Barclay’s Bank

Barclays is the third largest bank in the United Kingdom. The bank can trace its roots back to 1690 in London. The name Barclay first arose in 1736. today the bank is a global financial renovation provider operating in the UK, Europe, United States, and Africa. The banks headquarters argon at One Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, in Londons Docklands, having moved there in May 2005 from Lombard Street in the City of London. Barclays US headquarters are in Wilmington, Delaware where it acquired the former raetam Bank (Answers Barclays Bank 2006).Barclays is a UK-based financial attend tos group, with a very large international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia. It is engaged primarily in banking, enthronement banking and investment management. In terms of market capitalisation, Barclays is one of the largest financial services companies in the world (Barclays Newsroom 2006). Barclays has been involved in banking for over 300 years and operates in over 60 countries with more than 113,000 permanent employees (including 33,500 at Absa). For the year ended 31st December 2005, the group achieved a pre-tax profit of ?5,280 million, up fifteen per cent on 2004. In 2005 Barclays paid approximately ? 3 billion in taxes (Barclays Newsroom 2006). Customers are served through a variety of channels comprising the branch net mildew, cash machines, call in banking, online banking and relationship managers. It is managed through two business areas, UK Retail Banking and UK Business Banking. In UK Retail Banking there are 14 million retail nodes, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, and common insurance (Barclays Newsroom 2006).Local Business provides banking services to 592,000 customers UK Premier provides banking, investment products and advice to 286,000 affluent customers (Barclays Newsroom 2006). UK Business Banking provides relationship banking to larger and medium-sized businesses. 183, 000 customers are served by a network of relationship a nd industry sector specialist managers (Barclays Newsroom 2006). Barclays strategic objective is to To deliver top quartile total shareholder return relative to our peers, consistently over time (Barclays p 2 2004). The company focuses directly on increasing shareholder value rather than employee retention and morale.Barclays does non have a directly available mission and value statement that is visible to the external environs. The internal environment at Barclays is one of traditional top-down management. The corporate husbandry at Barclays maintains a hierarchy of experience and education, where the management team places a large amount of focus on meeting the shareholder strategy. According to Barclays In recent months, we have taken a number of steps to enhance further our corporate governance practices. We have expanded the remit of the salary Committee to cover strategic compassionate resource issues (Barclays 2004 p 3).These strategic changes included continued and up graded our investment in established programs for the community, e type and diversity, and the environment built on our reputation as a pioneer and leader in the field of financial inclusion excellent terms and conditions for colleagues impacted by offshore turn outsourcing developed a clear statement on human rights, and continued our participation in the Business Leaders Initiative on charitable Rights and made good progress in adapting our branches and offices to be fully accessible to customers with disabili eviscerates (Barclays p 12 2004).Barclays did not, however, remunerate a corporate strategy or mission to address its near 20% turnover rate which has been continuous and barely changing for the past three years, an indication that Barclays focus is on stakeholder value and not developing or addressing employee morale. However, Barclays does have a large focus on community service, receiving the 2004 National Business Award for Corporate loving Responsibility (Barclays p 12 2004). Roadmap-Thesis The thesis statement is that the lack of direct employee relationships may have a strong impact on the seemingly highschool turnover rate.Personal hearings were conducted over the telephone with two Barclays employees, neither of which are relatives. Saunders et al (2003) define an interview as a purposeful discussion amid two or more people, and can collect data which is both reliable and valid. Saunders et al (2003) describe a structured interview as development questionnaires based on predetermined and standard or identical sets of questions a semi-structured interview as having a list of themes and questions to be covered and an unstructured interview as informal but used to explore in depth a general area of interest.The interviews conducted were unstructured, which is decidedly the best format for discussing the interesting concepts of Barclays organisational strategy and how it relates to the employees . Interview Results The organizational strate gy at Barclays seems almost non-existent to the participants, who each note that while dedication to customer satisfaction is grand, manager and lead concerns are impacting the employee morale. One interviewee even equated working at Barclays to a prison system, which is a reflection of the top-down managerial strategy.This managerial strategy has not been forthcoming to create or enhance employee morale, in fact it almost seems as though the employees are afraid of, or diminished by, the current leaders strategy. Customer service metrics are well known, however it is the organization strategy to continue team readying that focuses on the same customer service strategy and not on new randomness, such as cultivation opportunities or important technological concerns of the employees.This creates an atmosphere where the employees may feel constricted, rather than encouraged, by internal training and education. The organizational strategy may be clear to stakeholders, investors, an d corporate government, but there seems to be a distinct lack of information dissemination to the ground floor employees, which makes it hard for employees to follow a strategic vision and understand their basic role in the organization.The organizational culture at Barclays seems another sore point with the participants, who explained that there is a concern with office politics. Both employees examined that within the organizational culture, there is a strong adherence to management rule where favoritism is accepted. The other disheartening view of the organizational culture is that one participant was made to feel frequently inadequate for petition questions.Another concern about the organizational culture is the manner in which management responds to employees needs, which seems seriously lacking in its execution. Both employees made statements regarding lack of quality leadership pauperism and that managements difference of opinion with employees and their customer service does not fit into the employees need for motivation. Both interviewees understood the vastness of customer service and were able to relate customer service quality to their attendal roles.They did not state that leadership has offered a beneficial measurement of customer service or employee motivation, because neither participant made any positive statements regarding motivation as an organizational strategy. Based on these interviews, the concern with organizational strategy is not simply turnover rate as noted before, but that employees are not offered constant educational information about the organization, its values, mission, goals and opportunities. Academic Research Recommendations for ImprovementIn human capital management, organizational changes should be administered by a general framework fit in to Dreher and Doherty (p 16-17 2001) motivating change requires that the people within the organization understand and induct to the change creating vision in employees is a c ontinuation of commitment where employees know where they fit into that change developing political support means that stakeholders-from employees to HR professionals-have been assessed according to their place and function in the change managing the transition must be set by parameters and adequate available engineering as well as an judgement employee wide of how the parameters and technology work towards the goals the momentum is sustained by (1) providing resources for change, (2) building a support system for the agents of change (3) developing related competencies and skills among those aerated with administering and using the modified process and (4) reinforcing new behaviors called for by the changed environment. To this effect, Barclays must alter their strategy towards change and not the change itself by adequate communication and technology as well as transition training and rein compelment of change strategies amongst employees to foster a positive environment and devel op open lines of input and communication. inducement programs involve a system of rewards and recognition. There is a distinction between recognition programs and reward programs. citation is acknowledgment, appreciation and approval, and targets the psychological need of the individual. Reward, by definition, is normally something given in return for good or evil done or received, especially that is offered or given for a service. Rewards focus on the corporeal benefit, usually financial, however self-esteem, respect, intrinsic motivation and dignity are not guaranteed by a competitive salary (Glasscock and Gram 1995).Both recognition and rewards are important in reinforcing intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and provide positive reinforcement for desired behavior performance. Employees ordain differ on which has the greater personal impact, but in conclusion both reward and recognition programs affect an individuals self esteem. The value an employee has on an incentive prog ram is therefore highly correlated to the employees engagement in customer service. According to Dr. Mohammed S. Chowdhury of Monroe College, Bronx, New York and Mohammed Nurul Amin of the West Virginia University of Technology Employee values, attitudes, and leadership behavior play a very important role in enhancing employee work motivation and performance.Employee work values, attitudes and leadership behavior can carefully be adjusted to produce a strong impact on employee work motivation (www. sba. muohio. edu). A customer-focused culture is raise when employees understand that the organization will reward them for exceptional performance and customer service. Research shows that employee motivation and engagement is greatly enhanced when employees clearly understand the link between organizationally desired behaviors and rewards. It is important to recognize that an employee focus and a customer focus are complementary. It is noted that the importance of employee engagement i n a sales environment to diminish the amount of money spent on employees.Accordingly, question has shown that improving the employee engagement will outgrowth employee retention. Kenexa. com states that Research has shown that fully engaged employees tend to be more productive, conscientious and have high levels of organizational commitment. In addition, research has shown that an engaged work force tends to stay employed longer, miss work less often, have higher levels of customer satisfaction and service quality, attain and surpass organizational goals more regularly, are more productive and have comparatively lower workers compensation and accident claims (2005). To measure constructs of employee engagement, benchmarks would be an above average response of high values.A successful research would develop an increase in value rating per employee per category. In essence, the purpose is to develop employee engagement in conjunction with the benchmarks and defined constructs accor ding to the majority values of tenured employees. Benchmarks for evaluation of success can be defined by an organizational increase in retention of employees compared to past trends in the facility, with increase in employee engagement of facility compared to past trends. The recommendation is to focus on team and individual development to ensure that employees become fully engaged within their function and as team members. According to David Beswick of the University of MelbourneMangers generally, and anyone formally or informally responsible for oversight of others who are engaged in work or learning tasks, will be aware that some people are participating more out of interest in the task than others are. Others gain their satisfaction principally out the way in which their performance on the task leads to rewards like pay or status or good grades in a course. But typically there is a mixture of motives for which a range of different incentives is relevant. (www. beswick. info 2004 ) Any recognition program will reflect an organizations culture and values. Increasingly, recognition programs are part of companys total quality program.Recognition programs may take several forms, from highly formalized programs induced and implemented by management to informal, spontaneous ceremonies arising from fellow co-workers. Recognition and celebrations are a ways of reaffirming to people that they are an important part of something that matters. Conclusion meshed employees receive training for necessary skills and are on board with the organizations goals. Employees will be unable to perform if they lack the skills needed for their roles, so organizations need to post employees with gaps in their training. baronial performance appraisal presents a good opportunity to do so.Research shows that organizations with good performance appraisal systems have significantly higher levels of employee engagement that those with a brusk performance appraisal system. However, for p erformance appraisal to identify employees with specific needs, managers first need to have a good understanding of the performance appraisal system. Therefore, the training needs of managers should not be overlooked. Managers should be trained to identify performance weaknesses as well as how to effectively tie performance to recognition and rewards. Engaged employees receive training for necessary skills and are on board with the organizations goals.Employees will be unable to perform if they lack the skills needed for their roles, so organizations need to identify employees with gaps in their training. Formal performance appraisal presents a good opportunity to do so. Research shows that organizations with good performance appraisal systems have significantly higher levels of employee engagement that those with a poor performance appraisal system. However, for performance appraisal to identify employees with specific needs, managers first need to have a good understanding of the performance appraisal system. Therefore, the training needs of managers should not be overlooked. Managers should be trained to identify performance weaknesses as well as how to effectively tie performance to recognition and rewards. ReferencesAnswers Barclays Bank 2006 Barclays Bank Barclays plc Type Public Founded 1896 Location London , United Kingdom Key 2006 Answers Corporation . Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. answers. com Barclays Bank PLC (2006) Barclays Newsroom. Registered in England. Registered No 1026167. Registered Office 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP. . Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. barclays. com Barclays (2004) Annual Report 2004. Registered Office 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP. Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. investor. barclays. co. uk Beswick, David (2004) of the University of Melbourne. Copyright David Beswick 1997-2004. Retrieved September 15, 2007 www. beswick. info Chowdhury, Mohammed S. (n. d.) Relative Importance of Employee Va lues, Attitudes and lead Behaviors in Employee Motivation. Monroe College, Bronx, New York Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. sba. muohio. edu Dreher & Dougherty. (2001). Human resource strategy A behavioral perspective for the general manager. New York McGraw-Hill Glasscock and Gram (1995) Secrets of a Successful Employee Recognition System. BT Bastford. LTD. 2000 Kenexa. com (2005) 650 East Swedesford Road 2nd Floor Wayne, PA 19087 Retrieved September 15, 2007 from www. kenexa. com Saunders, M. , Lewis, P. and Thornhill, D. (2003), Research Methods for Business Students, 3rd Edition, London FT Prentice Hall.