Lloyds Banking Group – Winner 2018, Best Large Private Sector Employer Award
Lloyds Banking Group has integrated family friendly working throughout its business. From being up-front about flexibility in job adverts and offering enhanced maternity and Shared Parental Leave to facilitating an enormous employee support network and running a successful programme for people returning to work after a career break, its family friendly polices permeate everything it does.
Key Points
- Agile working open to all staff
- 85% of employees feel the Group encourages agile working
- 32,025 employees working in agile way
The Group has been campaigning internally to promote agile working for the last few years. With active support from senior staff and concerted, continuous communication with employees and managers, a culture shift is well under way.
Staff surveys for the Group show 42.7 per cent – or 32,025 employees – now have an agile working arrangement in place, up from 30.3 per cent in 2016.
Around 100 agile working applications are made each month and 93 per cent are approved.
A total of 85 per cent of employees feel the Group encourages agile working, up from 76 per cent in 2016.
Flexibility begins at the recruitment stage with 93 per cent of roles now advertised as agile.
The Group offers extended maternity leave of up to 63 weeks, enhanced pay for maternity, adoption and Shared Parental Leave. It also offers partners the chance to take extended leave and parents can take time off for things like supporting their children starting school.
Last year a new coaching programme was launched for employees going on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave to help manage business issues and maintain performance throughout a major life transition. So far, 1,000 employees have registered.
The Group also launched its new Family Matters employee network, which currently has 9,000 members and supports staff to manage parenting and caring responsibilities alongside work demands and career progression.
The Group runs a successful Returners Programme targeting professional women and men who have been on a career break of two years or more.
I use several different agile practices to help balance my work and home life looking after my adopted daughters. I work a compressed week, mainly from home and also use tools like the Good application and WebEx. The concept of agile working is now well embedded and this is an efficient way to work that allows me to fully balance my work and family life whilst also pursuing a meaningful career.
Cathy Meston, senior manager, Retail Banking