West Bromwich Building Society
West Bromwich Building Society is an established financial institution dating back some 150 years. However it’s clear to see that the approach to the development of the management teams is far from old fashioned. As the UK’s 9th largest building society, the organisation is committed to its people and has invested in a range of people development processes for a variety of reasons.
For over 12 months, Eat the Elephant has been working with General Manager, Heather Foote’s, team of managers within West Bromwich Building Society (WBBS). The directors, Martin Rafe and Tracey Willmott of Eat the Elephant were asked to bridge a gap between the classroom learning that was being used internally and the reality of day-to-day implementation.
Ian Guest, Training Manager, could see that as external facilitators experienced in managing and nurturing the best from people, Eat the Elephant could bridge the gap between training courses and ‘real life’. What’s more, he also could see a huge benefit in learning skills directly from them to use in his own work of recruitment and retention of staff.
“Martin of Eat the Elephant explained how an established personal professional development profiling programme was an outstanding way to get to really know working strengths and behavioural limitations on the team and I could see an add-on benefit in my recruitment work too” commented Ian. “By understanding and gaining an insight into how people behave and what motivates the different people at our contact centre at WBBS, I could see how we could all work together much more effectively” he explained.
With this new opportunity in hand, Ian, together with Eat the Elephant, was able to facilitate a stepped change at the building society. The contact centre was redefined so the agents were not only able to provide a quality service at each customer contact but were also able to maximise that contact by selling additional, appropriate products and services.
Before carrying out this innovative approach to people development and recruitment, the managers ‘tested’ the insight into how people behave and were amazed at how accurate the results were, describing them as hitting the spot 100% By understanding how each other works within the our contact centre at WBBS, I could see management team, it has helped them each appreciate the how we could all work together much others’ roles.
" ...By understanding and gaining an insight into how people behave and what motivates the diff erent people at our contact centre at WBBS, I could see how we could all work together much more eff ectively "
It doesn’t mean the 4 managers always see eye to eye but it does mean they can understand how each person needs different qualities for the function they each perform in sales, training and operations. “We have also been trained by Eat the Elephant to be able to modify our behaviour which is a skill everyone needs to draw on for a harmonious and respectful workplace” commented Ian.
Ian profiled all the jobs within the 140-member strong contact centre and then went on to profile the existing team. “We were able to be very specific about the kinds of people who would be most suitable for the new roles available” explained Ian. “We had a good cross-section of people from the many areas within a contact centre, from sales to back office admin.”
As Ian manages all the training within the contact centre at WBBS, he is able to learn skills from Eat the Elephant and then pass them on internally. Behavioural profiling is now used for recruitment, performance appraisals, coaching and development with the organisation. “As a tool, profiling has added real substance to our development and recruitment process. We save money through employing people who are a better fit. We also know in which areas our people need development or motivation which is vital.”
The contact centre has been able to work out management strategy going forward through better understanding of its team players. “In terms of making the most of workshops and other management development, we need Eat the Elephant to mediate. I am too close and, as part of the management team, I need to bring in the knowledge of an external specialist to manage the balance” explained Ian.
12 months on and the team at the contact centre is totally different and Ian believes it is for the better. The people within the centre are more accurately matched to their roles and, as a result, happier and more likely to remain loyal to the organisation. The management team also has learned more about themselves and understands how to make progress, both for themselves and as a consequence, for the society.
In terms of the future, Ian plans to continue to use the development skills of Eat the Elephant. “Martin has been instrumental in the changes at the contact centre at the West Bromwich Building Society. He initially profiled 20 senior members here and they were blown away by the accuracy of his analysis” said Ian. “Technically sound and very professional, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Eat the Elephant to anyone” he finished.
“Ironically, I know for a fact that Martin modified his own behaviour when he was working with us here to enable us all to get on well. That shows he knows what he’s talking about, but even more impressive, he did it very naturally.”
"Martin has been instrumental in the changes at the contact centre at the West Bromwich Building Society. He initially profiled 20 senior members here and they were blown away by the accuracy of his analysis"