Professional Documents
Culture Documents
At RBS, we know it is important to have employees with diverse executives from the divisions. Progress
is reported quarterly to the General
talents and backgrounds. We employ over 136,000 people in 27
Executive Management Committee.
countries. Their understanding of the differing needs of our 35 • The hosting of employee focus groups,
million customers is the key to our success. to date with female and ethnic minority
employees, to discuss their experiences
As we grow, we will continue to embrace • As a global organisation, seeking to of working in RBS.
people from different countries and recognise demographics throughout the
backgrounds. We must therefore ensure we world and developing a workforce that
are providing an environment where all our understands and reflects local culture
employees feel included and valued. and responds appropriately.
We are committed to operating as a
meritocracy, where all employees can RBS will provide access to and engage in
develop their full potential - irrespective diverse markets by:
of their race, gender, marital status, age, • Welcoming customers of all backgrounds.
disability, religious belief, political opinion or • Making our products and services
sexual orientation. accessible.
Here we show how our diversity strategy • Seeking to become a leading provider of
influences the way we engage with our services to diverse markets.
customers and our employees.
Two factors underpin our strategy:
Strategy
Business Case
Our diversity strategy is more than just There is a clear moral case for diversity. But
“At RBS, it is our people who
words. It shapes the way we interact with there is also a compelling Business Case for
employees and customers at every level. Diversity.
deliver our success and
RBS fully accesses talent from the widest through them we operate an
possible human capital. We aim to create an Endorsement at Board and Senior equal, inclusive environment
equal, inclusive environment where current Executive level
where current talent is
talent is engaged and future talent attracted Our Chief Executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, has
by: demonstrated his personal commitment to
engaged and future talent
• Engaging people whatever their diversity through: attracted.”
background and progressing • The appointment of Gordon Pell, Sir Fred Goodwin 28th April 2005
them on merit. Executive Chairman, Retail Markets, as
• Ensuring that our behaviour does the main board director accountable
not discriminate or disadvantage for the delivery of the Group’s strategic
that talent. diversity programme. He holds a number
• Seeking out and removing barriers of external posts that complement his
to achievement. role within RBS, including that of a Board
member of Race for Opportunity. He is
We recognise and respond to changing also a member of the National Employers
demographics, social values and attitudes Panel.
that impact business by: • The approval of a Diversity Management
• Recognising UK demographics have Information Report and Strategic
changed and continue to change rapidly Action Plan which is endorsed by each
and that this has implications for our divisional Human Resources Director,
workforce. and supported by senior business
Diversity and Inclusion 3
Ways of Working
• Death of a dependant such as open learning, computer-based of compressed or variable hours within
• Change from full-time to part-time training, regional seminars and external teams can also give business areas more
(defined as a reduction in working hours courses, to ensure all employees have equal flexibility, allowing them to make better use
to less than 21 hours per week) access to training - irrespective of location, of property and equipment and improving
• Change in salary as a result of long-term working hours or preferred learning style. customer service by extending operating
disability We operate an internal job market with hours.
• Maternity/adoption Leave - a dedicated intranet site, @ppointments, to All policies and application procedures
commencement and return offer equality of access and opportunity for can be easily accessed online by employees
Further information is detailed in Working for everyone. and management, and there is a telephone
the Group. helpline in place for individual queries.
Talent Management
Equal Pay We recognise that our business objectives What Yourtime offers:
In order to ensure we comply with equal cannot be delivered effectively without Time Away From Work
pay legislation and good practice, we identifying talent and managing it within • Adoption Leave
have carried out a detailed assessment the organisation. We have ensured that • Dependants Leave
of how we match up against the Equal our tailored development programmes are • Holidays
Opportunities Commission Equal Pay fully inclusive both in terms of content and • Long Term Employment Break
criteria. As a result, we have enhanced our participant composition. • Short Term Employment Break
pay modelling toolkit, which is designed to The programmes that support our • Maternity
assess fairness and parity. We now carry Leadership Excellence Profile courses • Parental Leave
out regular reviews of our policies and are specifically designed to have global • Paternity Leave
practices in this area. applicability and be appropriate for • Sickness and Absence
Pay guidelines for managers are also individuals of any geographic or ethnic • Special Leave
intended to support Equal Pay principles background. For 2005, we have added • Winding Down to Retirement
an additional case study to the Executive
Talent Management and Development programme intended to Time At Work
Development prompt discussion on the business case for • Compressed Hours
diversity. • Homeworking
We have worked to ensure our training and • Job Sharing (register being piloted)
development programmes are open to all Work-Life Balance • Maternity/Adoption Phase back to Work
with material that reflects the diversity of our At RBS, we believe that giving employees • Part-time Working
employees and customers alike. the chance to balance their work and home • Term Time Working
lives effectively helps us attract and retain • Variable Hours
Development the best people. Throughout the Group we • Flexible Working Practices
Our suite of management training modules, encourage flexible working initiatives. All
Management Essentials, has been reviewed our employees have the right to ask to work In recognition of the real business benefits
to ensure that the appropriate messages on flexibly. Currently, 21% choose to work on a that Yourtime brings, the Department of
diversity and inclusion form a core element part-time basis Trade and Industry features Yourtime as an
of the learning process. Our award-winning Yourtime programme example of best practice in its handbook
enables our employees and managers for employers, “Flexible Working – The
All training materials are checked to to manage their time more effectively by Business Case”
ensure the language and images used providing a closer link between business
in them reflect the diverse nature of our needs and individual preferences. A wide
employees and customers, and every effort range of policy options is contained in
is made to accommodate the specific needs the programme and increasing numbers
of our disabled employees. We offer a of employees are now benefiting from
deliberately wide range of training options, our flexible working policies. The use
Diversity and Inclusion 6
Employees
Age
RBS is fully committed to promoting age
diversity. We assess our employees on the
Ageism at work is a bigger
basis of their skills, ability and potential, problem for people in their
not their age, and we seek to eliminate age late teens than those in their
‘stereotyping’. Employment and personal/
career development opportunities are
50s: 25% of school leavers
available, irrespective of a person’s age, have faced age discrimination
as are the flexible working options offered compared with 21% of those
in our Yourtime programme. We recognise
there are different times in an individual’s
over 50 and 18% of those
working life when they may wish to take a over 60.
short break in their career in order to pursue
personal interests or merely reduce their Although people in their
hours to have more free time. We aim to 30s are at the ‘peak’ of their
consider these requests in order to retain Working beyond retirement
career they’re under the most
skill, knowledge and experience. Sheila Topsfield, age 60, works for
We play an active role as members of pressure at work and least Credit Card Operations, Southend-on-
Age Positive and the Employers Forum on want to be there. Just 54% of Sea. Sheila continues to work as she
Age (EFA). For example, we sponsored enjoys her team and the work she is
those in their 30s are happy doing for the Group. Sheila and her
the EFA Age Toolkit, a diagnostic tool for
profiling age within an organisation and with their work-life balance husband are saving for a trip of a
lifetime to New Zealand in 2006.
identifying age-related issues. and just 17% are happy to
We also co-sponsored the EFA’s “Age at
work until they’re 70 - the
Work Decades Research” survey. Based on
around 1,600 interviews with people across lowest numbers among all age
the UK, this is designed to help develop groups.
an understanding of age at work. The
Executive Summary quotes “people of all People in their 50s and 60s
ages are motivated to change and develop aren’t all rushing to retire:
but are being held back by an outdated
idea of careers where young people start at
30% of people are happy to
the bottom and retirement is a cliff edge at work until they’re 70 and 13%
the peak.” dread retirement, a feeling that
We regularly review our policies and
practices to ensure they comply with the
increases with age.
principle of age diversity, and for employees Age at Work Decades Research survey
who wish to work beyond retirement, we
have introduced a flexible retirement policy.
Diversity and Inclusion 7
Employees
Disability
We are committed to eliminating
discrimination on the grounds of disability by: There are approximately 8.6
• Interviewing all disabled job applicants
who meet the minimum selection criteria
million disabled people in the
for a job vacancy and considering each UK covered by the Disability
on his or her ability. Discrimination Act, which
• Ensuring that all disabled employees are
smoothly and effectively inducted into the
represents around 15 percent
Group. of the population.
• Working in partnership with employees
to develop reasonable and practicable Most disabled people acquire
workplace adjustments to allow their disability during their
them to perform their jobs effectively.
working life or later. By the
We have arranged for workplace
assessment and advice to be provided year 2010, 40% of the UK
to line managers through our external population will be over 45 - the Disabled access in the workplace
occupational health supplier, Capita Rosa Cavedaschi, 33 years old,
age at which the incidence of works part time for Enfield Customer
Health Solutions, where necessary. In
addition, all of our employee intranet disability begins to increase Telephony Centre. She has worked for
the Group for 15 years. In 1997 Rosa
sites are fully compliant with the Disability significantly. was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Discrimination Act (DDA).
She feels that the “all-access” level
• Making every effort to retain employees Of the 2.8 million disabled facilities, including disabled toilets,
who become disabled while in the people on state benefits and at the Centre meet the needs of an
employment of the Group. employee such as herself operating in
not in work nearly a million
• Introducing our Online Disability a wheelchair.
Awareness training programme which is would like to work.
mandatory for all of our employees in the Employers' Forum on Disability website
UK and Ireland. This programme ensures
that employees develop an understanding
and awareness of disability. There is an
additional module for line managers.
Gender
Promoting gender equality is not only Specifically in relation to childcare
the right thing to do, it makes business responsibilities, we have developed 58% of RBS employees in the
sense. It allows us to draw on the widest generous maternity, paternity and adoption UK are female.
possible pool of talent and use it effectively. policies to further support work-life balance
Despite the fact that women account for and to reinforce our position as an employer 17% of our senior managerial
60% of our employees, they make up 72% of choice.
and executive roles are held
of our clerical employees and are under-
represented at senior management and Sponsorship by women.
executive levels. To change that, a series of
initiatives has been put in place: • Opportunity Now:
92% of our part-time
We participate in Opportunity Now, employees are female.
Feedback a business-led campaign that works RBS group, August 2005
Our Group Chief Executive, Sir Fred with employers to realise the economic
Goodwin, held a focus group for female potential and business benefits that
employees in which he committed to take women at all levels contribute to the
action to address the challenges women workforce.
face in climbing the corporate ladder. Opportunity Now conducts the UK’s
single largest benchmarking survey on
Equal Pay gender equality and diversity activity in
We carry out regular pay reviews in the workplace. RBS in the UK and Ulster
accordance with the Equal Opportunities Bank in Ireland were awarded Gold
Commission Equal Pay criteria. Rigorous Standard for 2004.
checks are in place to compare male/female In addition, RBS sponsors the annual
bonuses for full-time/part-time employees awards programme which recognises
at different levels of seniority and across exceptional progress in organisations
different ethnic backgrounds. Any working towards gender equality and
discrepancies are rectified. diversity.
Sexual Orientation
We have a culture at RBS that accepts
employees regardless of their sexual
orientation. This is borne out by the 2004
Employee Opinion Survey in which 82% of
respondents group-wide agreed with the
statement: “The Division provides a working
environment that is accepting of sexual
orientation of employees.”
In keeping with our commitment to
equality, the provision of benefits at RBS
is identical for all our employees and their
partners, regardless of sexuality, ethnicity,
disability or gender. However, we are
also undertaking an audit to ensure all
our processes and procedures for both
customers and employees conform with the
impending Civil Partnership legislation.
In addition, to help us better understand
the needs and aspirations of our lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender employees,
we have signed up as a Diversity Champion
with Stonewall.
Diversity and Inclusion 11
Customers
RfO website
At the same time, we play a role in the We also participate in broader corporate
wider business community promoting best
Benchmarking responsibility surveys, some of which
practice in this area through sponsorship These are the main diversity benchmarking contain an element relating to diversity.
and award programmes. activities in the UK and Ireland in which we They include:
participate:
Partners Great Place to Work:
Opportunity Now Benchmarking Process: Employees in 24 countries are surveyed
Listed are the main diversity organisations Opportunity Now conducts the UK’s annually about the level of trust and the
we partner, together with the role we play in single largest benchmarking survey on quality of the relationships that exist
them: gender equality and diversity activity in between themselves and management.
the workplace. Both RBS in the UK and The UK and EU Best Workplaces lists are
Age Positive: Champion, and member of the Ulster Bank in Ireland were awarded Gold published in the UK by the Financial Times.
Age Positive Steering Group in Scotland Standard in 2004.
Best Company to Work For:
Employers Forum on Age: Core Member The RfO Benchmark: The Sunday Times Best Companies surveys
Race for Opportunity benchmarking is a the opinion of more than 130,000 UK
Employers Forum for Belief: Founder unique tool that enables an organisation employees to find out which companies
Member to evaluate how it matches up against a are the best to work for. The findings are
range of criteria. It gives organisations published annually in a Sunday Times
Employers Forum on Disability: Core Funder the opportunity to both measure and Supplement each spring.
– Gold Card demonstrate the effectiveness of their race/
diversity strategy. We were awarded Gold Business in the Community:
Race for Opportunity: Champion, and Board Standard in 2005. Membership of Business in the Community
Member (Gordon Pell,Executive Chairman, (BITC) commits a company continually to
Retail Marketsand RBS main Board Diversity improve its impact on society. Members
Champion) commit to:
• Manage, measure and integrate
Opportunity Now: Member, and Sponsor of responsible business practice throughout
the Opportunity Now Awards 2005 their business.
• Impact through collaborative action to
Stonewall: Diversity Champion tackle disadvantage.
• Inspire, innovate, and lead by sharing
Women in Banking and Finance: Platinum learning and experience.
Sponsor
Diversity and Inclusion 14
External Partnerships
Sponsorship
These are some of diversity events and Everywoman:
organisations we sponsor: This is the leading online network and
resource provider for women business
Opportunity Now Awards 2005: owners. NatWest provides financial
Opportunity Now is a business-led guidance on the site. It also sponsors
campaign that works with employers to the NatWest Everywoman Awards and
realise the economic potential and business co-sponsors the Everywoman Grow Your
benefits that women at all levels contribute Business national and regional conferences.
to the workforce. RBS sponsors the annual
awards programme which recognises Age at Work Decades Research Project:
exceptional progress in organisations RBS co-sponsored the Employers Forum
working towards gender equality and on Age “Age at Work Decades Research”
diversity. project. Based on around 1,600 interviews
with people across the UK, this was a
survey designed to help develop an
understanding of age at work. O2 Ability Awards 2005
Ray Gammell, HR Director Ulster Bank
and Eimear Berwick, HR, with Roy
Diversity Conference 2005:
Keane, footballer, at the presentation
RBS was one of the headline sponsors at
of the O2 Ability Awards on 2nd
the inaugural DTI Conference on Diversity, February 2005.
a two-day event bringing together many of
the UK’s leading employers to explore and
exchange best practice ideas.
Awards
We are proud to have won the following
recent awards: