Lloyd's: A top place to work

It is official – Lloyd’s is a great place to work. This is something head of human resources Suzy Black and her team had suspected for some time. But it wasn’t until the Corporation entered the highly-regarded Sunday Times list and won a position in the mid-sized category that it was able to benchmark its efforts – not just within the industry, but across all sectors of UK business.

“We often talk about being on ‘Team Lloyd’s’ because there’s a huge sense of being on a team and contributing to that team and I think the employees of Lloyd’s wear that badge very proudly,” Black says.

All the companies in the top 100 were invited to an awards event last month. “It was a very buzzy evening and people were very excited, taking huge pride in the fact they’d made the list,” she adds.

Changing perceptions

Earning a place on the prestigious Best Companies list is an endorsement of both the thriving work environment at Lloyd’s and of the business itself, thinks Black. Insurance is no longer the poor cousin to banking. The days of young professionals entering the market just because that is what their father and grandfather had done are coming to an end.

These days many of the sharpest minds are considering insurance because of what is on offer, with Lloyd’s graduate programme oversubscribed each year. Each graduate is offered three to four work placements within both the Corporation and the market itself, offering them a unique perspective on underwriting, Lloyd’s and how the global insurance industry operates.

“The whole perception of insurance has changed over the last five years in terms of it becoming a more appealing place and a more interesting place to work, where people can have quite diverse careers,” she explains.

Giving something back

Lloyd’s has a very low staff turnover and Black thinks one of the reasons is the value employees place in the range of incentives on offer. Beyond salary and benefits this includes time off to do charity work and non-work-related activities, training and development and recognition amongst peers. “Employees are very sophisticated people and they have more drivers than just wanting to earn money,” she says.

One example is last year’s Sports JAM event in East London where 90 Lloyd’s Community Programme volunteers joined forces with Team GB 2012 hopefuls to encourage children from disadvantaged communities to get more involved in sports.

Staff gave Lloyd’s its highest overall ranking in the Giving Something Back category, with a 68% positive score. They think the company puts a lot back into the community and helps protect the environment (76%).

“This relates to our corporate social responsibility agenda,” says Black. “There are a whole range of activities that we get involved in at a corporation level and we ask our employees to get involved in. They’ve rated us highly on this because they think we’re doing an excellent job in this area – but some of that is down to their own contribution – people take huge value from their contributions at a personal level.”

Working within an iconic London building steeped in history also has its advantages. The 323-year old market with its strong relationship-based business and long traditions, which date back to the Edward Lloyd’s coffee house, fill employees with a sense of pride according to the Best Companies survey.

Achieving a listing on the survey was a group effort, explains Black, and not just something driven by the HR side of the business. The tone was set from the top, with the Corporation’s Executive keen to achieve the accolade.

“I am delighted that Lloyd’s has been named as one of the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to work for,” says Lloyd’s CEO Richard Ward. “I believe Lloyd’s to be an inspiring and rewarding place to work and am pleased that our staff agree. I am extremely proud of the achievements of the corporation over the last 12 months and thank all Lloyd’s employees for their continuing dedication, commitment and professionalism.”

Superbrands
The accolade is the second major achievement Lloyd's has enjoyed over the last few weeks having also been recognised by Superbrands. The company, which commissions independent research to identify the UK's strongest brands, placed Lloyd's within the Top 40 business brands in the UK for 2011.

Dr Ward said: "I'm very pleased to see Lloyd's moving further up the Business Superbrands rankings and, most importantly, retaining our place as the strongest insurance brand."

"Over the years Lloyd's has gone from strength to strength and, as we look at expanding our business in emerging markets, I am confident the Lloyd's brand will continue to grow and thrive," he added.

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