Vaultex

How People Business assisted Vaultex

People Business and Vaultex have worked in partnership since 2019 to achieve great results. Our collaboration has included three distinct but interconnected programmes:

1. Leaders for Change
2. A Culture for Optimism
3. Leadership Coaching. 

1. Leaders for Change – building Vaultex managers’ capability to take the lead 

Achieving growth in a declining market requires clarity of vision and leadership. Senior managers reporting to the Executive Committee have a key role to play. People Business designed and facilitated a programme for three cohorts of managers, enabling them to take ownership of the vision, engage with the possibilities that change offers and inspire a culture for adaptability and growth.  

We challenged some of the core assumptions participants made about their role, offering simple concepts to drive practical action as catalysts for change. The result was to establish a new network of leaders for change with increased collective impact. We enabled participants to: 

• understand the role that senior managers have as leaders and catalysts for change​ 
• engage their colleagues and lead a culture for agility, innovation and openness to change​ 
• identify key stakeholders that need to be involved to achieve change and develop strategies to build strong collaborative relationships for new ways of working​ 
• get to know each other better and create a new network of leaders for change.

What the client said – Sarah Chapman FCIPD, Head of HR & Health and Safety 

“As an organisation moving through rapid change, and having worked with People Business already, providing executive coaching to our Executive leadership team it was a great opportunity to engage with them to provide coaching and workshops on the area of leading change to our senior leadership team.  This continued synergy led to a collaborative approach with Graeme and the People Business team truly understanding the needs of both the business and the individuals. Challenging and thought-provoking workshops, followed up with 1:1 executive coaching sessions, ensured that all those who were involved were able to evaluate their current mind set and move to one of growth and change. Engaging, fun and insightful with excellent feedback from all those who attended. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Graeme and People Business and are already planning for our next cohort of future leaders to go through the same programme! Thank you, Graeme and the team.”

2. A Culture for Optimism – a programme of engagement to get Vaultex on the front foot

Phil Vaughan (Vaultex CEO) has a strongly held belief that the only way Vaultex can succeed in its ambition to deliver growth is through its people.  Over the past twelve years, he has established a very strong people culture that is a key differentiator with the competition.  His vision is that people can have confidence in the future based on a culture for growth – where people are engaged, proactive and customer-led.  There have been difficult decisions to be made and some significant structural changes – including sites closures and redundancies. But these have been done with a transparency and a focus on the future to give people a positive view on the way they can contribute to Vaultex’s sustainable success.  

We worked together to launch ‘Project Optimism’ as a way to get people to have honest and transparent conversations about Vaultex’s strengths, reasons to believe in the long-term future and the responsibility that everyone has for embedding change. Our approach was to: 

• engage a diverse team to launch the next key phase of engagement with a focus on the future
• articulate the shared ambition for Vaultex: a successful organisation, where people thrive, working in partnership for the success of their customers
• focus on practical action that makes a difference – recognising that every single person has a role to play. 

Feedback from the Roadshows sharing the ambition was very positive. Engagement has remained exceptionally high through a period of restructuring. New customers are being onboarded and volumes are growing. People are stepping up, there is a ‘buzz’ about the place and there is growing belief in the future. 

What the client said – feedback from participants at the Optimism events 

“What was so effective was the very clear narrative about where the business is, our direction of travel and the different things that need to be done – by everyone – to get there.” 

“It seemed to bring everyone together onto the same page and developed understanding for one another. Everyone who attended felt committed to making a positive contribution.” 

“What I am thoughtful about is how I help others to buy into the ambition, collaborate and be positive about the future.” 

3. Leadership Coaching – ongoing support and challenge to encourage leaders to step up

The journey that Vaultex has been on is notable for the desire to expand the Executive Committee, bringing forward a new tier of managers in leading change. This belief in the value of the wider organisation has been matched by investment in their development. Ongoing coaching support is enabling: 

• managers to see themselves differently and step up as leaders
• a stronger Executive Committee, with broader representation and collective ownership for decision-making
• a focus on succession, developing a pathway for new leaders
• wider exposure to the Vaultex Board, establishing new relationships and networks across HSBC and Barclays
• a new network of leaders, collaborating, support and challenging to deliver the Optimism agenda. 

What the client said – Phil Vaughan, CEO, Vaultex

There is profound change taking place in the cash management industry – not least due to a diminishing market and technological innovation. Graeme Rainbird from People Business has helped us get on the front foot and embrace the changes to build a genuine sense of optimism for the future. Through one-to-one coaching, leadership capability building and the facilitation of engagement events Graeme has helped us to create a real buzz of excitement and encouraged us to lean into the opportunities we now see. I am confident our continued partnership will deliver tangible benefits for our organisation and help put us in a strong position for success.