella under which we could pull things together and create a programme where people within our organisation would feel valued," says Steve.
Each business unit within the Group is empowered to go for the Standard at times to suit them and many use the preparation as a route to achieving a goal specific to that unit.
"Simply by going down the road to achieving recognition, units have become more aware of what support is available to them within the organisation. They are able to select and develop individual components according to their needs. It also enables them to discover how to make best use of the resources available.
"We discovered that very often people were being limited merely by their own aspirations and by not realising what they are capable of. The framework of the Standard made them take the time to think about what they could really be capable of achieving in an environment where they were given the right tools and support."
The Result
"Every business unit is now able to articulate the benefits of having prepared for assessment: be that making staff feel more valued, making everyone feel more motivated or improving staff retention rates," says Steve.
Lloyds TSB uses the balanced scorecard across the Group enabling it to clarify both its vision and strategy and to translate them into action. It is used to provide a framework for feedback around both the internal business processes as well as the external outcomes which in turn helps the organisation to continuously improve performance and results.
"Once again, one of the key benefits of achieving the Standard has been the impact on our people. Staff now feel they have that all-important clarity. They can see a much clearer link between what they do and the overall aims of the organisation. By presenting the information in a consistent format we can all see how what we are doing is contributing to different elements across the board."
Processes are now managed more effectively which enables people to operate more efficiently. People understand better their role and what is expected of them. The Standard ensures they have the right skills and confidence to do that.
Steve concludes: "Each business unit Managing Director is charged with embedding the principles of good people management and Investors in People gives them that all important external perspective."