Senior leaders and a tough social issue.

“I deliberately spoilt a loan application form in the hope that the bank would notice that I was being coerced into filling it in.”

So said a survivor of domestic and economic abuse to the Community Banking Executive Committee at Lloyds Banking Group. Domestic abuse is a gritty topic from which it is all too easy to shy away, but the Bank had identified it as an issue of relevance to customers and colleagues. As such they wanted to learn more about it by deploying senior leaders to share their business skills with charities at the heart of the issue.

Directors and experts from Surviving Economic Abuse, Safe Lives and Refuge came with two agendas: To benefit from the business skills of the Bank’s Exec Committee members to help them tackle pressing strategic issues; and to share their own expertise and first-hand experiences of domestic and economic abuse. Both of those objectives were met during a session in which the charities learnt from the bankers and the bankers learnt from the charities – for everyone’s benefit.

In a second session we then applied our social insight thinking to help HR and Vulnerable Customer specialists from the Bank to take the real-life insights from the charities, and the people they support, to devise new ways of serving and supporting customers and colleagues affected.

“At Lloyds Bank Group we recognise this is an incredibly complex topic, which many victims themselves do not recognise, particularly in the early stages making it something of a hidden issue. Bringing the three charities and the Community Bank Executive team together sharing knowledge and skills enables us to focus on how we continue to support those impacted by this important issue.” Jane Rodrick, Senior Vulnerability Manager, Lloyds Banking Group