"We believe that the member-ownership structure has a fundamental effect on the culture at building societies."
New Possible’s sector spotlight on building societies found that building society employees are particularly happy with the culture of their organisations, often describing environments that are friendly, supportive, as well as inclusive and values led.
Although employee satisfaction fell during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, the research found that satisfaction has bounced back to record levels. This is underpinned by the introduction of new technology and processes that better support remote working and communication, alongside a renewed focus on employee wellbeing, flexibility, and work-life balance.
Top five drivers of satisfaction at building societies were healthy cultures, good colleagues, career development, flexibility, and work-life balance.
The research also highlights growing expectations around flexibility, with more employees talking about this theme than ever before. Building societies that fall short around flexibility are seeing higher levels of employee turnover, while those that get it right are benefiting from higher satisfaction, loyalty, and access to a broader talent pool.
The study also found that the more senior an employee's position at a building society, the more satisfied they are. A belief in the vision was a key driver behind this, with those in leadership positions talking about vision 14% of the time, compared to 3% for managers and 1% across junior employees.
And in a clear sign that the cost-of-living crisis is now taking its toll, dissatisfaction with pay is a growing reason why junior employees are leaving the sector, with 39% saying that they’re unhappy about pay so far in 2022.
Andrew Gall, chief economist at the Building Societies Association, commented: “It’s great to see that building societies have performed so well in this survey on employee engagement. We believe that the member-ownership structure has a fundamental effect on the culture at building societies. Putting the interests of customers, who are the members, first can lead to better customer service and value. Our own research shows that building society employees have a deep understanding of the ownership structure, and have enthusiasm and passion for the value of mutuality.”
Nate Harwood, founder of New Possible, said: “Employee expectations are growing, and it’s clear that many building societies are rising to the challenge and working hard to remain attractive places of work. But to keep on top of this change, it's now more important than ever for leaders to actively listen to their people and respond to what employee feedback is telling them. The organisations that get this right, will gain a powerful competitive advantage.”
