Best for returners

Lloyds Banking Group [LBG] has a long track record of supporting returners back to work and has recruited over 150 people who have taken a career break since 2016 through its returner programme, but that hasn’t stopped it pushing the boundaries.

It has recently moved from an annual cohort model to a more business-as-normal hiring process due in large part to the success of its previous work and the growing number of managers who can attest to the calibre of those it hires. That continuous progression led to it being awarded Best for Returners at the 2024 WM People Top Employer Awards.

The change to a business-as-usual model happened gradually and is based on years of learning and refining what LBG offers. Between 2016 and 2021 LBG had an annual returner programme based on 16-week placements with the opportunity to gain a permanent role in the business. It paused the programme in 2020 while they looked to pivot online and the programme restarted in 2021. Because of Covid restrictions and remote working, it was able to expand nationwide.

Learnings

Over time LBG realised that most returners wanted permanent roles at the end of the programme and that the uncertainty of a placement was quite stressful. So in 2022 it pivoted to giving returners a day one right to a permanent role. “By this point it was clear how experienced and highly motivated returners candidates are,” says Ance Vanaga, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager at Lloyds Banking Group. “The career gap had often only given these individuals additional skills, rather than taking anything away from their previous experience.”

She adds: “Permanent roles took away additional worries for the returners, allowing them to really build their confidence and to see Lloyds Banking Group as a place where they could develop their career.”

LBG also learned that permanent roles didn’t necessarily come up at the times the cohorts were onboarding as part of the returner programme. “That learning led to cultural change,” says Vanaga. “We knew that in an ideal world a returner programme would not need to exist because a break shouldn’t have a negative impact on a person’s career. A person’s experience doesn’t just disappear.”

Hiring managers can now identify which roles are the most suitable for returners, and ringfence them to be open for returners applications only. These are roles with a wider range of transferable skills in business areas where the capacity for support is available to help returners settle back into the workplace, along with having access to mentors, coaches and buddies. Vanaga says: “We don’t want to be too prescriptive. This means that support is tailored to each individual that we hire and is based on extensive conversations throughout the recruitment process, onboarding and beyond.”

The recruitment process

Returners – who must have had a career break of at least 18 months – apply for jobs in the normal way and can apply for any job. They can also get help, for instance, to prepare for interviews, working with hiring managers who have access to appropriate training materials. Every returner is also encouraged to build their own personal development plan and they have access to a Returners Learning Hub and Returners Alumni Community where stories are shared.

Vanaga says that, due to the number of returners that Lloyds Banking Group has worked with, more and more senior leaders are seeing their passion, loyalty and enthusiasm and understand the benefits of hiring them. Thirty nine per cent of returners have been with the Group for over five years; half for over two years. And that number is going up. After so many years Lloyds Banking Group now has a large community of returners and many act as mentors for new joiners. “That community is what returners most appreciate,” says Vanaga.

Diversity

The diversity of the returner community is also impressive and helps to boost diversity across LBG generally, particularly in the middle and senior roles they tend to come back into. Some returners are in their 50s and 60s. Sixty per cent are from ethnic minorities. Nine per cent have a disability. Around 10% are men. Sixty per cent of the 2023 intake are in tech roles. Their reasons for taking breaks are also very varied – from caring responsibilities to health reasons to travelling, living abroad and beyond.

Some want to return on reduced hours or require other forms of flexibility, such as hybrid working; others don’t. LBG offers a range of flexible working and every role is open to job share. “Every returner is unique and that’s why a tailored approach works,” says Vanaga. “The diversity of returners’ experiences is expanding and that’s what makes it such a rich community.”

*Lloyds Banking Group features in the WM People Best Practice Report 2024. More information here.

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