Key Performance Indicator:
To ensure that we develop the leaders and leadership that the Prudential Group needs now and into the future, by engaging employees and creating a work environment in which they thrive and are rewarded fairly.
We strive to create an environment in Prudential that attracts and retains the right people, those who are committed and able to deliver top performance for our customers and shareholders. We understand that to support our aim of being a leading international retail financial services company, we need to have the right people in the right number at the right time.
"I was looking for a challenge in the global insurance market and felt that Prudential was one of the best companies to work for. ‘The Momentum Programme’ is one of the leading programmes in the insurance industry and I am very proud to be involved in the opportunities it presents."
Danny Yasin Group-wide Internal Audit
Our key driver in Human Resources (HR) is to deliver the leaders and leadership the Prudential Group needs now and into the future. Our HR strategy is to achieve this by focusing on five key challenges:
- Getting the right people into the business.
- Building and rewarding performance.
- Growing a strong talent pipeline.
- Developing credible successors.
- Developing an organisation that works.
Employee engagement
We recognise that key to the success of our business is having engaged and committed staff. We believe that effective communication is invaluable in achieving this goal. Each of our business units has its own intranet site which is used to keep staff updated on the performance of the business and other relevant issues. They also provide staff with an opportunity to pose questions to their business Chief Executive.
There are also a number of employee consultation forums, such as the M&G Staff Consultative Committee, and the UK Insurance Operations’ Employee Forum. These give employees an opportunity to express their views and discuss issues of concern. For those working in the European Union, we hold a yearly European Employee Forum where key employment issues are discussed.
Employee surveys are an effective way of gauging the opinions and level of satisfaction of our employees. Several of our business units run surveys. For example, Jackson has conducted an employee satisfaction survey in its Denver office for the last few years and has seen an increase in employee satisfaction over this period. In 2007, Jackson conducted an employee satisfaction survey in its Lansing office and has established a number of task forces to address concerns that employees raised in the survey. Jackson also conducted an employee satisfaction survey in its affiliated network of four independent broker-dealers, National Planning Holdings. The survey identified that career development was a priority for its employees. To address this, an on-line career exploration and development tool was developed. The on-line tool delves further into career development with participants completing self-assessments and documenting their career goals while aligning their activities with opportunities for growth within the Jackson network.
As part of our reward practices we believe it is important to enable employees to share in the success of the Group through share ownership. In the UK we operate two all employee share plans; a share investment plan and a save as you earn scheme. Fifty-three per cent of eligible employees in the UK participate in the save as you earn scheme and nine per cent in the share investment plan. In Asia we operate two save as you earn schemes similar to the UK scheme; one for employees and one for agents. Twenty-one per cent of eligible employees and 15 per cent of eligible agents participate in these schemes.
Diversity
We strive to ensure that Prudential employees work in an environment where everyone is respected and treated equally. We recognise the value that a diverse workforce brings to our organisation.In 2007, Prudential featured in the UK Times newspaper’s top 50 places for women to work and 13 per cent of our Group Leadership Team are women.
The majority of our business is outside the UK. In the areas where we operate, we recognise the importance of hiring and developing individuals from the local talent market. In our Asia business 82 per cent of senior managers are recruited from the local workforce.
In the UK, we were a founding member of Race for Opportunity and are also members of Opportunity Now and the Employers’ Forum on Age and Disability.
Prudential Assurance Company Singapore has also participated in the Employer’s Pledge of Fair Employment Practices.
Human rights and fair terms of employment
Prudential is guided by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Fundamental Conventions.
Designing Prudential for the future
Throughout 2007, our Asian business has continued to grow significantly with new business sales up by 44 per cent. We now have more than 400,000 employees and agents in the region supporting the delivery of services to approximately 10 million customers across the region. One of the biggest challenges we face is getting people into the business in what is a very competitive talent market. We are constantly reviewing our reward structures to ensure they are competitive and attract the talent we need to support the ongoing growth of our business in Asia.
In 2007, we announced that we had entered into a major partnership agreement with Capita Group Plc (Capita) to administer our back book. This will help the UK business become Leaders in Retirement by significantly reducing the cost of managing the back book and freeing it to be more competitive. The partnership allows the UK business to focus on making the most of its brand, core strengths and proven capabilities. Various potential partners were considered but Capita was chosen because of its size and experience. The deal protects more jobs than the other options available and, for many, will make them part of a growing administration business with sites across the UK and in Mumbai.
People employed in the UK transferred via TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations) on 1 April 2008 and those in Mumbai via offers of new employment on comparable terms and conditions on 1 August 2008. Full consultation is taking place with unions and the business is working closely with Capita to ensure that the transfer is as smooth as possible. Regular communication, updates and training are being provided to employees through face to face meetings, print and the intranet to help them manage the change associated with the partnership.
"Interns help us to attract new talent to the company by sharing their Jackson experience with other students and professors."
Steve Hrapkiewicz, Senior Vice President Human Resources, Jackson National Life Insurance Company
Learning and development
Prudential has a long history of success, from its early roots in the UK right through to today’s international, diverse and innovative business. Our continued success depends on investing in people today and developing the next generation of leadership.
To deliver the leaders and leadership that Prudential needs, both now and into the future, we undertake an annual review of our talent across the Group, identifying, developing and rewarding those people who will enable us to fulfil the strategic options we want to consider.
In 2007, we implemented a series of Group-wide management development programmes to assess senior talent within the business and identify the development activity they need to be successors to future leadership roles. These programmes help us benchmark our best people in a consistent way and will support the movement of senior people around the Group.
Also in 2007, we introduced the ‘Momentum Programme’; a Group-wide initiative designed to identify high potential individuals early in their careers and provide them with stretching opportunities to grow and develop the skills needed to manage an international business. This programme is open to both internal and external candidates and has attracted applicants from across the world.
Within Prudential there is a vast array of different learning and development activities which are readily available to employees. For example, M&G meets employees’ individual learning needs through on-line training, one-to-one coaching and more traditional classroom delivery. Prudential UK has developed an on-line portal ‘Learning Space’, which enables staff to easily access relevant learning for their personal and professional development.
In Asia, employee education is provided across the Group’s Asian markets through PRUuniversity, which is available to all staff and is offered in a wide variety of languages. Programmes covering management, leadership, technical and business skills as well as a comprehensive range of self-improvement materials including language courses are available with many being endorsed by external learning institutions.
PRUPIM’s Prudential Employee Assisted Learning (PEAL) programme offers activities related to personal learning and development: these do not have to be directly work-related. Examples of activities supported in the past include personal improvement activities, such as golf lessons, language studies and flying lessons.
In 2007, Jackson launched a new summer internship programme whereby 17 college students were given the opportunity to work in its Lansing, Denver and Santa Monica offices with Jackson executives. After the success of the programme, many of the interns remained at Jackson through the year on a part-time basis.
We see the quality of our people as a key component of our success and will continue to invest in both short and long-term development activity over the coming years.
Group health and safety
We have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all our employees whilst at work.
In 2007, the Group Health and Safety (GHS) Team achieved OHSAS 18001 accreditation (Occupational Health and Safety Accreditation System) for its UK health and safety management system. OHSAS 18001 is a framework which will allow us to identify and control our health and safety risks consistently, reduce the potential for accidents, aid legislative compliance and improve overall performance. It also provides us with an opportunity to assess its applicability as a management system across the Group.
Each business unit has a representative who provides leadership for health and safety and attends twice-yearly meetings of the Health and Safety Council. This year, those meetings have included discussions on a range of issues including safety advice for international travellers, processes to ensure that appropriate safety arrangements are communicated to personnel attending company events and a review of our occupational health service providers.
There were no major health and safety breaches in 2007.
Wellness at work - Promoting healthy lifestyle
Both in the UK and Asia we are a provider of health insurance to individual and corporate clients and we recognise how important it is for employees to have a healthy lifestyle. There are a number of initiatives across the Group to promote healthy living.
In the Philippines, Pru life UK has established an Employee Welfare Committee. The committee was set up to promote wellness at work. Activities have included free bone screening and cholesterol check-ups. Prudential Assurance Company Singapore has established a Work-life Balance Committee to promote ‘A Healthy and Satisfied Life’.
In China, CITIC Prudential provides annual medical check-ups for all employees.
The company has also organised medical talks, provided advice on illness prevention and wellness improvement seminars for employees.
Prudential UK has support systems in place such as 24-hour helplines, independent counsellors, physiotherapists and medical advice, referrals to occupational health and advice from an employee relations adviser. Nearly two per cent of employees benefited from physiotherapy treatment during 2007, resulting in a 30 per cent reduction in days lost per person to musculoskeletal conditions.
Regular health articles are published on the Prudential UK and Jackson intranet sites, informing employees about health, self-esteem, giving up smoking and relaxation techniques. Jackson also offers its employees the chance to participate in its wellness at work programme which is coordinated by the YMCA.
Employee communication
Communication with employees is essential in ensuring engaged and committed staff. In Jackson, the Corporate Communications department produces two monthly internal electronic publications, Insights and Involved. The goal of Insights is not only to report company news, but also to write articles that inform employees of company and management initiatives and to boost morale across the organisation.