Bank of Ireland

In 2022, the Bank of Ireland completely reimagined and redesigned its performance management approach, delivering significant cultural change for 10,000 employees in a way described as “brave” and “a leading example of good practice in performance management conversations” by the PMAs judges. 

Before the Thrive initiative was developed in 2022, the organisation took a traditional approach to performance management that included goal setting, mid-year and end-of-year reviews. However, its 2021 employee survey revealed that the approach was “a major source of frustration and stress” for colleagues, with 65 per cent feeling the approach did not support their development. A third (32 per cent) felt their people manager did not take adequate time to discuss their strengths and development areas. 

Recognising the need for radical change, a consultation process was undertaken involving 1,000 colleagues, who took part in one-to-one interviews, surveys and focus groups. The result of the eight-month research, consultation and design period was Thrive, the bank’s new performance development experience, which launched in January 2023. It offers a “simplified and consistent group-wide approach” in which priorities are aligned to role activities and linked to the group’s strategy, purpose and values.

Guaranteed quarterly check-in conversations focus on colleague wellbeing, development and performance, culminating in a simplified three-point rating scale. A new digital platform supports colleagues and people managers with the process. One year on, the employee experience survey saw an improved response to questions such “the current Bank of Ireland performance development process supports my development” (up 24 percentage points from

2022) and “my manager makes time to discuss my strengths and development areas”, which was up seven per cent on 2022. Moreover, quarterly check-in completion rates increased from 52 per cent in the first quarter to 91 per cent in the final quarter.

The judges said: “The Bank of Ireland has faced into a perennial challenge for organisations with bravery. This has made a significant impact for its business and colleagues, resulting in a leading example of performance management.” They described Thrive as an “excellent example of evidence-based initiative development, both at inception and review stages” and noted that the link of performance and development was “evident and demonstrated in internal career development”. The judges added that it was “great to see employee sentiment as a key driver for change”.