Co-operative Financial Services HR Operations improve value, quality and flexibility

The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) was under pressure to increase the value it offers. The business wanted greater support in attracting and retaining high calibre people, managing performance and ensuring talent was developed through appropriate learning opportunities. There was also a drive to reduce costs, improve efficiency and improve quality of service. As far as the provision of basic HR services was concerned, CFS had a number of challenges. Its general HR administration system was located in-house while the payroll system was outsourced. The two systems were linked by batch interfaces which impacted the timeliness and accuracy of information, a particular challenge when creating the monthly payroll. There was no self-service access to HR information and details were gathered on paper forms or through emails and then keyed into the in-house system or sent to the payroll provider for keying. Management information, insight and analysis were difficult to obtain and the cost of running the two systems was high.

The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) is a group of businesses that includes The Co-operative Insurance, The Co-operative Investments and The Co-operative Bank. Part of The Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest consumer co-operative, CFS has around 6.5 million customers. Based in Manchester, the HR function at CFS serves approximately 7,500 people mainly located at three major sites in the North West. The HR department was under pressure from the business to increase the value it offers. The business wanted greater support in attracting and retaining high calibre people, managing performance and ensuring talent was developed through appropriate learning opportunities. There was also a drive to reduce costs, improve efficiency and improve quality of service.