State of Engagement 2026 Report |
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Ten years ago, Vida Bank set out on its journey as an FCA-regulated business. Today, it operates under both FCA and PRA regulations, boasting a talent pool of over 240 people across the UK.
How do you scale a business so quickly, transition into a fully agile working model, and still manage to improve your Employee Engagement from a Best Companies 1-Star ‘Very Good’ accreditation to an impressive 2-Star ‘Outstanding’ status?
According to Vida Bank’s leadership team, the secret lies in a focus on communication, a radical approach to workplace wellbeing and an unshakeable trust in their people.
“Achieving our Best Companies 2-Star accreditation is a proud moment for everyone at Vida Bank. Our purpose - helping more people find a place to call home - is central to who we are as a business, and it shapes the culture we’re building for our colleagues, customers and communities. As we’ve grown as a business and embraced agile ways of working, we’ve remained committed to creating an environment where people feel trusted, supported and empowered to succeed.”
Anth Mooney, CEO, Vida Bank
When the pandemic forced businesses into lockdown, many viewed remote working as a temporary hurdle. Vida Bank’s leadership team saw it as an evolutionary turning point. Recognising the immense benefits of a wider talent pool and eliminated commutes, the bank made a permanent, conscious shift to a hybrid agile working model. Today, 80% of their workforce operates on home contracts.
Transitioning to a permanent remote structure meant traditional office touchpoints have changed and the business had to deliberately reinvent how it stays connected.
To bridge the physical distance, Vida Bank introduced a blend of structured and informal communication channels. Every Friday features a weekly roundup blog from CEO Anth Mooney, mixing business updates with personal insights. This is supported by quarterly "Connect" calls that feature spotlight sessions from different business areas and "Ask Anth Anything" open Q&A sessions.
"Our biggest challenge as an organisation is we've had such big growth", explains Managing Director - People, Jennie Walton. "Having been here since its start 10 years ago, the journey's been rapid, which has been fantastic. But what we've been very conscious of is how we take the organisation with us on that journey. As we grow as an organisation, as we grow in our headcount, how do we protect our culture and our engagement."
Jennie highlights that this cultural preservation required a complete rethink of internal communication to replicate what was lost when adopting a hybrid agile approach.
"We've been very conscious about the natural connection points that you would have had in an office environment are no longer there across the whole of Vida and we have had to change traditional forms of engagement with our colleagues and our community to ensure we keep the business with us on that journey."
A key part of making this journey engaging is adopting an approachable and relatable leadership style. Jennie highlights that, during events such as “Wear it Green Day”, the CEO fully embraces the spirit of the occasion: “He even shared a photo of himself in a striking green velvet suit. He brings a sense of fun alongside the more structured business elements”. This balance helps create an inclusive and enjoyable culture, as the organisation makes a conscious effort to connect with people in a variety of meaningful ways.
While digital connection keeps the wheels turning, the bank also recognises the irreplaceable value of face-to-face interaction. Every September, the entire organisation comes together in London for an annual summer gathering, an event that will carry extra weight this year as the bank celebrates its 10th anniversary.
“There is a significant amount of effort that goes into organising that event, as it may be the only opportunity for some colleagues to connect face-to-face due to our agile model”, says Iain Gibbons, Managing Director of Marketing. “The Senior leadership are fully present — engaging in conversations and spending time within teams. It’s ultimately about showing up in a way that is genuine and authentic.”
Vida Bank also uses colleague moments like these to connect its culture with its wider purpose. Through its long-standing partnership with Crisis, the national homelessness charity, colleagues are encouraged to support fundraising and volunteering activity that reflects the bank’s belief that everyone should have a safe place to call home. Together, Vida colleagues have raised nearly £225,000 for Crisis since the partnership began, including more than £45,000 in 2025 alone.
Perhaps the most striking pillar of Vida Bank’s culture is its refreshing take on employee wellness. Two years ago, the bank took a sledgehammer to traditional corporate bureaucracy by introducing "V-Time"; a policy designed to throw out standard HR "boxes" for personal leave.
Instead of prescribing a rigid number of compassionate or emergency leave days, Vida Bank encourages open dialogue between colleagues and managers, trusting staff to take the time they need when life throws a curveball. Whether it is dealing with a broken-down car, navigating a mental health challenge or grieving the loss of a family pet, the time is there.
"Most organisations have boxes for stuff. And we wanted to take the boxes away and just recognise that life happens", Jennie explains. "From a wellbeing perspective, we very much promote a culture of trust, as in we know that life happens and when life happens, we want to be there to support our people... people need to have an environment that they can be open within so that people get the best out of themselves at work as well as manage the challenges of life at the same time."
While sceptics might worry that a policy this open could be taken advantage of, the reality has been entirely positive.
"When I talk to friends who work in other businesses, and I mention V-Time, they look at me and say , 'How on earth can you do that? Surely everybody's just off all the time then?’” notes Iain. "And that's not the case. Our people really appreciate and value the commitment. They know it's a genuine, honest approach from the business to look after them."
This philosophy of trust and psychological safety is mirrored at the very top. Members of the leadership team actively write blogs and speak openly on all-colleague calls about their own mental health journeys. This vulnerability is reinforced by practical infrastructure, including a dedicated network of 10 trained mental health first aiders, a comprehensive employee assistance programme and Vitality healthcare benefits.
A caring culture doesn’t mean taking your foot off the gas when it comes to professional development. To support people with their growth Vida Bank launched a comprehensive Learning & Development framework.
Every employee is set an annual target of a minimum of 6 hours of personal development in a space of their choosing. Furthermore, the bank launched two highly successful internal initiatives: the Leader Development Programme (focused on soft skills like emotional intelligence, assertiveness, and remote networking) and an aspiring leaders program. The investment is already paying massive dividends, with five members of the initial 14-person cohort earning swift promotions to the senior leadership team.
The bank is also staying ahead of the technological curve by leaning heavily into generative AI. Rather than siloing the technology within IT, Vida Bank is making it available for everyone.
"One of the things that we're doing this year is launching a series of internally created e-learning modules... we want everybody to become well-versed in how to use AI to make their jobs easier", says Learning & Development Specialist, Ben Sambrook.
To support this rollout, the bank established an AI Champions Forum that meets monthly to share best practices and build on-the-fly solutions. Crucially, the forum levels the traditional hierarchy, bringing together voices ranging from senior directors right through to junior mortgage lending administrators.
For Vida Bank, partnering with Best Companies in 2021 was an intentional decision to gain an independent, honest and anonymous benchmark of their health as an employer.
The strategy is working. The bank’s recent leap to a 2-star status stands as proof that their cultural strategies are translating into a genuinely happy workforce. The data from the surveys isn't just used as a badge of honour; it is actively utilised to drive continuous improvement.
“To move from a one-star to a two-star accreditation was incredibly rewarding, because while we invest a great deal of effort into culture and ways of working, you don’t truly know how well they’re resonating until you see the survey results”, says Jennie. “We valued the independence that Best Companies provides, alongside access to benchmark data that shows how we compare with other organisations. Equally, the consistency of measurement and the assurance of anonymity are both paramount and incredibly important to us.”
Through the bank's Employee Network Forum and the Vida Voice workstream, representatives from every department dissect the Best Companies survey data, look at team-level heat maps and collaborate directly with colleagues to build tailored action plans.
With an incredibly low staff turnover rate, high manager approval ratings and a clear vision for the future, Vida Bank has proven that you don't need a massive physical headquarters to build an incredibly tight-knit, high-performing community.
As Ben concludes: “We’ll cascade the results across the organisation. The next step for teams is to develop targeted action plans that both sustain the areas where we are performing strongly and address those where scores were lower. The aim is to build on this momentum and close the gap to achieving a three-star rating next year, particularly as we were already very close”.
Anth Mooney – Chief Executive Officer, Vida Bank
Anth Mooney joined Vida Bank as Chief Executive Officer in January 2020, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in financial services. His career spans senior roles across banking, mortgages and consumer finance, including executive positions at Northern Rock and Virgin Money.
With deep expertise in the mortgage and savings markets, Anth has built a strong reputation for delivering commercial results and executing effective growth strategies. Since joining Vida, he has led a significant transformation of the business – reshaping its organisational structure, strengthening the senior leadership team, and establishing a clear, scalable strategy focused on consistent service for intermediary partners and sustainable corporate growth.
These efforts culminated in authorisation by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority in late 2024, formally marking Vida’s transition into a fully authorised bank.
Anth is passionate about building a purpose-driven organisation underpinned by a strong, values-led culture. His leadership has positioned Vida Bank for long-term success, enabling the business to move forward with confidence as it delivers on its ambitious growth plans.
Beyond Vida Bank, Anth plays an active role in shaping the wider industry. He is Chair of the Specialist Lender Forum at UK Finance and Deputy Chair of Mortgage PSB.
Jennie Walton, Managing Director - People
Jennie Walton is a highly accomplished, forward-thinking HR executive with a decade of deep-rooted experience at Vida Bank, having been a pivotal part of the organisation since its inception 10 years ago. As a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (FCIPD), Jennie has guided Vida Bank through a rapid evolutionary journey, successfully transitioning the company from an FCA-regulated business into a complex PRA-regulated financial institution while scaling its headcount across the UK.
Iain Gibbons, Managing Director Marketing
Iain Gibbons is a highly seasoned marketing executive with over 25 years of extensive experience driving brand strategy, commercial growth, and communication initiatives across the financial services and consumer sectors. At Vida Bank, Iain is responsible for leading the bank's marketing, brand awareness and digital platform strategies as it scales its specialist mortgage and retail savings operations.
Ben Sambrook, Learning & Development Specialist
Ben Sambrook plays a central role within Vida Bank's People team, specifically focusing on building high-impact learning frameworks and analysing employee engagement data to optimise workforce potential. At Vida Bank, Ben is responsible for interpreting the detailed data behind the bank's annual Best Companies surveys, extracting granular insights at departmental and team levels to design highly targeted action plans that actively push the organisation toward achieving its target 3-star status.
