Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Change managementEmployee relationsEmployee engagementHR strategy

RBS calls in David Ulrich and MacLeod to boost HR ahead of restructure

by Kat Baker 26 Nov 2009
by Kat Baker 26 Nov 2009

RBS has brought in two management gurus to help its HR team through the huge restructure at the state-owned bank, Personnel Today has learned.

Greig Aitken, head of human capital strategy at the bank, revealed that HR guru Dave Ulrich and David MacLeod, who recently led a government-commissioned review on employee engagement, had been brought in to speak to the bank’s legions of HR staff.

Aitken said they were hired to talk to the bank’s HR staff about organisational change, talent management and staff engagement.

“We had Dave Ulrich do global audios and we’ve also got David MacLeod and he’s partnering with our group HR director [Neil Roden] over the coming weeks to do some [sessions] with HR staff to make sure that we are taking account of the changing organisational dynamics.”

More than 600 HR professionals joined the Ulrich call, while MacLeod is due to speak to staff next week, the company confirmed.

An RBS spokeswoman refused to comment on how much it had paid for the sessions, but earlier this year Ulrich spoke at the Public Sector People Managers’ Association’s annual conference for two hours at a cost of about £30,000.

Aitken said employee engagement had taken a hit over the course of the year because of the turmoil in financial markets and the HR function was now focused on improving it.

RBS has announced plans to cut nearly 14,000 jobs this year and has received billions of pounds of taxpayer’s cash to keep it afloat

He said: “The engagement of staff is massively important not just for the HR function but the impact it has on customer services and performance, and so we are focusing on that particularly.”

The bank has also placed a strong emphasis on non-financial recognition to boost engagement.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Some of the largest impacts on employee engagement are some of the simplest things to do,” Aitken said. “In the main it’s about managers recognising the great work that staff have done.”

Aitken said RBS had launched a number of recognition schemes across the business which enabled managers, for example, to send personal thank you cards to staff.

Kat Baker

previous post
Don’t limit response to Walker review to pay and bonuses, warns CIPD
next post
Boorman NHS staff wellbeing review needs senior management buy-in

You may also like

How neuroscience can unlock employee recognition

22 May 2025

‘Polygamous working’ is a minefield for HR

14 May 2025

University of Salford launches Better Working Lives cluster

14 May 2025

Why HR burnout is a strategic issue

12 May 2025

Why fighting the DEI backlash is about PR...

9 May 2025

Preparing for a new era of workforce planning...

8 May 2025

Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar)

8 May 2025

Ofgem workers ballot for strike action

2 May 2025

Employment Rights Bill must be tightened to protect...

1 May 2025

Succession planning now ‘more of a priority than...

24 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+