If Charlie Nunn is to achieve his growth objective of producing £1.5 billion of additional revenue by 2026 then the new relationship growth team is going to have to work. It’s now crystal clear to those who have taken up the new roles, that relationship growth is all about selling more products to more customers or referring them to mortgage and protection advisers and wealth advisers who, in turn, will sell them more products. In other words it’s going to be pressured sales with a new wrapper.
It’s that simple.
And to drive that point home, Lloyds has made it clear, in a presentation seen by the Union, that it’s looking to significantly increase the number of staff on structured support plans – fast routes to dismissal without proper representation. To put it bluntly, those who don’t perform will quickly be managed through the new performance policy – which was agreed by the in-house staff bodies – with the aim of sacking them.
Members whose performance is criticised in any way must contact the Union’s Advice Team immediately.
Branch staff will also be under increasing pressure to make sure that those customers with the new growth icon next to their names are referred to relationship managers. According to Lloyds, 18.7 million customers will have the growth icon and they will be those the Bank thinks will have the propensity to buy more products. 15.6 million customers will just get the basic level of service.
Lloyds is also planning to introduce individual dashboards for relationship managers in May and whilst there won’t be individual targets, so the Bank says, those dashboards will be used to monitor performance. The new relationship growth coaches will be comparing individual performance levels and will use that information when managing staff across their teams. We will be monitoring the use of those dashboards closely and any attempt to use league tables of any form will be vehemently opposed. Equally, any attempt to introduce sales targets by stealth will also be opposed by this union.
The language in Lloyds and Halifax is changing. Deepening ‘share of wallet’ and ‘cross sales’ together with a greater focus on the achievement of ‘clear growth objectives’ will have clear implications for the future culture of Lloyds & Halifax.
This is an important issue for the Union and its members in Lloyds and Halifax and we will return to it in more detail in future Newsletters.
The Thin End of the Wedge?
Many staff are being told their branches are going to close for one or two days a week and they will be expected to work from home taking customer calls. We believe this pilot will be rolled out later this year.
Whilst there will be many members who will welcome the opportunity to work from home, there will be many who simply can’t do it for personal and domestic reasons. Equally, many staff think this change will be the thin end of the wedge, with the Bank expecting them to work from home permanently in future.
Members who can’t work from home should contact the Union’s Advice Team for advice and guidance on 01234 262868 (Choose Option 1).
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