About M&S Bank

All managers will have attended a ‘Managing At Our Best’ two day course by the end of the year. This course focuses on strengthening their culture through everyday actions and decisions. Employees are presented with difficult situations which test decision-making skills and thought processes. Managers learn how to deal with these challenges and how to apply that knowledge every day and how to use these approaches to bring out the best in their teams. They have a talent programme which supports and develops a population of talented managers. It gives them opportunity to network with and have a mentoring relationship with the leadership team and access to more advanced learning courses, for example, Professional Presentation skills and Business Writing courses. For their future managers they have Star. This has a professional qualification element with RBCB (Retail Banking Conduct of Business). Delegates complete a supported business project and Insights Discovery; a personal profiling tool that can be used to support coaching and personal development. New managers receive a tailored training package specific to their role including Coaching for Success (two-days) Authorised Signatory and advanced complaints handling for Team Managers and Bank Managers. Mentoring is widely used as a development tool to support managers, and they are just about to trial several reverse mentoring relationships. Managers also have the opportunity to attend a Monthly Managers Brief (MMB) where they have the opportunity to connect with each other and hear an update on customer experience, strategic projects and people issues.

They provide an on-site subsidised gym, pamper room, subsidised Starbucks, subsidised canteen, with healthy food options, a prayer room and a facilities helpdesk, which arranges services with external parties, such as dry cleaning and shoe repairs. Employees also benefit from an on-site M&S shop which sells a wide variety of food items, wine, cards and gifts. They have a Sports and Social Committee, who coordinate sports clubs, trips, employee discounts and guest vendors, who are invited to sell their products on site. As well as securing priority tickets for local music arenas, they negotiate discounts and this year employees have benefited from over 1500 discounted Chester Zoo tickets, over 6000 discounted cinema tickets and will have access to 350 discounted pantomime tickets. M&S Bank is committed to ensuring their employees feel valued and respected. They have two employee- led networks (Outstanding and RESPECT) which aim to promote an inclusive, open and supportive working environment for all. Employees also have the option to tailor a range of benefits to complement their lifestyle and enhance their wellbeing. For example, employees can opt to buy or sell holidays, as well as opt for an enhanced healthcare package. The majority of benefits are tax efficient. As part of their engagement strategy, they also offer employees the opportunity to attend local events with their friends and families at a subsidised cost for example, race days at Chester Racecourse, local firework displays and polo matches. In 2015 1,220 employees, friends and family have attended these events.

Their three-year community strategy aims to inspire and engage employees to give time and secure funding for their following charity partners. •Macmillan Cancer Support –a fundraising partnership; voted for by their employees •The Youth Federation (Cheshire) the beneficiary of their annual Golf Day •Cheshire Young Carers –a skill sharing partnership supported by their  junior ‘talent’ delegates •Stonewall – they’ve fundraised for their Train the Trainer programme, to tackle bullying in schools and help pupils celebrate difference in an age appropriate way Through their community champions they have successfully raised the profile of Community and actively engage employees with the opportunities, and support available. They have worked with their local community, identifying opportunities and recruiting employee volunteers to provide skills and time for countless projects. Under the strapline ‘How will you use your Day’ last year they were delighted to see a 70% increase in the number of community days claimed, overall 27% of their people used their day. Their fundraising has been delivered through a calendar of events creating buzz and excitement across the business from a subsidised sponsored London to Brussels cycling challenge to an on-site Cake Fete and Bake-off for World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. They also sponsored Chester Pride and their employees led the parade through Chester. At their Volunteer of the Year event they celebrated the work their employees do in their own time to support the local community. From the heart warming entries judges selected three winners who were awarded additional funds to donate to their charity.