July 2020 isn’t a time many people look back on with great fondness. We were living through the peak of the pandemic and trying to safely support people and their communities in an incredibly anxious period, while following what seemed like ever-changing rules.
In the midst of all this, we at TSB launched our responsible business strategy. We had always planned to launch at that time – we had already consulted our colleagues earlier in the year. While the pandemic made us pause for thought, ultimately, we decided that public opinion favoured businesses stepping up and doing more, so we pressed ahead.
Although Covid was a watershed moment, in many ways we now find ourselves at an even more critical point for businesses to show they can contribute to making the world a better place. So, this seems like the perfect time to look back five years and identify five key learnings: lessons which might be helpful for others to consider as they try to demonstrate to the public that they make the biggest difference they can.
How we developed our “Do What Matters” Plan
First, some background. This was not a bolt-on ESG strategy. It was deliberately designed to meet national and international standards, but be set out in a simple, inclusive way to help everyone involved in our business have the biggest positive impact on society.
As custodians of the TSB brand, which traces its origins back to the start of the savings bank movement, we challenged ourselves to live up to our founding legacy. We consulted widely – garnering the views of customers, colleagues and stakeholders – and we were heavily guided by the principles of the recently launched Good Business Charter (GBC) – the brainchild of ‘ethical capitalist’ Julian Richer which had been recently backed by the CBI and TUC.
The result was what we called, in true Ronseal fashion, our “Do What Matters” Plan (DWMP). Our then CEO, Debbie Crosbie, unveiled it and our GBC accreditation in an interview with Ian King on Sky News.
Five years, four prime ministers, three chief executives, and two chairs later, the DWMP remains central to our business strategy. Not some kind of add-on, but a core part of the way we work and create value for stakeholders across the UK.
We’d be the first to admit we’ve not always got everything right, but we have tried to use the plan to make us a better business. I’m delighted that Headland, our long-term communications agency, has now signed up to GBC too.
Lesson 1: Think big, but try to act small (and fast)
TSB can’t compete with other banks on scale of operations and reach, but with the right understanding, intent and agility we can act much faster. We have aligned the DWMP with gold standards, but kept it simple and easy to understand so everyone can lean in.
This has allowed us to focus our efforts on doing what clearly matters to the goals we have set out, but also helped us move quickly and with purpose to take leadership positions for others to follow.
A good example was the stance we took on Fraud – becoming the first bank to guarantee that every innocent victim of fraud would be refunded. Six years on, and the banking industry now has a standardised approach for protecting victims of fraud.
Lesson 2: Doing well, by doing good
Patrick Cescau described the turnaround he led at Unilever as “doing well by doing good”. This was an idea which we have consistently tried to apply to TSB. The DWMP has never been about just being kind. It’s about making TSB a better business and a trusted brand – reducing risks, driving discretionary effort and ensuring we stay relevant for the long-term – all of which catalyse strong financial performance.
Our leading approach to diversity and inclusion is a good example of something that gives us a better, more productive and highly competitive workforce – and is a magnet for attracting talent to TSB.
Lesson 3: Relevance and timing
While it’s important to cast the net wide in considering how we can contribute to society, sometimes projects need to develop, or the environment around them needs to evolve for them to make a real impact. You also need to get out and track down the experts and advocates to make things happen.
It’s amazing what fresh perspective around the leadership table, or a change in or within government can do to turn solid projects into strategic solutions. We’ve seen this first-hand with our Flee Fund for victims of domestic abuse which has been heralded by the new Government as it seeks to deliver on its mission to tackle violence against women and girls.
Lesson 4: Automatic for the people
We named the programme after one of our behaviours: “Do what matters.” We incorporated it into our business strategy, and we’ve all had it in our variable pay objectives since launch.
The core team running the programme remains the same size, so its increasing impact comes from the way the whole business has got behind it as part of their everyday work – both in the small incremental changes, as well as long-term things like incorporating Net Zero targets into our product and service design.
Consistently throughout the past five years more than 85% of colleagues tell us they understand their role in delivering the DWMP. A remarkable statistic when we consider that around 5,000 colleagues work at TSB.
Lesson 5: Good as gold
There’s no shortage of corporate gongs on offer and, at times, we have been guilty of being pre-occupied with diverting precious time and budget to entering awards. Although these can be a good way to recognise those who have driven projects, the true sense of achievement comes when our people tell us the difference that they see us making.
I read these every day on our internal social site, Viva Engage, but also powerfully and publicly when, for example, colleagues who have caring responsibilities speak at Parliamentary events on the case for paid carers leave.
Looking back to move forward
The size of a company should not limit the impact it should aspire to have, as I hope this illustrates. TSB was a very good business for years before the DWMP, but over the past five years I hope that we’ve helped it to be an even better one – and set it up for continued success for the next five years and beyond.
Read more Insights & News