Mutual co-operation pays off for CFS and Britannia
Appointing a 40-strong business leadership team in just two months during the merger of the Britannia Building Society with Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) may sound like mission impossible. However, Warren Partners worked with both businesses to meet this tough timetable. Deborah Cooper, who led the assignment team along with Joëlle Warren and Sue Tyrer, reflects on rising to a considerable challenge.
A change in the law to allow mutual organisations and co-operatives to merge was the catalyst for talks about creating a 'super mutual' financial services business by CFS and Britannia back in October 2008. The new CFS would have £70 billion of assets, nine million customers and more than 12,000 employees.
The complex merger planning process began in earnest in January 2009 and was steered by an executive team led by Group Chief Executive Designate Neville Richardson. With the merger scheduled to be complete by 1 August, subject to approval by Britannia members on 29 April, integration of the two organisations had to operate to a very strict timetable.
"Warren Partners had worked with both parties for a number of years, so this gave us a tremendous advantage in terms of understanding their respective businesses, appreciating their values and knowing their senior people," explains Deborah Cooper.
"Even so, it was quite a demanding task to assist with the appointment of a business leadership team of 40 who would be reporting to the seven executive directors. The roles varied enormously, covering operations, risk management, retail, corporate and markets, finance, organisational development and change management."
Both organisations had many excellent potential candidates for these roles, and the internal team charged with delivering the appointment process, supported by Warren Partners, established several fundamental principles from the start. They wanted to ensure that the best people were in the right roles; that the new CFS would maintain a values led approach; and that everyone assessed for the new roles felt the process was very transparent. In addition, this all had to be achieved on time and within budget, while business continued as usual in both organisations.
Off to a flying start
An eight-strong team from Warren Partners swung into action immediately. The first step was to agree a robust but not overly complex methodology for the selection and assessment process. Factored into this was the need to involve the executive directors closely at the interview stage, while accommodating the huge demands on their time from both day to day operational matters and other aspects of the merger.
"Effective planning and time management were crucial to successfully delivering the assignment," says Deborah. "The merger timetable and executive directors' availability created a framework around which we developed a bespoke process which met the needs of both parties in the merger. Flexibility and a commitment to keeping the momentum going by everyone involved underpinned the whole process. It took plenty of late nights and weekends to complete each stage, but the core project team was determined to deliver the best possible results.
"Trust was also a key factor - our role as a trusted adviser to both parties and transparent project management system meant we could quickly build a three way partnership. We also avoided any of the tensions which are inevitable at times of significant change."
Selection criteria focused on role fit, values and key leadership competencies. Warren Partners also advised on the assessment methodology, shaped the decision-making mechanisms and assisted with the interviewing. Both candidates and executive directors received advice and guidance documents throughout the process, and clear communication meant everyone's expectations could be met. Weekly governance meetings also ensured that high standards and independence were maintained.
The CFS Organisational Development Director Karen Moir 
played a leading role in co-ordinating the assessment and selection process, and is very positive about the Warren Partners approach. "Although we had tight deadlines to meet, everyone was determined to ensure the process ran smoothly. Sue, Joëlle and Deborah pulled out all the stops to make things happen. This enabled us to honour the commitment we made to all the staff involved, that the process would be timely and transparent."
The home strait
Once all the candidates had been interviewed and a series of reports and recommendations drawn up by Warren Partners, the CFS executive team met to agree the final appointments. Deborah, Joëlle and Sue attended these meetings to assist in the decision making and if necessary challenge perceptions about a role or individual.
Both successful and unsuccessful candidates who requested it received detailed feedback on their performance, skills and future development opportunities, and the new business leadership team was formally agreed on 1 May. The enlarged CFS officially came into being three months later.
However, this was not the end of the story for Warren Partners. They have been retained by the new CFS operation to fill a number of vacancies remaining in the business leadership team and to support the appointment of the next level of management.
"It was a landmark assignment for us, and we relished the opportunity to support two major organisations going through significant change," adds Deborah. "Successful completion of the project ultimately came down to staying true to some key values: treating people well and fairly, being honest and open, and taking a creative approach to a challenging task."
And how was the experience for CFS? According to Neville Richardson, Group Chief Executive, an area of particular strength was the speed and co-ordination of the resources involved. "In my view, the principles that were agreed at the outset of the project were applied consistently throughout and the delivery was exceptional. The joint delivery team proved that the tight timescale could be met whilst not compromising on the quality and robustness of the process."
Operations Director Tim Franklin was very comfortable with the fairness and transparency of the process, a key factor influencing the whole assignment. "We haven't had any negative feedback about the process from the individuals involved. The fact that there were some vacancies at the end of the process is evidence that the team did not compromise in terms of what they were looking for and ensuring that the fit of the person to the role was exactly right."
April 2010
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