Throwing off the past for a make or break turnaround
"The work done around corporate values has undoubtedly been instrumental in bringing a commercial edge to the business, as well as fostering an atmosphere of cooperation’
Investors in People Report, Institute of Financial Services
Attiva has helped the Institute of Financial Services reinvent itself by channelling the energy of its employees in a new, customer-led direction.
The Business Challenge Make or break
Turbulent times in the banking and financial services sector had left the industry’s professional body facing extinction. The qualifications and services offered by the 120-year-old Chartered Institute of Bankers’ (CIB) had become largely irrelevant to an industry now populated by a hugely diverse range of professionals with a multitude of skills.
New Chief Executive, Gavin Shreeve faced a daunting task: to turn the CIB from a dying, bureaucratic institution into a customer-focused, solutions provider. "I needed to create a flexible, risk-taking, innovative organisation, capable of supporting financial services organisations in their battle for competitive edge,” he explains.
Attiva’s Brief Driving Attitudes
Gavin signalled the changes with a new brand, the Institute of Financial Services. He then brought in new people with new skills. "I needed to create an organisation with a ‘can-do, will-do’ attitude and a determination to beat the opposition,” he says. It was an exciting time.
But something was missing. As the old culture disappeared, a vacuum was created. Employees became increasingly confused about how to get things done and what should take priority.
"There was a lot of energy and creativity buzzing about, but we needed to steer it in the right direction,” explains Gavin.
"Attiva listened carefully to my needs, and showed a real understanding of the unique population and situation I was dealing with,” he continues. "I didn’t want employees paying lip-service to platitudes. I wanted one core value that would inspire people and drive the business forward.”
The Solution Energy to win
As the first step in the solution, Attiva took the management team through a process to find the core value that would be meaningful, realistic and deliver to the business. Customer input was central to the discussion. The result was Winning, defined as "By being a winning team, we will provide products and services that allow our customers to be winners in their career.”
With the core driver established, the top team defined how people would need to work together to win in practice. A number of guiding principles, such as the need to think and act commercially and the need to cooperate to achieve were identified.
Attiva then created a tailored process that would be the lynchpin in releasing individuals’ energy, and achieving a step-change in attitude. Each department and team worked through the bigger picture to understand what the Institute stood for, and then interpreted what the values meant in their day-to-day jobs. Once the initial buy-in was achieved, further steps were designed to sustain momentum.
Impact on the business Turnaround success story
"Our Investors in People (IIP) assessor noticed a stunning difference in staff attitudes,” says Gavin. "As his report states: In terms of culture, there has been a noticeable shift in respect of client focus, and the work done around corporate values has undoubtedly been instrumental in bringing a commercial edge to the business, as well as fostering an atmosphere of co-operation.”
With a tripling of turnover in six years, and now in profit, the Institute appears well placed to be a winning force in the Financial Services industry in the 21st century.