It’s the third-largest building society in the UK and in August celebrates its 157th birthday. Despite its age and reputation, Yorkshire Building Society has never rested on its laurels. It knows that to stay relevant and retain and grow its market share it has to be a proactive and forward thinking organisation. And since 2020 AKD Solutions has had the pleasure of working with this northern powerhouse.
After George Floyd’s murder, the company held up a mirror and realised there was an urgent need for it to improve, specifically around diversity and inclusion. Its headquarters are in Bradford, one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse cities, but this was not fully reflected in its employee base or corporate culture.
We were brought in to share our expertise. We are really enjoying working with Yorkshire Building Society’s Executive and Senior Leadership teams, who’ve embraced the bespoke learning experiences that we’ve developed.
We want to acknowledge Jane Croutha, Amy Ficil and Tracy Newton whose passion and drive to make positive long term changes at Yorkshire Building Society has been phenomenal.
Combined, they emphasised preparedness and detail, but they also welcomed the AKD stretch into new ways of thinking. They fully leaned in, and consequently, we’ve been able to do some brilliant work with the teams around diversity and inclusion.
Yorkshire Building Society colleagues have taken on board new ideas and experiences, had honest and open conversations and have spoken about the profound impact these have had on them. Colleagues understand how they can use these learning experiences to change themselves professionally, as individuals and organisationally.
It’s been an open and transparent relationship which, like the county’s other major domestic export, Yorkshire tea, is just refreshing.
We are always adding to our free leadership and management courses and demos, to spark brilliance by designing and delivering stimulating, challenging and fun learning experiences and training programs. Our ACE free online Leadership Workshops can be found here. Contact Us for a FREE demo on 0345 034 1105 or email info@akdsolutions.com
