Bank of Ireland retail staff ‘least motivated’

STAFF at Bank of Ireland’s retail arm are among the least motivated and engaged workers within the group, according to the findings of a recent employee survey.

Documents seen by the Irish Independent show just 41pc of staff in the group’s retail operations take pride in the organisation while “engagement”, or motivation levels, sit fractionally higher at 43pc.

A mere 28pc of staff in the division said they would recommend it as a place to work.

Bank of Ireland launched the employee engagement survey last year – the first such exercise undertaken in almost a decade – and the findings laid bare the scale of the challenge confronting the lender’s new CEO, Francesca McDonagh, as she attempts to overhaul its culture.

On Monday it was announced that Liam McLoughlin, the long-serving head of the group’s retail division, will leave at the end of the month.

Ms McDonagh said she would update staff shortly about Mr McLoughlin’s replacement, fuelling expectations the search to find a successor is at an advanced stage.

In an email circulated to staff in the retail unit, Ms McDonagh highlighted that 69pc of staff in the division completed the survey, which she described as “very encouraging”.

However, she noted there was a high degree of scepticism among staff at the bank’s ability to “put our ideas into action quickly”.

Last year it was reported the overall results of the employee survey showed the level of pride in the bank scored 48pc across the group, although 80pc of staff felt their managers encouraged them to do the right thing for customers.