The Winners Story

The 2010 winner's story

We are pleased to offer our congratulations to the winner of the 2010 Performance and reward category.

With reference to the CIPD

Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide operates more than 700 branches, within which there are around 450 senior financial consultants (SFCs) who sell nonmortgage products such as insurance, and are regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The pay and bonus scheme for SFCs required an overhaul. It focused on volume rather than value, was not cost effective, and didn’t differentiate sufficiently between low and high performance.
Since the changes to the reward schemes were contractual, they required full union negotiation. A comprehensive communication programme asking SFCs themselves how they should be rewarded was put in place, a move which judges felt was innovative. The new total reward package, launched only four months after the project started in January 2009, gained the backing of the union and staff. Sales performance in the quarter following launch increased to 184 per cent of the target. In the first year of the new scheme the top salesperson, who in the previous year hadn’t covered her costs, now exceeded costs eightfold. “The speed and thoroughness of this work was critical and very impressive,” the judges said.