Marlon, Sustainable Consumer Banking Graduate at Lloyds Banking Group

Marlon, Sustainable Consumer Banking Graduate

Marlon

Sport

Placement (10 Months+)

Lloyds Banking Group

Open culture

I was expecting a hierarchical structure with the head of teams sitting alone in offices and expecting to never see them. But when I started as an intern, I sat next to the Director of Digital on the first day and have been able to have casual conversations with people in roles like this ever since.

Empowered to run with it

Any idea I’ve had, I’ve felt like I’ve been allowed to present or talk it through with people that had the influence to help make it happen. For one project, I had a good idea of what was needed and then was able to create the pack, get the right resources, and present it to the people who can authorise the changes.

Do good, feel good

I’ve seen changes I’ve suggested come to life. For instance, where regulatory processes might be confusing to customers, I’ve seen my suggestions integrated into a website that millions of people see. It makes me feel really good knowing I’m helping someone understand their finances better.

Upgrading financial literacy

At the peak of the pandemic, a project I worked on forecasted a certain segment of our customer base would be hit hard – considering the nature of the crisis and things like furlough schemes. So, we worked on projects to upgrade the financial literacy of that customer base, exploring how to encourage people to consider the future of their finances and think about new ways to save.

Wellbeing one-on-one

During placements, I had lots of contacts and one-to-one check-ins, including weekly calls with line managers, and regular monthly catchups with my head of team (boss’s boss), which were really helpful and insightful. You know that nothing is going to delay your progress because you feel confident that you’ll be guided at every step by more experienced colleagues.

Realising my friends’ jobs weren’t like this

LBG is all about authentically trusting colleagues to do what’s good for customers. I can remember sharing how great this was with friends, and we all agreed that this was something really special.