RBS Account Newsletter
January 2016
Good morning team,
Welcome back and a Happy New Year to you all!
I trust everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break and is ready for an exciting 2016. Here it is the first newsletter of the year and is bursting with information - read this issue and find out how is Mr. Corsi welcoming 2016, what events and training opportunities are coming up this month, how has the RBS share price react to some interesting press releases, what are Sara's post Christmas hangover / detox tips and much more.
Hope you enjoy,
Miruna
P.S. Writing also on the behalf of the L&D team, please take approx. 2 minutes to fill in the survey below. It will help us finalise the plan for Q1 of 2016 and align it to your needs so have your say before it closes on Friday, Jan 8th.
Leadership Spotlight... with Alex Corsi
So here we are again: a great 2015 behind us, few days to recharge the batteries and 366 days (this is an Olympic year, so a leap year…) of rollercoaster ahead of us. With one goal: make 2016 at least as good as 2015, but in any case – different!
Different, because what worked well in 2015 doesn’t necessarily work in 2016. Different, because high performing organizations change regularly. Different, because the client is expecting us to permanently reinvent ourselves: we take an intractable problem, we shape the solution, we deliver it or we put the client in a position to do it, and we move on to the next one. Different, because we have new avenues in RBS, we will try to start new adventures in the Payments (Transformation & Innovation) world. Different, because, frankly, the team/family/crowd is clever and passionate – and clever and passionate people are demanding and don’t want to chug along treading in the comfort zone, doing more of the same. Different, because we are not complacent and we like to be kept awake and on our toes!
A lot of reasons to be different, then – but only one way I can think of to achieve our goal: growing stronger every day, as a team/family/crowd; embracing the goal; helping each other to make 2016 the best year of our life, for each of us individually. Let’s make 2016 a year in which each of us every day can go home at night and say “that was a good day. I am happy”. Because the toughest judge we have, the one that keeps us honest all the time, it’s ourselves: it’s me for me, it’s you for you, for each of you. Listen to your own taskmaster: it is tough, I know, because your taskmaster is not smooth or politically correct (at least mine is not) but only then will you be acting to your best – the rest follows: fun, roundtables, happiness…
This is why we have a People Strategy in place. As a platform for each of us to achieve our personal objectives and align them with the account objectives. The chance is there for you to take it. Jake has done a lot of work after the memorable “RBS Strategy Finale” night to mobilize the working groups that will make sure we deliver on our strategic intent, you will see very soon comms around this and the invitation to participate – thanks Jake and all those that have volunteered to run the groups. But let’s not fool ourselves, the working groups can only act as catalyst, the real stuff is in your heads and in your hearts, bring it out! Last year, around 40% of the account has given input to the People Strategy: let’s make it a 100% delivering to it, and if circumstances change and we need to adjust strategy, we will – as a team/family/crowd.
Enough – else you will tell me I am writing too much and you didn’t bother to read…
Looking forward to seeing you at the Town Hall on Jan 28th: we will have Naomi Record talking to us about “Emotions in teams” (you remember the survey we filled to help her with her Masters in Jul last year?), and Darren Buckley/Eddie Webb are trying to arrange their really tight schedule to join us for the evening and speak to us about what they think of us. And on top of that, let’s make that night a springboard for a great year, let’s talk 1:1 and make it clear what we are looking for.
2016, we are coming!
Ciao
Alex
UPCOMING EVENTS
RBS Knowledge Share - IT Infrastructure
Following the fun presentation given ono the RBS iCare app right before Christmas, we are organizing the first one of the year with the RBS Infrastructure team. Come down and find out what IT Infrastructure is, what is needed to build a bank and how this applies on RBS. Don't forget that there’ll be pizza made available as well [More details and diary placeholder to follow]
Friday, Jan 15, 2016, 12:00 PM
Bleachers GES
RBS Townhall
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 28th
WHERE: More details to follow
The Engagement Team has not revealed much about the event yet but as Alex mentioned above, there will be some fantastic guest speakers. More details will be sent closer to the event but in the meantime, make sure you save the date.
Dunk'n'Learn - Excel Tips & Tricks
Friday, Jan 29, 2016, 12:00 PM
BLECHERS GES
RBS in the news
- Not a great start to the year for NatWest/RBS - Customers reported debit cards being declined in stores and pins blocked on New Year’s Day. Read more about the banking glitch here
- Half a decade ago, Santander was set to buy the 307 branches that Royal Bank of Scotland must sell to comply with the EU-imposed terms of its taxpayer-funded 2008 bailout. By 2012, the Spanish bank thought the process was taking too long and pulled out. Now, after RBS has spent £1.5bn trying to design and install software at Williams & Glyn, a sale is once again the preferred option and Santander is one likely name in the frame, along with Virgin Money. Read here more
- "We remain committed to meeting our obligation under the State Aid agreement to dispose of Williams & Glyn before the end of 2017, as well as ensuring a smooth transition for Williams & Glyn’s 1.8 million customers" announced RBS last month. Read their full update on the disposal of Williams & Glyn here
- On the brighter note, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland are helping customers affected by flooding. Read more on their initiatives here
Two truths & one lie...
We have asked three of our team members to share three facts about themselves; the twist is that one of the three is false! Can you guess which?
(Keep reading the newsletter until the end and you will find out the answers).
Kenneth Bollen joined the ATP a year and 9 months ago and during that time he has journeyed through various accounts & projects working at L&G, DB and Barclays before landing into the retail world with the RSA tea. I’m originally from South Africa and I worked for a year in Shanghai as a project manager before moving to London and Capco. Ken’s 2 truths and a lie are:
2. I have the autograph of every top 20 ranked men’s tennis player in the world in the last 3 years with the exception of Roger Federer
3. I played 3 games as a fly-half for the U18 Springboks
Thomas Georgiou joined Capco with June 2015 ATP intake, and was previously working in QA/QC in the Oil and Gas industry. He studied Management at the University of Aberdeen. He has spent the past few months living in Edinburgh, where he moved to after completing the ATP training in London, and has been working on the RBS account within Command & Control since then..
His two truths and a lie are:
1. I built a ladder for my cat.
2. I was a Corporal in the Green Berets.
3. I have an extensive Tupperware collection
Nowsor Mirza (or Nosh for short) joined the RSA team in mid-Sept this year having completed a Programme Management role at Barclays where he implemented a regulatory control framework and TOM (that CapCo had defined). Prior to that he spent two years at Accenture and 9 years at Deloitte after completing a Master of Physics with Space Science and Technology degree at Uni. 2 out of the 3 “facts”:
1. Up until my mid teens, my GP had me registered as a girl because my gender wasn’t obvious from my name.
2. I trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger in East London.
3. I tried to form a heavy metal band once but gave it up because I was doing all the work
Learning & DEvelopment
Before you move on to the upcoming internal training opportunities and if you have not done it already, please take 2 minutes to fill in the survey mentioned about above - it will help the RBS L&D team to customise the plan for 2016 according to your needs.
Upcoming internal training:
Coaching Skills (Edinburgh; Date: 18th January 2016; Time: 11.00 - 18.00)
Project Management 101 (London; Date: 11th - 12th January 2016; Time: 9.00 - 17.00)
Business Analysis 101 (London; Date: 19th January 2016; Time: 16.00 - 19.00)
[For the full list of the available internal training in November, check out the white board on the 1st floor in GES right next to the elevators]. Contact me (miruna.balan@capco.com) or Dorka (Dorota.Martinkova@capco.com) if you have any questions.
External:
Google Analytics Training (London Victoria - 13th January, Price: £499)
Tony Robbins Unleash The Power Within (16th January; Free)
Trust and the Sharing Economy (21st January Time: 18:30 - 22:30; Free)
Employee Regulatory University Curriculum for 2016:
Contacted FIS Global last month to ask whether the compulsory Regulatory University courses have been finalised for the new year so you are all aware when they will roll out and need to be completed. Please see below the provisional plan provided by the FIS Risk Management team - if want to read more about the different courses or why is policy compliance important press here.
RBS and the men who blew up the british economy [Book review]
Last month, Mr Farrant had a very interesting looking book on his desk about the history of RBS and he kindly offered to summarise it and share his thoughts on it.
As a history of RBS, the bank under Fred Goodwin, and why you are working on the W&G divestment you couldn’t ask for a better primer. However, as an analysis of the root causes of the government bailout in 2008, and what we might learn from it, there are other books that provide better insight.
The narrative starts with the mayhem of October 2008, and Fred Goodwin’s final days. It then returns to the origins of RBS in 1727, the rivalry with Bank of Scotland which ultimately resulted in the acquisition of Natwest, and how the bank grew to be one of the world’s largest financial institutions under George Mathewson and then Fred Goodwin. It concludes with the failure and taxpayer bailout, touching on the role of the investment business unit and government.
The book provides some interesting case studies in bad governance, including a lack of transparency with the Board and Regulator, nepotistic and non-existing succession planning and the use of quarterly results as the only measure of CEO performance. It also highlights the challenge managers have in understanding complex organisations, and therefore responding to risks in their institutions. In the case of RBS that resulted in the buyout of ABN AMRO, itself the epitome of the bad practices prevalent at the zenith of the subprime phenomenon, with ABN’s own exposures being critical in RBS’s downfall.
The book feels littered with hindsight bias which undermines the impact of the message. If you can ignore this flaw, and it is incredibly frustrating, you should probably read it.
10 Questions with... Sara Macann
As the Guess Who section was missed out last month, tell us something nobody on the account knows?
I applied to be an RAF pilot but I was too short.
How long have you been at Capco, and what were you doing before?I’ve been at Capco just over a year. Before I joined Capco I was worked for 4 years with Start-ups helping them raise investment. I was helping them create business plans that would appeal to the investors and teach them how to pitch.
Education wise, I’ve not gone the most traditional consultant route. I have an undergrad in Archaeology & Anthropology and an MSc in International Development, both from Bristol.
What is your role on the RBS Account?
I’ve been on Command & Control for a year now. I am responsible for the WSG and the Tech Steerco (when it existed) as well as the Technology EPIB submission. Now I am still working on the WSG and EPIB but am delivering a process automation piece for C&C which is utilising the Data Visualisation Tool to present the data in a more holistic way to drive additional analysis.
What’s your favourite town/city in the world? Why?
It’s more of a village but it is a little place called Tofu in Mozambique. I spent 5 weeks living on a beach in a great little community as part of my 6 months travels by myself around Africa. Apart from being a fun place to stay, it turned out that it had some of the best diving in the world – including Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. It was an incredible time.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
I once got told by a guy who was using this question as a chat up line that this isn’t a Miss World competition, what would you really do… But… if I won, I really would want to set up a charity for rescued Zoo animals to give them a better quality of life and a charity to support children that are on the verge of ending up in prison. Clearly I would still build myself an incredible house and buy a DB9 (or two) but I would love to run the charities.
Where would you go in a time machine?
A time machine is top of my wish list! If I had a time machine I would travel everywhere I could (not least to get the above lottery numbers) but where I would REALLY like to go is back to check out the Dinosaurs then jump forward to see if cavemen really looked like they do in the Flintstones. I would also like to check out the Roman Empire and drop in on London over a few centuries to see how it looked over time… the options are endless!
How did you learn the truth about Santa Claus?
Well… My Mum has a tendency to forget about the price stickers on presents and funnily enough… so did Santa… Apart from anything else, didn’t Santa’s Elves MAKE them, so why are they buying them?? My Twin and I became suspicious… So, when Santa left his Thank You note for his Brandy and Christmas Cake (as he always does – he’s so polite), we compared the handwriting to Mum and Dad’s and there was a match. They insisted it was a coincidence, but when the following year Dad became distraught at the idea of helping Santa out with his cholesterol by giving him a carrot as well as Rudolf, and by switching Brandy for Apple Juice our suspicions were confirmed…
Do you have any post Christmas hangover / detox tips?
Under NO circumstances should you go for a big night out before having to travel into London and watch 3 hours of The Nutcracker…
Where are you spending Christmas this year?
I’m getting two Christmas’ this year… I’m spending the first part at home with my family and then flying out on the 29th to Russia – The far away bit not Moscow - to spend New Year and then do Christmas all again on the 7th January as that’s when the Russian’s celebrate Christmas.
3 words to sum up your experience so far at RBS?
Great Team Spirit
you said, we listened...
We’ve taken on-board your feedback from the strategy feedback sessions and, to help juggle life commitments with their roles, everyone should feel comfortable to take any request for flexible working to their manager. If you need to take the kids to school on a Monday or get off to a class a bit early on a Wednesday please do feel like you can approach your team to look at the possibilities. Your managers will be able to see how your requirements can be accommodated alongside your client commitments and hopefully make it work for you.