Prudential Banking UK (EGG plc)
Since its launch in 1999, Egg has become the largest and most successful digital bank in the world.
Area of concern:
Successful startup; new product development
Prudential Corporation established Prudential Banking to provide a set of banking products for existing channels to sell alongside their traditional insurance and investment products. Both the Prudential CEO and the management of Prudential Banking, however, saw a much bigger possibility - the possibility of changing the entire paradigm of retail banking in the UK. New technologies would enable banks to reach customers in ways previously unimagined, and customers were demanding significantly improved and more flexible service than was currently being provided by existing branch and telephone banking offerings.
The focus for senior management was the following question: "What do we want to create that is worthwhile dedicating our professional lives to?" Through a series of workshops designed to elicit creative thinking and innovation, the idea of Egg, an on-line retail bank, was conceived. The concept was bold: transforming the way retail banking was conducted, driven by a commitment to serve the millions of people who experienced their banks as frustrating, inflexible and insensitive to their needs. This concept was clearly a worthwhile venture for the senior management to commit their professional lives to.
The rest of the organization needed to be aligned on and contributing to the development of this new concept for an Internet bank. As it had never been done before, senior management realized that the best ideas for the detailed design and roll out of Egg would need to emerge from the interaction of its employees with the marketplace. For that to be effective, the employees needed to be aligned with the purpose of Egg and play a role in its creation. Through a series of three-day workshops, spanning the company from senior managers reporting directly to the CEO to people in the back office, core values were created on which everyone could align, and synergy created between different groups. Project teams were assembled to develop different aspects of the Internet bank from marketing to systems to back office. In this way, the creative process was continually fed by people from all levels of the company. Finally, high performance teams were formed to implement the creative thinking and strategy in the roll out process.
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"Gordon Starr provides immensely supportive and highly challenging empowerment to CEOs and their people. His interventions are designed to unleash the forces of commitment, energy and creativity that are available in the workplace when you acknowledge and support people's natural humanity. The time I spent working with Gordon was among the most rewarding and enjoyable times of my career."
- Mike Harris
Executive Vice Chairman
Egg plc
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