Prudential UK
Organisation Size: 7200
Sector: Financial Services
Organisation Location: National
"Prudential has been working with Investors in People since 2002, not because it's a 'nice thing to have' but because it delivers tangible benefits. Our employees are central to the success of our business, and achieving the Investors in People Standard has helped us to unlock their potential."
Matthew Starks, Head of Learning and Development
Comments
First achieved Investors in People status in November 2003; became an Investors in People Champion in 2005
The Organisation
The Prudential began offering loans and life assurance to professionals back in 1848. Since then it has become a leading company in life and pensions, as measured by 'annual premium equivalent' sales. Its product range has also expanded to include annuities, pensions, savings and investments.
The company is behind many household financial services brands including M&G Investments, Jackson National Life, Prudential Corporation Asia and Egg. Prudential operates in the UK, the US and Asia and employs over 20,000 people, 7,200 of whom are based in the UK and Mumbai.
Worldwide Prudential manages assets of £234 billion on behalf of 19 million customers, to whom it promises, "In an uncertain world, we make it possible for everyone to enjoy a secure future".
The Challenge
At the beginning of the decade Prudential UK had to accept a period of profound change to cater for the increasing demands of its highly-competitive and tightly-regulated market. In 2002 the company's leadership team formalised the way it would achieve this in a strategy called the '1,000 day plan', the cornerstone of which was best practice in all people policy and procedures.
"We wanted to ensure we took our people with us on this journey to transform our business. To do this we aligned our people policies and practices using the Investors in People Standard as our benchmark," says Liane Collins, Human Resources and Learning and Development Operations Consultant. "Our strategic plan provided the vision for our business to succeed and the Standard helped us engage our people to succeed."
Using Andra King from Capital Quality Limited (CQL) as their external Adviser, the Prudential's aim was to maximise the potential of its people using a number of different tools such as continuous assessment and recognition. "Using these tools we wanted to continue to ensure our people were at the heart of our business," says Liane.
A further challenge was to ensure that its employees understood and applied the brand values to everything they did. "We are committed to delivering the right service experience," explains Liane. "We want our customers and distribution partners to feel that we're trustworthy, helpful and easy to deal with. That's the experience we want them to have. Honest dialogue is the essence of what we believe in."
The Strategy
Among the first things to be done back at the outset of the 1,000 day plan in 2002 was to align learning materials with a Capability Framework, in which the company outlined the skills it needs to thrive. Since then understanding of the framework has leapt from under 40 per cent to over 90 per cent and there is noticeably more connectivity between company strategy and its people.
Having established physical Learning Zones across its head offices in the first year of the plan, the second year saw the company bring learning to each desktop through an online learning management system called Learning Space. As well as providing a way to track learning achievements, it gives access to over 4,000 items of learning material. Nearly every employee has now actively used it, and so has helped put them in control of their own learning and development.
At the same time highest achievers were offered access to the 'Pru University' programme, an internal institution designed to develop a group of key managers and specialists committed to achieving our business goals. This concept was extended the following year to an 'Alumni' scheme, allowing those who studied together to work and develop together. A talent management process was also introduced to ensure leaders are properly assessed. "The Pru University is aimed at influential people, ambassadors and drivers of change, irrespective of grade, who can contribute to the development of the organisation and make a real difference to the business," says Head of Learning and Development Matthew Starks.
More recently the company has started to implement best practice in encouraging healthy lifestyles, which research suggests will reduce the burden of self-reported sickness absence. Although it is too early to say what the results have been, the company estimates that it will lead to a five per cent reduction in absence and a ten per cent reduction in cases of stress reported to Occupational Health. It estimates that the return will be £2 for every £1 spent on the project.
The Result
The company's level of business performance is quantified using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), an array of measures which come under the headings of 'cashflow', 'customer', 'people', 'risk and compliance', 'profit', and 'shareholder'.
Absence, employee turnover, performance and headcount remain fundamental human resource measurements that are closely linked to the people indicator. But other, more sophisticated variables are also fed in, including opinion-based elements drawn from an employee survey and from the Organisation Cultural Index (OCI), a characterisation of a company's culture. Honest dialogue, simplicity and people - all close to the company's desired brand values – are consistently the highest scoring values, suggesting the aim of developing understanding of these among employees has been successful.
Thanks to developments in its Learning & Development function, three-quarters of the Prudential's people now understand how they can access learning and development opportunities and 88 per cent feel personably accountable for their own development. The vast majority of people – 98 per cent - have also used Learning Space – the online learning management system.
A series of performance management initiatives has also delivered benefits. Self assessment by managers revealed that the number now rating their knowledge as 'good' has increased from 48 per cent to 92 per cent. Meanwhile an internal audit gave a positive evaluation of the performance review process with 88 per cent of people believing their review meetings to be open, honest and frank.
Linking internal communications with the strategy has proved an effective approach for Prudential. "There is now a greater connectivity with the strategy from the top and understanding of why things happen and the connections being made," says Matthew. As a result one of the Prudential's primary objectives – ensuring understanding of the 1,000 day plan among employees – has been achieved. The 'Living PRU' survey found that the percentage of people who said they understood their role within the plan increased from 71 per cent in 2004 to 94 per cent the following year.
External recognition has come on a number of levels for the company. Among a survey of 7,500 customers, 90 per cent of them said they were satisfied with the service provided. And on a business level, Prudential is also performing extremely well, posting a 33 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in 2005, well above market expectations.
The 1,000 day transformation process ended in October 2005 having inspired a period of profound organisational change and improvement in business performance. One of the most dramatic changes came in June 2003, still the first year of the three year programme, when Prudential opened a $10 million customer service centre in Mumbai, India's commercial capital.
In India, like everywhere it operates, the company has implemented continuous employee assessment and recognition and observes Investors in People's Leadership and Management, and Recruitment and Selection models. "We believe we are the first organisation in the UK to have achieved Investors in People accreditation which includes an offshore site as well." says Matthew.
"Delivering the 1,000 day plan was all about transforming our business. We have delivered everything we set out to do and it has put us in a great position.
"Achieving Investor in People and Champion status is a major endorsement of everything that we are trying to put in place," he adds.
As a Champion, Prudential intends to continue to build on its philosophy of sharing best practice. As well as being involved in a host of groups and forums, the company has worked alongside other organisations, including the Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions.
"We already share many of our activities through awards, articles, case studies and benchmarking forums," concludes Matthew. "But, as a Champion, we look forward to sharing our experience with other employers and showing how placing people at the heart of the business is the key to any organisation's success."
Though in a new phase of development, the company's commitment to the Investors in People Standard remains undiminished, as it attempts to build on its success and embark on the next stage of its strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors and 'Break away from the pack'.