Coventry Building Society is the UK’s second largest building society and has more than 2,700 employees, and around two million customers from all across the country with either a savings account or a mortgage.
The business offers a range of wellbeing assistance for staff, including a digital GP service, a health and fitness app, cancer checks and flu jabs, carers’ flexibility that provides up to three days of paid leave and bespoke support for leaders due to the role they play in supporting their teams’ wellbeing.
As part of its commitment to being a menopause-friendly employer, the organisation has rolled out a menopause toolkit, a network and runs awareness sessions. It also has a team of mental health first aiders, runs regular training on mental health awareness and ran a week-long wellbeing festival at the beginning of October.
In order to help staff on their return to the workplace, chief people officer at Coventry Building Society Lucy Becque explains that senior leadership asked for employees’ thoughts on how they wanted to return to the office.
“The clear message was that, where their role would allow it, people wanted a mix of home and office-based working. In July 2021, we moved to a hybrid working model, where the balance of time spent between locations is determined on a team basis. As a society, we haven’t specified a certain number of days we think someone should be in the office, that’s what teams decide as a collective based on what works best for them,” she says.
The building society maintained its Covid-19 (Coronavirus) secure office protocols and introduced a desk booking system within departmental zones, so employees know that when they do come into the office, they will have a safe and secure space to work from. “We continue to survey colleagues regularly to understand what’s working well and where we can improve,” she adds.
Additionally, the employer has given all members of staff Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve off work as a thank you, so they can spend a little more time with their loved ones.
“Our people, like the rest of the world, have been through a lot during the pandemic and continued to give their all to the society. We’re incredibly proud of their commitment to each other and our members,” she says.