CHALLENGE

  • Our client, one of the UK’s leading high street building societies, wanted to address issues concerning its organisational culture in an effort to embed ‘treating customers fairly’ (TCF) due to the regulator’s focus. Our client realised that they had ignored the extent to which TCF was embedded into their culture.
  • The firm were aware that their activities were disparate and largely tactical and that nothing seemed to connect the growing number of initiatives that had been classified as ‘culture’. They were conscious that the initiatives they had launched needed to be brought together under one over-arching framework that would drive all activity associated with embedding TCF into their culture.
  • The vast amount of data collected meant it was increasingly difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from the data and pinpoint how TCF would be integrated and embedded into their culture.
  • We were invited to provide support to the firm with our extensive TCF expertise to review their existing and divided TCF and MI.

ACTION

  • We interviewed senior management to gain an understanding of the problem statement and the requirements they had in each of their own business areas.
  • We analysed their current TCF strategy against the corporate values to ensure management information focused on demonstrating the values of the firm were being translated into the services and products the firm provided.
  • We reviewed the entirety of the TCF data that was available and provided recommendations to help the firm move towards measuring customer outcomes rather than concentrating on the internal process.
  • We built a TCF dashboard and refined the TCF raw data needed to feed the dashboard, covering the six TCF outcomes in different business areas; culture, products and services, clear information, advice or informed choice, client expectations and barriers to services.
  • We interviewed staff and identified the key behaviours that staff would need to adopt to ensure that the corporate values and TCF strategy were demonstrated in day to day practices.
  • We conducted an assessment of our client’s culture across functions, business units and different tiers of management and staff.
  • We facilitated workshops to “roll out” the new TCF strategy and supporting reporting mechanisms, ensuring that all staff were aware how they fitted into the firm’s wider TCF strategy and where they could make a difference.

RESULT

  • We removed the complexity that existed in the firm’s disparate management information. The firm now has a simple framework and a useable TCF programme that measures customer outcomes rather than internal SLAs and satisfaction.
  • TCF is now embedded into the business as usual activities of each member of staff, who are now empowered and informed.
  • Our client accelerated its programme to embed TCF into its culture, helping to meet regulatory expectations.
  • The Head of the TCF Programme at the bank stated that Huntswood “provided the ‘infrastructure’ and support that stopped the programme from crumbling!”