What makes a high performing organisation was discussed at a recent meeting of directors and senior executives from Lloyds Banking Group. We understand from numerous sources that Sharon Doherty, Chief People and Places Officer, said in high performing organisations you would expect 5% of your employees [3,150] at anyone time to be managed through structured support, with half of that population leaving the organisation. That’s not happening in Lloyds.
Now older members will recall that ‘rank and yank’ was an assessment method developed by Jack Welch, the now discredited CEO of General Electric, in the 1980s. Devoid of individual judgement and like lemmings heading towards a cliff, many organisations adopted the same or similar methods including Lloyds.
In Jack’s world employees were divided into three categories: ‘A’ players who should be rewarded; ‘B’ players who should be accommodated and ‘C’ players [10% of employees] who should be dismissed. And that ‘ranking and yanking’, as it became known, was carried out every year. It soon became clear that those kinds of assessment methods didn’t work and many organisations including GE quietly moved away from such methods. Lloyds had its own forced distribution curve which it eventually got rid of following a long campaign by this union.
There aren’t ratings in Lloyds anymore, but line managers will increasingly come under pressure to identify those employees whose performance should be managed more closely through ‘structured support’. And those who don’t meet the required standards will be ‘yanked’ out of the Bank. Now Lloyds will deny that’s happening, of course it will, but over the next few months we’ll see more staff being managed through ‘structured support’, which means action plans, formal review meetings and eventually dismissal on grounds of capability. The GEC will be monitoring statistics in Workday to ensure the 5% target is being achieved.
Advice & Representation Is Key
Contacting us after months of criticism and at the end of a formal action plan, with a final review meeting about to commence, is a recipe for disaster.
We need to hear from members as soon as there is any hint of criticism of their performance or as soon as it becomes obvious that for whatever reason it is not possible to deliver what line managers want with the resources and time available. Specifically, when members hear the words ‘structured support’ they should contact the Union immediately. You’re in the departure lounge and only this Union is going to stop you being ‘yanked’ from the Bank.
Members with any questions should contact the Union’s Advice Team on 01234 262868 (Option 1).
MEMBERS SHOULD PASS THIS NEWSLETTER ON TO THEIR COLLEAGUES IN HALIFAX & LLOYDS SO THEY TOO CAN BENEFIT FROM THE ONLY INDEPENDENT TRADE UNION IN LLOYDS BANKING GROUP.