Enjoy a "Co-operative Employee Experience"

So what’s different about working for The Co-operative Bank?

Well, we’re committed to making our co-operative difference real by delivering what we call a 'co-operative employee experience' to all of our employees. In the same way that we want our customers to feel that banking with a co-operative is different (and better) we also want our people to feel that working here is special and different.

Our co-operative employee experience is made up of all the things that our employees told us were important to them, along with aspirations for the future. It underpins everything we do at work and what we need to think about in all of our daily interactions with our colleagues and customers.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll experience when you work with us...

 Develop rich and lasting relationships with our customers and colleagues

We focus on people. We’re a small company, so we can interact with our customers and colleagues on a personal level every day.

We aspire to making a positive difference to the financial well-being of all our customers. So our focus is on productive long-term relationships that stretch wider than just our customers and employees. It’s about connecting with and transforming the banking experience for the New Zealand communities in which we operate.

 Share our positive team and family spirit

We’re a positive forward-looking team with a common understanding of our vision and some very big aspirations! Even though we’re a company with a nation-wide presence, we’re small enough to ensure interaction, approachability and openness across teams at all levels of the business (and this is actively encouraged and rewarded).

Our Chief Executive and management team are 'present' in our work environments. They openly engage with us to discuss the company’s aspirations, challenges and any 'shop-floor' issues that we may be experiencing.

We were a finalist in the 'JRA Best Workplaces in NZ' survey for 2010 achieving a placing of 7th out of 40 other organisations in the category for medium to large workplaces. We survey our employees every year and the results consistently confirm that they’re engaged and satisfied in their work.

Our co-operative roots and real connection with local communities helps to reinforce the family spirit that’s present in our work environments.

 Have a say and contribute to how things are done around here

We’re tasked with owning and creating our own experience at work - which means we help shape the environment and culture of our company.

Our branches and work teams are small which presents plenty of challenge and opportunity to get involved and roll your sleeves up!

Whether it be running local marketing campaigns, developing branch business plans, or participating in an employee 'think-tank' for a new system, our input and perspective is valued and taken on board. We’re not just consulted for the sake of process, our input and ideas actually evolve into working solutions.

 We’re true to our values - we live them every day

We take our values seriously as a co-operative and we live and breath them in all things that we do. Our co-operative values guide our strategy, approach and interactions with our customers and employees.

Our strong community presence and connection is a good example of 'living' our values. We don’t just sponsor community organisations and events, we actively participate to help them achieve their aspirations.

As a co-operative, we're 100% owned by our customers, not by corporate shareholders. This means we can always put our customers best interests first. Because our customers are our shareholders, we can put our profits straight back into the business - and use them for their benefit. The better off our customers are, the better off we are. And the better off we are, the better off our customers are.

 Experience a co-operative way of working - you help me, I help you and everyone wins

It’s not about me or about you - it’s about us and how we work together for mutual benefit. A co-operative is all about give and take, so everything that you put in you’ll get back. This is the essence of who we are as a company and how we approach our business.

Our people are treated fairly and equally. We focus on enabling and supporting a co-operative employee experience for all of our people - but of course the responsibility lies just as much with our employees as it does with us.

Our 'give and take' approach applies throughout all the different aspects of the employment relationship from learning and development to recognition and rewards. For example, if we do well as a business then this is reflected in the performance-based rewards that we give back to our people (and of course our customers).

 Work like you own the company - as member employees we do!

Our employees tell us (and we agree) that one of the best things about working for a co-operative is that you’re part of something much bigger - rather than it being 'just a job'. Because of our priority focus on our customers and helping them get' ahead financially, we go home feeling like we’ve made a meaningful impact in their lives every day. This isn’t only rewarding, it’s also motivating and the reason why our people "own" what they do at work (and why the majority of them are also customers!)

 Be part of building a world-class co-operative business

Becoming a registered bank is just the start of something very big. We’ve recently achieved a credit rating upgrade and registration as a bank. We’re evolving as an organisation to transform the banking experience for our customers. Our challenge is to introduce and share our unique offering to all New Zealander’s.

We’re already renowned for our world-class customer satisfaction. Even just recently we received the Canstar Blue five star award for customer satisfaction in banking! We were the only bank awarded five stars for every category in a survey of New Zealand's leading financial institutions.

 Stretch and grow on the job to realise your potential

Learning and growing on the job is essential in our company and we take it very seriously. We’re on a big journey in building a co-operative bank that's 100% owned by our customers, and we’ve got some major milestones ahead. We have to be on top of our game and constantly learning and developing new capability to ensure that we’re able to deliver our unique offering to our customers.

In addition to our in-house training and development programme, our people have opportunities to progress into leadership positions, work in different areas across the business and be involved in company initiatives and projects, such as developing new systems.

Around here it’s all about taking ownership for your personal and professional growth and we’ll actively encourage and support you on this journey.

To find out more about the real life employment experience, view the following profiles of some of our Co-operative employees

Our Rotorua Branch team!

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