RBS 2013 Annual Report Download - page 9

07
Our purpose and values
We have a programme of change in place
that embeds a working culture which
celebrates challenge when business
decisions or behaviours are not in line
with our values. We have engaged
our employees to stimulate ideas and
change that ultimately results in material
improvements to the customer experience.
At the beginning of 2013, a personalised
letter launching the new purpose and values
was signed by the members of our Executive
Committee and sent to all of our employees.
Employees were invited to engage in an
open debate online to discuss the new
values – 25,000 joined that conversation.
Regional leadership workshops were
designed to build understanding and
engagement for more than 3,000 of our
leaders. Those leaders then engaged
locally to help their people understand
how the purpose and values were relevant
to their business area. By September,
66% of staff had been involved in a
conversation with their leader, and 93% of
those have a better understanding of the
relevance to their part of the business.
We made fundamental, lasting changes to
the way we do business by re-writing our
code of conduct and policy framework. Our
Code was an important milestone in our focus
on the customer and our values. Our Code
included a new decision making tool – the YES
Check. It is a simple guide to help employees
check whether they are making the right
decision in line with our purpose and values.
Mapped back to regulatory principles, the
YES Check was another important recognition
that the decisions we take everyday impact
our customers and our communities.
We have continued to professionalise
our customer facing staff, committing
to accredit them against professional
standards by the end of 2014.
We also changed the way we recognise
the best behaviours in the bank. We
launched Our Values Awards for all our
employees and nominations were submitted
of examples where people were living the
values and serving customers well.
New Leadership Standards were developed
to align them directly with our values. These
standards support Our Code and provide
us with a clear view of what is expected
from leaders and is being built into how
we recruit, develop and reward them.
We have made progress but we need
to continue to have a rigorous focus on
how to serve customers well, and work to
fully embed our values in everything we
do. Our employees believe in the goals
of RBS and already 1 in 2 people have
seen a change in how their team works.
More information on our progress in 2013 to
build an engaged and inclusive workforce
will be available in our RBS Sustainability
2013 Report at rbs.com/sustainable.