RBS 2012 Annual Report Download - page 348

Business divestments
To comply with the European Commission State aid requirements the
Group agreed a series of restructuring measures to be implemented over
a four year period from December 2009. These measures supplement
the Strategic Plan previously announced by the Group. These include the
divestment of Direct Line Insurance Group plc, the sale of 80.01% of the
Group’s Global Merchant Services business (completed in 2010) and the
sale of substantially all of the RBS Sempra Commodities joint venture
business (largely completed in 2010), as well as the divestment of the
RBS branch-based business in England and Wales and the NatWest
branches in Scotland, along with the direct SME customers across the
UK.
In 2010, the Group reached agreement with Santander UK plc
(‘Santander’) on the sale of certain UK branch-based businesses broadly
comprising the RBS branch-based business in England and Wales, and
the NatWest branch-based business in Scotland, along with certain SME
and corporate activities across the UK. However, in October 2012, the
Group announced Santander’s decision to pull out of the agreement.
RBS is continuing to work to fulfil its obligations to divest these
businesses.
Also in October 2012, the Group sold 34.7% of its interest in Direct Line
Insurance Group plc through an initial public offering. This is the first step
in meeting the requirement to cede control by the end of 2013 and
complete full divestment by the end of 2014.
Employees
As at 31 December 2012, the Group employed 137,200 employees (full-
time equivalent basis) throughout the world. Details of employee related
costs are included in Note 3 on the consolidated accounts.
The Group operates certain employee share plans in which eligible
employees are able to participate and which align the interests of
employees with those of shareholders.
Employee learning and development
The Group maintains a strong commitment to providing all its employees
with the opportunity to grow through learning and development, which in
turn helps to achieve business objectives and drive excellent customer
service. Supporting the professionalisation of our front line staff, this year
more than 6,000 of our customer facing employees participated in
accredited development programmes. This helps our employees deliver
the best service to our customers whilst working towards a recognised
professional standard.
Employee communication
Employee engagement is encouraged through a range of communication
channels, at both divisional and Group level. These channels provide
access to news and information in a number of ways, including the
intranet, magazines, video, team meetings led by line managers,
briefings held by senior managers and regular dialogue with employees
and employee representatives.
The Group Chief Executive and other senior Group executives regularly
communicate with, and encourage feedback from, employees across a
range of channels.
Employee feedback
Every year since 1999, through the Your Feedback survey, employees in
all our businesses have shared their thoughts about what it’s like working
for RBS. These insights inform what the Group needs to do to improve
the way it works, whether it’s a local issue or something that affects
everyone. Apart from an opportunity to listen to employees, the survey
also enables the Group to monitor levels of employee satisfaction and
engagement and how these compare with other companies.
Employee consultation
The Group recognises employee representative organisations such as
trade unions and work councils in a number of businesses and countries.
The Group has a European Employee Council that provides elected
representatives with an opportunity to understand better the Group’s
European operations.
Diversity and inclusion
During 2012, the Group executive renewed its commitment to making
workplace policies, processes and experiences inclusive for staff,
customers and stakeholders. In support of this, Group HR has set
inclusion within its top priorities for 2013.
Inclusion is built into various policy areas and people management
processes. For example; the Group continues to support disabled people
ensuring they have equal opportunities in recruitment, employment,
promotion and training.
The Group also supports employee led networks such as Focused
Women and Rainbow who provide personal and career development
opportunities through networking and training events.
This commitment to inclusion extends to supporting and participating in
positive action programmes outside of the Group aimed at cultivating
future leaders including ‘An Inspirational Journey’, the FTSE-100 cross-
company mentoring and Glass Ladder programmes. The Group
continues to maintain its involvement with external charitable networks
and events such as Manchester Pride.
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Report of the directors continued