Employee engagement
Leadership behaviour that drives employee engagement was the focal point of HR’s strategy in 2007. Consequently, the performance evaluation of ING’s top 200 managers now includes their leadership behaviour as well as the many other traditional performance measures, such as ability to meet business objectives. This provides a clear signal to everyone that ING takes people management seriously.
International mobility
As the need for international mobility within ING increases, so does the need for current and potential senior leaders to take on more flexible assignments. From 1 January 2007, three international mobility policies came into effect, covering various types of assignments. Internal assignments have increased by 50% in the past three years.
Involvement in acquisitions and divestments
In 2007, a number of acquisitions and divestments took place. HR was closely involved in these processes. ING welcomes new colleagues and believes it is very important when merging companies to ensure that company cultures are also merged to create a shared direction. HR intends to further develop its capabilities in this area.
Diversity in practice
Diversity is another key element in our talent development. ING wants its staff to reflect its broad customer base – in terms of ethnic, cultural, and other make-ups – to better understand customer needs. Various programmes were established in 2007, including HR diversity goals. ING’s Diversity Council has developed new mentoring programmes and supports different diversity networks.
In 2007, three diversity teams were given the task of achieving specific high-impact goals within 100 days to help ING strengthen its global leadership ranks. The three teams created initiatives to stimulate diversity at higher levels and to exchange people between headquarters and regions.
Measuring and improving performance
ING continued to implement its Winning Performance Culture (WPC) across the organisation in its objective to support ING’s business targets. WPC was introduced in 2005 and is the standard ING has set for itself for the kind of company it wants to be. ING aims at a culture in which the company’s shared values, beliefs and practices create and sustain superior business performance. Also in 2005, a WPC scan was introduced. This is an online assessment that produces a snapshot-in-time of ING and the essential elements of ING’s performance culture. It is a survey to measure the gap between the Winning Performance Culture ING wants to instil and the actual state of the culture.
In 2007, the scope of the WPC scan was extended, resulting in the participation of over 37,000 employees. Overall, the WPC has increased the focus on employee engagement. The scan made it clear that ING’s employee engagement is higher than typically seen in global organisations. Particular strengths highlighted were employee/job fit, belief in the future of the organisation, feeling valued and trust in senior leadership. However, areas for improvement included internal communications, recognising individual achievement and career advancement opportunities. The results were communicated across all businesses which led to training and change initiatives running in almost every business. Global HR and Group Internal Communications joined forces to translate the WPC framework into tangible behaviours that are being communicated with greater intensity. Examples include ‘Set challenging and connected goals’ (shared direction), ‘Take responsibility and make things happen’ (performance execution) and ‘Engage, challenge and develop our people in the right way’ (human capital).
Enhancing HR basics
To support ING’s business objectives, Global HR focused on improving several basic activities in 2007, including IT services and management information in particular. In IT, HR is increasingly sharing its systems and processes across its various operations. There was a breakthrough in accessing the ING Learning Centre, a shared online platform used for educational purposes, which can now be accessed worldwide. As for management information, Global HR has been tapping into the HR systems of all the different business lines and gathering data.
HR is also boosting its readiness for more acquisitions and divestments to ensure it is involved and can add value at all stages. In addition, HR is getting more involved in compliance risk management.
Steps to improve staff employability in the Netherlands
Measures to improve the personal development and employability of ING staff working in the Netherlands were added to the collective labour agreement in the middle of 2007. ING is the first Dutch employer to do this. This agreement with the trade unions entailed a special budget being assigned by ING to help staff improve their employability.
