Lloyds Banking Group: Transforming for the Digital Age
With a rich history dating back to the founding of Taylors & Lloyds in 1765, Lloyds Banking Group has been at the forefront of enhancing customer experiences for well over two centuries.
The Group serves over 27 million customers across its various brands, including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.
To meet the needs of its customers, Lloyds Banking Group is undertaking what it describes as “one of the biggest technology transformations in the UK,” encompassing not only technological upgrades but also a fundamental shift in the organisation’s culture.
Helping drive this transformation is Amit Thawani, Chief Information Officer for Insurance, Pensions and Investments at Lloyds Banking Group. With a career spanning continents and roles from software developer to enterprise architect and at companies such as Oracle, BNP Paribas, ING and Wells Fargo, Amit brings a unique perspective to the challenges and opportunities facing one of Britain’s oldest and most respected financial institutions.
For Amit, joining Lloyds Banking Group presented an appealing opportunity due to its market presence and extensive history. Its clear and noble purpose of ‘Helping Britain Prosper’ was a key contributor.
“People really value and trust the Group’s brands, so it was a massive opportunity,” he says. “Lloyds Banking Group is also undergoing a major technology transformation which was a huge draw for me as a technologist,” he adds.
At the same time, the organisation is also experiencing a cultural shift, “transitioning to one agile way of working,” Amit notes.
“It was about engineering transformation, next-generation data centres, next-generation applications, simplification, modernisation and legacy transformation – everything I'm passionate about. Lloyds Banking Group can deliver massive societal benefits, helping millions of customers – which can only happen if we get our tech transformation right.”
Lloyds Banking Group: Investing in people
At the core of Lloyds’ transformation strategy is a significant investment in its workforce. The organisation has placed a strong emphasis on building teams across the UK to support its digital transformation.
"At Lloyds Banking Group, it's all about people," Amit asserts. “We know our insurance, pensions and investments customers want easy access to the products that are so critical to ensuring they protect and prepare themselves and their families for their long-term future. This part of the business really is exciting to be part of; where our people can make a real difference to the UK population who are not prepared for their tomorrow.”
Lloyds Banking Group takes a comprehensive approach to employee development, including formal career development programmes, skills training and coaching.
“We want to make sure we have the digital and engineering skills needed to deliver the very best products and services for our customers,” Amit explains. “We offer comprehensive training packages to help colleagues upskill and transition to new technologies and roles within the organisation.”
“We run Academies such as the Data and Tech Academy where we offer development opportunities for colleagues in domains like data, AI and quantum computing,” he says. “Our Group Chief Operating Officer Ron van Kemenade also sponsors the No Ordinary Tech Podcast, bringing together leading tech experts from across the globe to discuss the big trends in tech and how they impact all of us. They’re hosted on Spotify and Apple so available to anyone, but also a great way for our people to stay informed and inspired.”
Today the Group is looking to bring in and develop new talent, both external and internal, through its apprenticeships, reskilling and graduate programmes. “The numbers show our commitment, with 2,500 new hires in technology and data roles over the last two years.” Amit says.
“Our Graduate programme is also one of the largest tech and data programmes in the UK and we’re currently training and nurturing talent with around 500 tech and data apprentices and 240 engineering and data graduates. We’re also hosting 97 engineering, data & cyber T-Level placements in 2024
Diversity as a strength
It’s widely recognised across the industry that there is a lack of diversity in tech roles – research shows that just 25% of tech employees are ethnic minorities and 5% are Black. As a result, Lloyds Banking Group is making concerted efforts to build a more inclusive workforce. Drawing from his own experiences working across multiple countries and cultures, Amit is a strong advocate for diversity within the Group.
“Many corporates have diversity targets, but I don't view them as targets, rather as opportunities,” he states. “Having worked across three continents and eight or nine countries, I'm acutely aware of the importance of diversity – not only in terms of gender, but also ethnicity and cultural backgrounds. We know that diverse teams in technology are highly beneficial to business growth and impact it in remarkable ways. When you think that Lloyds touches most households in the UK, it’s hugely important that our workforce represents the customers and communities we serve.”
The bank’s commitment to diversity is reflected in its partnerships with organisations like Tech Talent Charter, which helps identify gaps in attracting diverse talent, and Amit is proud of the Group’s relationship with Black Professionals UK (BPU), now in its third year.
Lloyds Banking Group also maintains active forums for underrepresented groups, including a prominent LGBTQ+ network.
“We have a very active LGBTQ+ forum within Lloyds, and I encourage my team members to participate,” Amit says. “Diversity is incredibly important to us. If I may use an analogy: a rainbow has seven colours, and if it had only one, it wouldn't be as beautiful.”
The power of data and AI
Data is a crucial asset: a fact that Lloyds Banking Group is keenly aware of. “Data is our biggest asset after our colleagues and customers, and with that comes a huge responsibility,” Amit says.
The Group is investing £3bn in its people, technology and data to become a modern, progressive, tech-enabled business, offering world-class customer service and frictionless customer experience. “This investment allows us to constantly enhance our digital channels to create better experiences for new and existing customers.” Amit explains. “Our intent is always to consider how data can benefit customers, colleagues and the Group.
“For example, we’re harnessing this opportunity to allow our wider customer base to focus on their tomorrow. This year we launched Ready-Made Pensions. We're the only financial services company in the country that can bring banking and insurance together – and we recognise that it makes sense for customers to have all their financial needs met within a single environment. In essence, this is a personal pension that can be opened through one of our Lloyds Bank, Halifax or Bank of Scotland banking apps and is shown alongside customer’s existing bank accounts. Over a third (35%) of UK adults use a banking app every day, and so Ready-Made Pension is designed to be seamlessly incorporated into people’s established daily banking routines.
“What we want to do with data is help consumers make the right decisions at moments of truth in their life journeys.”
Continuing to meet customer expectations
As Lloyds Banking Group continues its transformation journey, it faces both challenges and opportunities. The Group must balance its heritage and trusted status with the need to innovate and meet evolving customer expectations. It must also navigate the complex regulatory landscape of the UK financial sector while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in digital banking.
With 22 million of its 27 million customers (85%) engaging digitally, “a massive ratio compared to global benchmarks” and growing by 9% when compared to a year ago, Amit recognises the critical importance of Lloyds Banking Group’s digital offerings.
“This requires constant evolution in how we engage with customers, always with a customer-centric approach,” he notes.
“At the heart of our strategy is a new digital ‘waterfront’, embedded within our existing apps, showing what tomorrow looks like for our customers and the steps they can take now to future-proof their finances. It will be simple, intuitive, and interactive, with everything in one place and with a broader suite of products to fulfil our customers’ evolving needs. For our customers, ‘Your tomorrow’ is our new digital service and the cornerstone of what we want to achieve. It will make it really simple for customers to see all of their finances in one place – what they have today and what they’ll have tomorrow – and allow them to engage with their future financial plans. Our investment in technology is fundamental to being able to provide a broader range of products that match people’s modern life-cycles, redefining bancassurance all under one roof.
“Offering such a wide range of products and having a massive customer base, we can't rely on the old ways of engaging,” Amit says. “We have to keep innovating and bringing customer-centricity to our technology.”
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