UBank is an independent digital-only bank owned by the National Australia Bank. After working through a rebranding exercise, the executive team commissioned us to help them transform the performance of their workforce so they could unlock the bank's potential. UBank’s vision to be Australia’s most referred brand required a high degree of staff engagement, hence its people were seen by the executive as the key to its success.
UBank’s executive deployed our Performance Transformation Programme Vantaset Enterprise because they believed it would give them the tools to out-perform their competitors.
“It was a chance to bring in something I knew would make a difference to each and every one of us; to drive change, drive performance, drive growth and drive opportunity.”
45 points
1,500%
400%
UBank was a good business with good underlying principles but we weren’t performing to our potential. The business tended to work in silos and although people were happy, there wasn’t enough focus on performance or how to drive growth.
It allowed us to galvanise our thinking as a leadership team in terms of what we wanted to achieve and how we could do it.
It also shifted our thinking from ‘we can’t do it’ or ‘it’s impossible’, to ‘why not’ and provided us with a way to get there. In this respect, it not only provided us with a way to transform the business, it gave us the tools to make it happen.
It's also transformed the way we work by focusing us on the things that really matter to the business and will ultimately drive our success. Introducing it has completely changed the productivity and engagement of our people and with it, their sense of achievement and job satisfaction.
We’ve increased our customers by over 1500% with the same number of people which is astonishing. What’s changed is our confidence in our ability to succeed which has resulted in us being far more ambitious in terms of what we can and want to achieve.
The greatest change we've seen is to do with our culture and, in particular, the massive shift we’ve seen in terms of our people’s engagement.
Back in 2015 it was 54% whereas today it’s over 80%. That single metric alone has enabled us to transform the outcomes we’re delivering. It’s really simple, if staff love coming to work because they can see how their role helps us deliver our strategy, they’re far more likely to succeed.
It’s got them setting their own targets which are far greater than what we used to be able to set for them. Today, our people want more. They’re thinking about what they can achieve and how to do it, meaning they’re focused on performing to their potential rather than just coming in and doing their job. It has also helped us attract the type of people we want going forward as they’re seeing the changes we are making in the (banking) industry.
People are far more productive and doing better work; in fact they're telling me they are ahead of demand for the first time. They are also more willing to take on more important projects for the organisation which is fantastic.
I thought I was good at what I do but it's challenged the growth I expect for myself. It’s opened my eyes to what my role could produce and actually, what I need to do to help us achieve our vision. It has stretched my mind as to what I should be delivering for and on behalf of the business but also how to do it. Vantaset's facilitator said it’s not enough to just lead my team, it’s the difference I’m making to the sector and critically, our customers. It’s given us the ability to challenge ourselves in a way we never could before. No longer do we just want to be a better bank, we want to transform the industry for Australians.
It provides organisations with the tools and structure to bring their vision to life for everyone. It gets people on a common path that delivers results. It also allows leaders to have conversations with their people that they can’t easily have as well as enabling the business as a whole to engage their people in a completely different way so they're focused on their performance instead of just doing their job. It’s the whole thing and how the different frameworks come together to provide a complete package.
If you’re not clear on success, it becomes about personal relationships rather than having challenging conversations about the things you’re trying to achieve. Because people are so much clearer about what they’re here to do, everyone’s far more open to having the conversations they need to have with their direct reports. It's also given us a common view of what success looks like as well as the tools to achieve it.
Undoubtedly. The outcomes we wanted, we’re getting. So much so that we are able to keep lifting the bar on a continuing basis. In terms of our financial performance, we’re getting our investment back many, many times over. The amount we’re investing in the programme is tiny compared to the revenue and cash earnings it’s generating.
“I really wanted to change the game not only in terms of our culture but the way that we thought about the world and actually how our customers thought about us.”
“The culture at UBank has changed significantly. In fact, our reputation in the marketplace has changed significantly.”
“The number one thing for me is how we’ve lifted the performance of every individual in the business.”
“The biggest returns have been around our engagement score and customer growth which are now at world class levels.”
“From a value for money perspective, it’s been excellent. It has completely ignited people in a new way of working and given them the chance to be part of something special.”