Cattles 2007 CR Review (Final)

Shared Corporate
Growth Responsibility
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REVIEW 2007

Page 08 BEING A RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL SERVICES ORGANISATION
Page 18 BEING A GOOD PEOPLE BUSINESS
Page 30 BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
CATTLES PLC – AT A GLANCE
CATTLES PLC
Pre-tax profit 2006: £132.2m
Cattles plc is a financial services group In the consumer credit market, non-standard
specialising in providing consumer credit to
non-standard customers in the UK. We also
provide debt recovery services to external
refers to customers who may currently
not have access to mainstream facilities –
typically due to perceived shortcomings
£165.2m
clients and our consumer credit business, in their employment, residency or credit Receivables 2006: £2.1bn
and working capital finance for small and histories. We give them an opportunity
medium-sized businesses. We also have
a car retail operation, which is the largest
to build or repair their credit profile.
Effective risk management is paramount
£2.8bn
introducer of hire purchase customers Number of colleagues 2006: 4,449
in all our markets, and underpins our
to our consumer credit business.
strategy for continued strong growth.
5,008
OUR BUSINESSES
Welcome Financial Services The Lewis Group Cattles Invoice Finance
Welcome Financial Services comprises three businesses: The Lewis Group is a UK leader in debt recovery and Cattles Invoice Finance provides working capital finance
investigation services, serving both external clients to small and medium-sized businesses. It operates
– Welcome Finance and Welcome Financial Services. It is one of the UK’s through six regional offices in England and Scotland.
– Shopacheck largest buyers of non-performing debt.
– Welcome Car Finance
Welcome Finance, the principal lending business,

serves more than 500,000 customers, providing direct
repayment loans from 183 branches across the UK.
Its product range includes unsecured personal loans,
second charge secured loans and hire purchase
for cars.
Shopacheck provides short-term home collected loans

to some 260,000 customers through 52 branches.
Welcome Car Finance sells around 14,000 used cars a

year from 12 sites and is the largest introducer of hire
purchase business to Welcome Finance.
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE CONTENTS

Branches
Welcome 02 Chief Executive’s welcome
Financial Services 03 Managing corporate responsibility
The Lewis Group 08 Being a responsible financial
Cattles Invoice services organisation
Finance 18 Being a good people business
30 Being environmentally responsible
34 Summary of progress against
objectives and targets
36 The year ahead
This Review relates to all aspects of Cattles plc

operations and activities for the year ended
31 December 2007.
ifc Corporate Responsibility

Cattles plc Review 2007
Growing a successful business means more than just
delivering profits to our shareholders.
It’s about earning people’s confidence and trust… developing products that people want and understand... being a company that
people want to work for… taking our responsibilities seriously. If we fail to recognise these responsibilities or underestimate their
importance, we risk damaging our reputation and ultimately our business. Our corporate responsibility strategy is based on three
cornerstones addressing what we believe to be the most important issues facing the business. We use them to explain simply to
colleagues and stakeholders what corporate responsibility means for Cattles.
RESPONSIBLE GROWTH 08 GROWING AS PEOPLE 18 CONSIDERATE GROWTH 30

Being a responsible financial services organisation Being a good people business Being environmentally responsible
We employ the highest standards to ensure we The success of our business depends on the skills As a growing business we recognise our impact
operate in a way that treats our customers fairly and professionalism of our colleagues. We aim on the environment. We have a duty to manage
and with respect. We lend carefully, making to create an environment that is motivating and this impact and minimise it where we can,
sure we understand our customers’ financial stimulating, and to treat colleagues with fairness and to raise environmental awareness among
circumstances, to ensure we offer them the right and respect. We listen to what they have to say, our colleagues. As well as meeting stakeholders’
product and do not place undue burden on them. and act on their feedback. We want colleagues expectations, this helps us to operate more
We seek to have open and honest relationships to fulfil their career aspirations so we offer them efficiently and reduce our costs.
with customers, and offer them constructive equal development opportunities. We seek to
support if they encounter difficulties. build strong bonds with the communities around
us, because these are where our customers and
colleagues live and work.
01 Corporate Responsibility
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S WELCOME
DAVID POSTINGS WELCOME TO OUR 2007 CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Chief Executive RESPONSIBILITY REVIEW
Corporate responsibility is an increasingly Being a responsible financial services
important part of our business. It is crucial organisation
to demonstrate to stakeholders that • Customer Experience Group established
we take proper account of the social, in Welcome Financial Services and
ethical and environmental issues facing Customer Expectations formally defined
our business.
• Investment in innovative technology to
I want Cattles to grow in a way that is support our high operational standards
sustainable over the long-term. This cannot and business growth
be achieved without maintaining the
• Partnership with the Association of
trust and confidence of our customers,
British Credit Unions to highlight the
colleagues and other stakeholders. A robust
impact of financial exclusion on the
and pragmatic approach to corporate
poorest in society
responsibility, based on an understanding
of risk, will contribute greatly to achieving • Moneymanual distributed to over
this aim. 500,000 students in conjunction with
Credit Action
It gives me great pleasure to introduce
this Review, which explains how we take Being a good people business
account of our key responsibilities – based • Two recognised awards for our approach
around our three corporate responsibility to colleague benefits
cornerstones – and presents a summary
• Over 16,000 training days provided
of our performance over the past year.
• 82% of colleagues gave a positive
response to working for the Group
in Speak Up survey
• £635,085 invested in community
activities
• Volunteer hours increased by 28%
to 2,644 hours
Being environmentally responsible
David Postings • 11% reduction in company car fuel
Chief Executive consumption
• Hybrid cars introduced to company
car choice list
• 8% reduction in CO2 emissions from
building electricity use per unit of revenue
• 3,000 meetings held via our new
teleconferencing system
• Successful pilot of introducing mobile
handheld technology in Shopacheck,
which would reduce paper use by over
16 million sheets a year
MANAGING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate responsibility
(CR) is about managing risk.
We apply the same rigour
and effort to managing this
risk as we would to any other
business issue.
Managing growth
continued
Our CR strategy is concise, our EXPLAINING OUR STRATEGY In response, we have developed a strategy
management arrangements are clear We take a pragmatic view of managing based on three ‘cornerstones’. They are our
and we seek to make sure CR is part CR. We don’t do it simply because we guiding principles, agreed by the Board,
of what we do each day. think it is the right thing to do; we and provide a straightforward way for us
do it for commercial reasons, based to explain to colleagues how we want to
Priorities
on our understanding of the risks and operate. They also help us explain to those
• Communicating our strategy
opportunities facing our business. outside the business how we see our
• Maintaining strong governance responsibilities.
of CR issues Many of our stakeholders may have little
interest in the principles of CR. But they Our three CR cornerstones are:
• Embedding CR across the business care about the way we behave. • Being a responsible financial
• Measuring our performance Customers want to be treated fairly, services organisation
• Engaging with our key stakeholders offered products that are easily understood • Being a good people business
and appropriate, and are able to trust that
we operate to high standards. Colleagues • Being environmentally responsible
want to work for a company in which they There is a clear link between CR and the
can have pride – one that provides a culture-building programmes across the
stimulating working environment, rewards business. Many of the values defined within
their efforts and offers them opportunities Accelerating Growth in Welcome Financial
to fulfil their career aspirations. The local Services, Growing Lewis Together and
communities where we work want to be First Class in Cattles Invoice Finance,
reassured that we are operating in a way resonate strongly with our CR cornerstones.
that takes their best interests into account This is particularly true in areas relating
and does not damage the environment to customers and colleagues.
around them. Shareholders want to know
that we have considered all the complex The following sections of this Review
risks facing our business, including those explain in more detail how we performed
relating to social, ethical and environmental in 2007 against each of these cornerstones.
issues, and acknowledged them in how
we manage our business.
Case study RISK.MANAGED.

We do not view CR in isolation. We try to embed ‘Understanding CR will allow me to take
this thinking into our operational activities. As part a more holistic view and not just base
of this process we presented 24 roadshows across people development on numbers and
the Group to explain to colleagues what we mean
by CR and how they can take the cornerstones into
targets. I need to develop and grow my
team as responsible human beings and
CR roadshows account in their daily roles.
‘Before the presentation I was sceptical
not just target-driven employees.’
Welcome Finance, Area Manager,
and colleague about how CR would assist the business,
except as a box-ticking exercise. The
roadshow highlighted several benefits
10 July 2007
‘Very beneficial – reinforced all the good
feedback that can be achieved through embedding
CR into all that we do – by participating
things that Cattles are doing at the
moment, not just for work colleagues but
in these initiatives the Company can also for the outside community as a whole.’
present a positive image which is good Shopacheck, Area Manager,
for the business.’ 12 September 2007
Welcome Financial Services, Compliance,
25 June 2007
‘CR is integral in our business – it starts
with our induction and continues through
the colleague life cycle.’
Cattles Invoice Finance, Senior Manager,
22 November 2007
GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS APPLYING OUR ‘RISK.MANAGED.’ Our CR and risk management teams have
Board responsibility for CR rests with our PRINCIPLES TO CR been working closely together to ensure
Chief Operating Officer, Ian Cummine. Our ‘Risk.Managed.’ is our thorough, methodical we have the necessary controls to manage
Company Secretary manages CR day-to-day, approach to the risks we face as a business. our CR risks – particularly in the eyes of our
supported by our CR Manager. He also It requires unrelenting awareness and regulators, who are taking an increasing
keeps CR on the business agenda through control of risk in everything we do – interest in this area.
regular reports to the Board. including the way we manage CR.
Understanding risk allows us to make the POLICIES
But to live up to our responsibilities To support our CR cornerstones, we have
right decisions at the right time, anticipate
we need to involve all our colleagues. developed a suite of policies on the main
and prevent problems and capitalise on
By embedding CR into what colleagues CR-related areas. Copies can be downloaded
opportunities as they appear. Failure to do
do every day, we use their experience and from our website at www.cattles.co.uk.
this could easily damage our reputation
expertise more efficiently. For example,
and our business. Indeed, many CR risks are • Cattles’ approach to Health and Safety
part of our Fleet Manager’s job is to
core to our business – for example, making
improve the environmental performance • Cattles’ approach to Supplier Standards
sure we treat our customers fairly.
of the company car fleet. By harnessing
his expertise we have improved our The Board has delegated responsibility • Cattles’ approach to Human Rights and
performance in this area (see page 32 for risk management and internal control Colleague Care
for more details). to the Audit Committee. This includes • Cattles’ approach to Community
the evaluation of social, ethical and Investment
environmental risks (SEE risks) commonly
considered part of CR, so we take account • Cattles’ approach to Environmental
of relevant guidance on CR, such as that Management
established by the Association of British • Treating Customers Fairly
Insurers. The Audit Committee is supported
by the Risk Management Group, which
includes the Company Secretary. He is able
to feed in relevant CR risks to this group and
maintains the strong link between CR and
risk management.
‘Risk.Managed’. requires an unrelenting awareness

and control of risk in everything we do.
continued
Objective Summary of performance

Embed our CR strategy We are working hard to find ways to embed CR into the business. In some instances
OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS into colleagues’ we have been very successful – for example, incorporating CR into the induction and
Each year we set objectives that provide operational processes development of colleagues working in our Customer Sales and Service Centres – see
clear direction for our activities. These are page 20 for more detail. But this is an ongoing process which will take time.
supported by more detailed targets.
A summary of our progress against these
targets can be found on page 34.
In 2007, we set six main objectives: Establish clear We continued to develop a CR scorecard including 26 key performance indicators
performance measures (KPIs) across the three cornerstones. Data is collated monthly or quarterly and used by
and confirm that our the CR Manager.
aims are being achieved
at both corporate and
operational level
Review our support We continued to support Credit Action and DebtCred in promoting financial
for financial education education and money management. We also began a significant project to fund
to identify opportunities production and distribution of a Moneymanual to over 500,000 students seeking
to generate better university places in September 2008. This is a source of information for young people
value from investment on the brink of financial independence.
in this area
Increase two-way We continued to promote better communication on CR. Four questions on CR were
communication with included in our Speak Up colleague perception survey, and we held 24 CR roadshows
colleagues to enhance to promote awareness and obtain feedback on CR activities already under way.
CR awareness in
the business
Invest in local We continued to invest in community initiatives – focusing on raising standards in

communities where we financial education, improving the welfare of young people and addressing issues of
live and work, and social disadvantage. In 2007 we invested £635,085 in community activities and
promote colleague colleagues volunteered 2,644 hours on community projects.
involvement in
community activities
Improve environmental Progress against our 2007 targets is shown on pages 34 and 35. Of the five targets
performance and deliver that we set, we achieved four. A number of initiatives, including our new ‘Meeting
tangible benefits to the Zone’ teleconferencing system, brought the business tangible benefits. In Meeting
business in our high Zone’s first nine months we used it for some 3,000 meetings, allowing colleagues to
priority impact areas minimise CO2 emissions by reducing travel.
To help the CR Manager and senior managers around the business to determine how well
we are performing, we have developed a CR scorecard. This comprises 26 different KPIs
across our three cornerstones. Where appropriate, we try to acquire data from existing
management information systems around the business. This should help to embed CR
into the business, linking it clearly with our business objectives, while avoiding duplication
of effort in data collection.
We aim to embed
our CR strategy into
colleagues’ operational
processes.
Colleagues
Each of our businesses takes responsibility for its own internal communication along lines that are shared across
OUR STAKEHOLDERS the Group. They all have intranets and run annual business conferences, regular management briefings, question
Our stakeholders’ views and opinions are and answer sessions with senior management, and annual colleague engagement surveys.
important: they help inform our thinking
and tell us how well we are performing.
Listening to these groups helps us to
identify the issues that concern them
and take a balanced view of what is Customers
important or ‘material’ when we develop Growing a successful business depends on developing good relationships with customers. Most customer
our response. communication is achieved through direct contact, whether face-to-face, by telephone or by letter. Each business
undertakes regular customer surveys and monitors customer feedback.
As stakeholders become more interested
in CR their expectations of us grow. It is
increasingly important that we
communicate and demonstrate our
approach clearly. Our CR cornerstones Brokers and introducers
help with this process, but proactively Brokers and introducers are important business partners. We develop good relationships with them to ensure
consistent service for our customers.
engaging with our stakeholders gives us
an opportunity to explain the nature of
our business, our strategy and how we
implement it. Through constructive
debate we hope to influence their opinion
of us. Regulators and legislators
Dialogue with regulators and legislators is managed at Group level. A key role of our Compliance team is building a
constructive relationship with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to ensure we meet its standards. Our Corporate
Affairs team is responsible for the contribution we make to consultations affecting the financial services industry.
They also manage the development and maintenance of relationships with policymakers and legislators.
Investors
We are a member of FTSE4Good and continue to engage with shareholders and key research agencies on CR issues.
Investor communications are managed centrally, with involvement from the business units as required.
Communication channels include analyst presentations, meetings with investors, our website and publications
aimed specifically at investors.
Suppliers and business partners

We seek to develop long-term mutually beneficial relations with our suppliers and business partners. This relies on
good two-way communication. Relationships are managed by our Group Services department, supported by
functional expertise when appropriate. We set minimum CR standards for suppliers and encourage them to
consider CR issues.
Communities and charitable organisations

We actively engage in local and national community initiatives that meet our community investment criteria. Our
involvement is managed by our CR team and Community Investment Officer, supported by appropriate colleagues
from around the business.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

These are bodies with no affiliation to governments, whose work is focused on specific issues. They campaign
directly with companies or indirectly via public awareness campaigns. We seek to engage with NGOs in ways
appropriate to the issues being addressed.
By working with trade associations we contribute

to the legislative debate.
We continue to remain a member of FTSE4Good.
BEING A RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL SERVICES ORGANISATION
As a company operating
in the non-standard
consumer finance market,
we face increasing
scrutiny from a wide
range of stakeholders.
Responsible
growth
Our greatest obligation is to our customers: UNDERSTANDING OUR The Lewis Group (Lewis) is a UK leader in
our success and positive reputation RESPONSIBILITIES debt recovery and investigation services,
depend on treating them fairly and WFS is one of the UK’s leading players serving both external clients and WFS.
with respect – offering them the right in non-standard consumer finance. Its external clients are mainly large issuers
products, and lending and collecting It comprises Welcome Finance and of credit cards and unsecured loans –
in a responsible way that takes proper Shopacheck, its lending businesses, and as well as both central and local
account of their circumstances. Welcome Car Finance, its car retail operation. government departments, insurance
It lends to individuals with non-standard companies, catalogue retailers, utilities,
Priorities
credit profiles – people who may not have telecommunications businesses and
• Maintain high operational standards
access to mainstream lending, typically educational institutions. It is also one of
• Meet our regulatory obligations because of perceived shortcomings in their the UK’s largest buyers of non-performing
employment, residency or credit histories debt, which it collects on its own account.
• Engage and influence policymakers
– and gives customers an opportunity to Debt recovery, like consumer credit, has
• Ensure excellent customer service build or repair their credit profiles. come under increasing scrutiny in recent
• Promote financial education Through WFS we offer a range of products years because of improper practices
carefully tailored to our customer base. By employed by some companies in the
Performance highlights
applying rigorous lending and screening industry. These include high-pressure
• In Welcome Financial Services (WFS), five
criteria we ensure these products do not collection tactics and failure to identify
Customer Expectations and the Customer
overburden our customers or place them in the correct debtor. Lewis has a reputation
Experience Group established to support
financial difficulty. We treat our customers for quality and ethical collection practices,
delivery of excellent customer service
fairly and believe our products and services and subscribes to the Credit Services
• Investment in innovative technology to can play a role in helping to mitigate Association’s code of conduct. This provides
support our high operational standards financial and social exclusion. comfort to blue-chip clients concerned to
and business growth, and to help us manage the risk to their own reputations.
manage the customer experience better Sometimes a customer’s financial
circumstances may change, for example Cattles Invoice Finance (CIF) provides
• Collaboration with the Association of through redundancy or a family break-up. working capital finance to small and
British Credit Unions (ABCUL) to highlight Our policy of developing close customer medium-sized businesses throughout the
the impact of financial exclusion on relationships helps us to respond quickly UK. It has a broadly spread portfolio of
the poorest in society and ways out of to understand the situation and find ways 725 clients, typically companies with
this problem to help them through their financial turnover up to £5 million. If a client
difficulties – for example by accepting business gets into difficulties, we work
• Launch of long-term collaborative project
lower loan repayments for a period. If we with its management to help them resolve
with Credit Action to distribute 500,000
can help customers through a problem the financial issues.
copies of its Moneymanual each year
to students leaving school, and research successfully, we can still do business with
their attitudes towards money them and prevent a short-term problem
management from excluding them from mainstream
financial services for years ahead.
Establishing
our Debt
Management
Agency
During 2007, we established our Debt
Management Agency (DMA) in Welcome Finance
to support customers receiving debt advice and
counselling. Why? Because we believe customers
in financial difficulty may need more time and
attention from us. They are often unable to make
large payments and may have a number of
creditors to satisfy. Colleagues working in the
DMA are expert in assessing such situations and
finding the right solution for both the customer
and ourselves.
continued
MAINTAINING HIGH OPERATIONAL To live up to our standards we ensure that

Our standard operating procedures STANDARDS all colleagues are well-trained and
define the way our colleagues We need high operational standards to knowledgeable about the industry and the
must work, particularly in manage all the risks associated with the issues they may face. We introduced our
relation to addressing regulators’ non-standard consumer finance market. Licence to Sell and Licence to Collect
We cannot afford to be imprecise or training programmes in 2006 to enhance
expectations. uncontrolled in our approach: at best this our sales and collection processes. Both are
would risk damaging our customer supported by formal accreditation, which
relationships and at worst we might treat colleagues must pass.
them unfairly or place undue financial We have also revised our induction process
burden on them. That is not what we or our for new colleagues. For example, people
regulators want. Maintaining these high joining our branch network attend a
operational standards is perhaps the most two-day workshop on the essential skills
important aspect of what we do each day. needed to manage customer accounts and
In WFS we have standard operating meet our exacting standards. This includes
procedures that define the way colleagues a test, which they are expected to pass, and
must work, particularly to meet the forms the basis of ongoing training over the
expectations of its regulators, the FSA and next three months, including Licence to Sell
the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Our and Licence to Collect. This off-the-job
compliance team of over 50 people training is supported by a skills workbook
monitors how we meet these standards that new colleagues must complete, with
and is quick to identify any failure to uphold support from their branch manager.
our standards or any better way of working.
To live up to our standards we ensure all

colleagues are well-trained and knowledgeable.
Investing in this training, and other similar We invest heavily in colleague training,
programmes, means that as we grow the both internally through our own structured
business we will have the trained workshops, one-to-one sessions and
colleagues we need to maintain our high seminars, and through external courses.
operational standards. All collections colleagues are encouraged to
attend a specialist course run by the Credit
In Lewis we work closely with clients to
Services Association to gain its Diploma
ensure high levels of service and a
qualification. Several Lewis managers are
transparent and robust approach. All
also members of the Institute of Credit
processes in the business are documented
Management.
and regularly reviewed, in line with its
ISO9001 accreditation. We have clear In CIF we have clearly defined procedures
service level agreements with clients, for evaluating each new business
defining the standards we must meet. As opportunity and the risks associated with it.
part of this process, our risk analysts work Our internal audit team regularly reviews
closely with clients to determine the most all our operational processes . Each new
effective collection process. To protect our client is assigned a dedicated client
reputation for high ethical standards we manager to oversee the relationship so that
will always take a conservative view rather we can respond quickly and efficiently to
than risk damaging our own standing or developments. We aim to be straightforward
that of our client. to deal with, and are trusted by clients and
introducers alike to deliver innovative and
flexible solutions in a clear and friendly
manner.
The Credit Today awards recognise and reward top

performers throughout the credit industry. CIF
and Lewis were both recognised in the 2007
awards: CIF won the Factor and Discounter of the
Year Award, while Lewis was commended in the
Debt Purchaser of the Year category.
CIF was recognised for its commitment to
innovation and enhanced business practices,
and excellent client satisfaction and colleague
development. Credit Today commented that
its ‘focus on its ambitious goals and attention
to the client and developing its staff stood out
in this category’.
Lewis was shortlisted for the way it has developed
its client services, and invested in infrastructure
and resources to meet the ever-changing needs
of both purchase and commission-based clients.
continued
ENSURING CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE support the delivery of excellent customer

Through our commitment to TCF We want to attract and retain good quality service. This group is supported by a
we continue to identify ways to customers, and to meet their expectations Champions Group, which reviews and
enhance the customer experience. of us. In 2007, we worked hard to find ways advises on the development of interactive
of improving our customers’ experience team sessions for developing our
with us. colleagues in these expectations.
In WFS we defined five expectations Information technology plays a major role
that form the basis of our dealings with in the way we work with our customers,
customers. These relate to the way our and we have invested significantly in
colleagues behave and the customer new technology such as telephony and
culture we demonstrate. They support handheld computers. In WFS we have
our commitment to the FSA’s Consumer made a multi-million pound investment in
Outcomes for Treating Customers Fairly a new customer relationship management
(TCF), which set out the outcomes we system, to improve both our customer and
should deliver throughout the customer colleague experience. This provides, for
lifecycle. Our commitment to TCF is set example, a single view of each customer
out in our Treating Customers Fairly policy, that can be accessed from all parts of our
which can be downloaded from our website business as they travel from initial inquiry
at www.cattles.co.uk. through to their final repayment. During
2007 we provided colleagues with over
Our five customer expectations sit under 6,400 days of classroom training on this
‘everyone deserves a welcome’ and are: new IT system.
• Everyone deserves a warm welcome Across the business we have been using
• Everyone deserves to be treated fairly a number of different interactive voice
response (IVR) messages, which may have
• Everyone deserves to feel in control been confusing and inconsistent for our
• Everyone deserves the opportunity customers. We are now implementing
to improve their life a new IVR message in all parts of the
business, using a single voice – one of
• Everyone deserves promises to be kept our colleagues, who was chosen in a
We have set up a Customer Experience competition. Our aim is to give customers
Group, bringing together leaders from straightforward and seamless telephone
every part of WFS, to help embed these access at any time of day.
expectations and identify initiatives to
Using
technology
to improve
customer service
Following a successful pilot, we are introducing
mobile handheld technology in Shopacheck.
This presents us with some very significant
benefits in terms of our customers, cost and
the environment. As our agents will no longer
be collecting on paper-based collection sheets
we will use over 16 million fewer pieces of paper
each year. As our agents will now be linked directly
with our central IT systems, they will be able
to record collections, issue loans and update
customer records in real time. This means
customer balances will be updated more
quickly and the overall customer experience
will be enhanced.
We have also introduced new Customer MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION In 2007, we began using a new kind of
Sales and Service Centres (CSSCs). These In WFS we undertake regular surveys to find client satisfaction survey in CIF: the Net
three call centres bring together around out what our customers think about us. Promoter Score method, used by thousands
700 people from across Welcome Finance, These cover all aspects of the customer of businesses worldwide. The new surveys
combining their knowledge and strengths experience including the application ask clients one core question – ‘How willing
to provide excellent customer service. process, branch service and colleague are you to recommend CIF to a friend or
Customers now benefit from improved attitudes. Customers rate each aspect and associate?’ – supported by nine lifecycle
and more consistent support and longer give an overall rating out of 10. The figures questions. This allows us to divide clients
opening hours. We handle customer have remained consistently high over the into three categories: Promoters, who
information better by working as a single past year, with an average rating of 8.5 are loyal and enthusiastic; Passives, who
team, without having to transfer customers out of 10 (2006: 8 out of 10). As a result are satisfied but unenthusiastic; and
between operatives. Achieving this required of the enhancements to the way we Detractors, who are unhappy and feel
a substantial investment in training: manage customer experience we believe trapped in a poor relationship.
colleagues joining the CSSCs undergo there will be further improvement in The proportions of each group give us
a 15-day induction programme. our customer satisfaction ratings. We are a score that we can use to track client
We market our consumer products in a currently investigating more sophisticated satisfaction. We will roll the method out
variety of ways, depending on the product. ways to measure satisfaction and gain over the next year throughout CIF to create
In all our agreements and explanatory further insight into how we can enhance a complete picture. Thereafter, six-monthly
literature we adhere strictly to the our service. surveys will be undertaken to highlight
regulations on visual prominence of Each Lewis client has a dedicated client areas for improvement.
information such as APRs and the increased services manager who works closely with
risk of a loan secured on a property. All them to develop the relationship and
direct marketing material is reviewed and identify and address any potential issues.
signed off against these regulations by the At the beginning of 2007 we supplemented
legal compliance manager. this with online client surveys soliciting
All customers are given pre-contractual feedback on clients’ perceptions of the
information to ensure they are able to make relationships and the level of service
an informed choice. We also try to make our they receive. During 2007, 76% of clients
credit agreements as clear as possible, to gave a positive response. The surveys
ensure that our customers know exactly will continue in 2008 and our target is
what they are entering into. For example, an 80% positive response.
if they buy an insurance product with a
loan they must show their agreement with
a separate signature. The Welcome Finance
customer introduction pack carries the
Plain English Campaign’s Crystal Mark.
We continue to invest in our cultural and values

programmes for the benefit of both colleagues
and customers.
continued
INFLUENCING POLICY MAKERS We make our views known in a number of

The understanding of our market AND REGULATORS ways. We strive to create good relationships
enables us to positively contribute We operate in an increasingly complex with key policy and decision makers, as
to the debate on regulatory issues. legislative and regulatory environment. well as being an active member of several
As a responsible financial services trade associations. Our Director of
organisation, we believe the consumer Corporate and Regulatory Affairs sits on
benefits most from regulation that protects the high level Consumer Credit Forum, part
the vulnerable while avoiding excessive of the Department for Business, Enterprise
costs that drive up the price of products and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), and chairs
and services. This means we actively seek the Consumer Credit Trade Association.
to enter into debate on relevant issues. We We are also represented on the Consumer
prefer to be involved in the debate, rather Credit Association’s National Executive
than waiting on the sidelines until changes Committee and, through WFS, the board
in legislation are forced upon us – and we of the Finance and Leasing Association.
believe our understanding of the challenges Lewis is a member of the Credit Services
facing both our customers and the industry Association, the Debt Buyers and Sellers
puts us in a unique position to make a Group and the County Court Users
positive contribution. Association. CIF is a member of the
National Association of Commercial and
Financial Brokers and the Asset Based
Finance Association.
As a member of these trade bodies we
adhere to their respective codes of conduct
and work closely with them to engage with
policy makers and debate issues in the
markets where we operate.
We understand the challenges facing both our

customers and the industry.
WFS is regulated by the FSA for advising In February 2007, the OFT referred payment
on and selling general insurance products. protection insurance to the Competition
We seek a close and proactive relationship Commission for inquiry. The Commission
with the FSA and support its aims of plan to publish their provisional findings
maintaining market confidence, promoting in May 2008 and expect to issue their final
public understanding of the financial report in late 2008. We have submitted
system, securing appropriate consumer 22 separate response documents to the
protection and reducing financial crime. Commission and will continue to
co-operate fully.
In November 2006, the Competition
Commission reported on its investigation In 2007, we submitted responses to over
into the home credit market. Cattles was 20 consultation papers issued by the FSA,
part of this inquiry. The report identified a OFT, Financial Ombudsman Service and
number of adverse impacts on competition, DBERR. We also submitted responses to
and recommended remedies. The consultations from the Better Regulation
Commission made an Order to give effect Executive, Insolvency Service and others.
to these remedies in September 2007
Cattles was invited to speak at the Citizens’
with the aims of opening up the market
Advice Scotland Debt Focus Group in
to greater competition and bringing
Edinburgh at the end of November, a return
consumers lower prices and more choice.
visit after a talk given the previous year.
Practical steps to achieve these objectives
The theme of the 2007 talk was ‘One
include a requirement for home credit
person’s financial inclusion is another’s
companies to share data on their existing
irresponsible lending’ – a quote by Mark
customers’ payment records. Lenders are
Hoban MP at the Conservative party
also required to publish information on the
conference fringe meeting.
price of loans on a website, making it easier
for customers to shop around and compare
offers. We endorse greater transparency
in the home credit industry and have taken
a leading role in shaping the way the
remedies will be implemented throughout
the industry.

In autumn 2007, we joined with the Association
of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) to host successful
fringe meetings at the major party political
conferences. The meetings examined the impact
Working in of financial exclusion on the poorest in society

and ways out of this problem. Each was addressed
by a leading figure from the relevant party.
partnership with This was the first time that credit unions had
shared a platform with a non-standard finance
the Association provider to present a united, co-operative

approach to legislators and other stakeholders.
The Government is committed to making
of British Credit affordable credit and banking services available

to the financially excluded. ABCUL recognises that
existing credit unions lack the capacity to meet
Unions current demand and spoke about the need for
new legislation to enable the sector to scale up.
All the party speakers expressed their strong
support for the work being done by the
non-standard finance sector and credit unions
to tackle this significant problem. The meetings
enabled us to send a very credible message to
Government and Opposition about the dangers
of over-regulation: the more restrictions that are
placed on the sector, the more people will face
financial exclusion.
continued
SUPPORTING FINANCIAL EDUCATION During the year, we continued to support stop them getting into financial difficulty.
We want to promote sound money two prominent organisations in financial Shopacheck managers used the cards in 44
management and raise standards of education, through financial assistance and postcode areas, predominantly in Bradford
financial education. Everybody should be collaborative projects: and Leeds. This initial project indicated
able to make informed and educated some clear benefits from using the cards
• Credit Action (www.creditaction.org.uk)
decisions about their personal finances, – for example, they help us establish
is a charity that is widely regarded as one
especially when buying financial products. communication with customers who may
of the most important voices in the field
This would help to reduce levels of be embarrassed to talk to us. But the initial
of money management and education.
over-indebtedness and the number of take-up of cards was low in comparison
It offers a range of resources, tools and
people with debt problems. with the project’s aims. We are currently
training to help everybody manage their
reviewing the project results to understand
Recognising that financial difficulties are finances. It operates at national level
if this approach represents a useful
sometimes unavoidable, we continue to through advocacy, collaboration and
addition to the advice we currently provide
support the Consumer Credit Counselling partnerships with various groups and
to customers.
Service (CCCS), a UK charity that helps companies; and at local level through
people facing debt problems. The CCCS projects targeted particularly at those In 2006 we sponsored the DebtCred
provides a free national telephone service most vulnerable to financial difficulties. KS4Finance project, funding the
and a network of drop-in centres that give distribution of a DebtCred-produced money
• DebtCred (www.debtcred.org.uk) is the
free, independent and realistic advice. management CD to all state secondary
High Sheriffs’ financial literacy project.
schools in England and Wales. This was
Its primary aim is to prepare young people
described in last year’s CR Review. The CD is
for university life or employment by
still being used extensively in schools across
educating them about the sensible use of
the UK, but proposed changes to the
credit, personal financial management
curriculum will require the DebtCred
and the hazards of over-indebtedness.
resources and materials to be revised. When
During 2007 we took part with Credit the curriculum change is implemented
Action in a pilot project sponsored by the in September 2008, KS4Finance will
Esmée Fairbairn Trust to develop a set of be three years into a predicted shelf life
jargon-free postcards offering money of four years. During 2008, we will work
management advice. The aim was to see if with DebtCred to respond to the curriculum
these were a useful way to offer our changes and make the material more
customers additional support and advice to relevant to students for today and
tomorrow.
We are
committed
to raising Collaborative working with Credit Action to
improve personal financial awareness.
By working with DebtCred we help to educate
young people about money management.
standards
of financial
education
Moneymanual In 2007, Credit Action produced a Moneymanual for

students which aims to improve young adults’
financial awareness and money management skills.
The aim of the initiative is twofold:
• To ensure that students start university with a
better understanding of how to manage their
for students We agreed to fund the production and distribution
of the Moneymanual for a period of four years.
UCAS has agreed to include the Moneymanual in
money. To this end all this year’s applicants will
receive the Moneymanual in their UCAS offer
the student offer pack it sends to some 500,000 pack; and
students applying for university places this year. • To monitor the effectiveness of the Moneymanual
Although UCAS estimates that one in seven in helping students to manage their money as
students who receive an offer pack do not actually well as increasing understanding of student
take up a place at university, distribution in this way concerns about money and finance throughout
has the additional benefit of bringing the the university experience.
Moneymanual to a proportion of young people who
leave the education system after sixth form. We will A research project to assess changes in attitude to
review our commitment in 2011, by which time we finance and money management behaviour will run
expect to have reached 2 million young adults on in parallel to the four-year distribution
the brink of financial independence. commitment, and forms part of our overall
commitment to Credit Action.
BEING A GOOD PEOPLE BUSINESS
Having the right people,

with the right skills and
high levels of commitment,
is essential to our success.
Growing
as people
As our colleagues are at the heart of what Priorities OUR COLLEAGUES see Fig 1
we do and our future growth, we aim to • Develop our colleagues to maximise their Cattles employed 5,008 colleagues at the
attract the very best people and invest in talent and match the needs of our end of 2007 compared to 4,449 at the
the development of their skills. growing business previous year-end – a 13% increase. The
Developing strong relationships with • Attract and retain the very best people composition of our workforce has remained
the communities that we serve can help unchanged. We believe this reflects the
• Recognise and reward colleagues for stability of our business and provides a firm
to raise awareness of the Company.
their performance foundation for future growth.
Contributing to the wellbeing of these
communities can encourage customers • Create a working environment that As a consequence of our improved
to see us more positively and help us to makes our colleagues feel safe and valued recruitment techniques, the introduction
attract and retain good quality recruits. of our new Your Reward initiative, our
• Promote effective, clear and consistent
Enabling colleagues to get involved in local strong culture of training and development
communication
community initiatives can help to boost and effective two-way communication
morale and a sense of pride, as well as • Invest in the communities in which across the business, we saw an
provide an engaging way to learn new skills we live and work improvement in colleague retention:
and build relationships with each other. our 2007 colleague turnover was 30.5%,
• Encourage colleague involvement in
community activities compared to 33.1% in 2006. The average
length of service was just over four years.
Performance highlights
• Best Employer Benefits Communications We have a suite of group policies that
Award at the DWF Employer Awards and explain how we support colleagues.
the Most Effective Benefits Programme Policies include those relating to equal
at the HR Excellence Awards opportunities and diversity, flexible
working, whistle-blowing, and grievance
• Over 16,000 days of training delivered, and disciplinary issues. The way people
equating to over three days for each interact with our business is summarised
colleague in our Approach to Human Rights and
• 82% of colleagues taking part in our Colleague Care, which can be downloaded
Speak Up colleague perception survey from our website at www.cattles.co.uk.
gave a positive response to working for In addition, Welcome Finance and
the Group Shopacheck are both accredited with the
• Over £635,000 invested in community Investors in People standard.
activities
• Over 2,600 hours of colleagues’ time given
to community volunteering initiatives
Fig 1.
OUR COLLEAGUES
2007 2006 2005
Number of colleagues 5,008 4,449 4,389
% part time 8% 8% 8%
Male 50% 49% 51%
Female 50% 51% 49%
We pride ourselves on our processes for enabling

colleagues to fulfil their career aspirations.
continued
PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION within the business. This is in addition
777 AND REWARD

We foster a culture that rewards good
to those recruited externally. Both ensure
we maintain the mix of skills and
experience we need to grow.
colleagues promoted in 2007 performance and recognises each
individual’s contribution to the business. In 2007, we continued to develop our
Across the business, colleagues’ innovative Your Reward initiative, which
£381 performance is formally appraised twice
a year. These appraisals provide a basis for
allows colleagues to tailor their reward
package so it best suits their needs.
invested per colleague in learning their personal development and influence Each colleague’s reward is made up
and development their remuneration. of three elements: core benefits,
Our appraisal process evaluates colleagues benefits that can be ‘flexed’, and optional
against a number of criteria relating to or voluntary benefits. Core benefits,
their job role and position in the Company. depending on position, include pension,
In many cases CR is implicitly included in life assurance, healthcare insurance, Share
these criteria – for example, treating Incentive and Sharesave plans, eyecare
customers fairly – but colleagues have vouchers and access to our Colleague
traditionally not been measured explicitly Assistance Programme.
on CR issues. In 2007, we piloted an The flex component gives colleagues the
innovative project to incorporate CR into option to trade components of their current
the appraisal of colleagues in our new package. For example, they can trade two
Customer Sales and Service Centres. The days’ holiday entitlement up or down for
CSSC Learning and Development Matrix another benefit. For colleagues on lower
is a set of personal measurements grouped grades who have not yet accrued significant
under key headings, including CR. These benefit entitlements, we have introduced
allow every colleague to identify their a new allowance of £50 each towards
development needs and understand how wellbeing benefits such as a health
to realise their goals. treatment cash plan, dental insurance
We pride ourselves on our processes and gym membership.
for enabling colleagues to fulfil their In recognition of our approach to colleague
aspirations with us. In many cases we can benefits and reward we won two
advise individuals on precisely what actions prestigious awards in 2007: Best Employer
to take to move from one grade to the next. Benefits Communications Award at the
In 2007, 777 colleagues were promoted DWF Employer Awards, specifically for the
Our culture seeks

to recognise
colleagues’
achievements
way we communicate benefits and At WFS we use the Aspire programme All Lewis colleagues have access to online
entitlements through our Total Reward to identify, log and monitor personal training, which fulfils many of their training
approach, and Most Effective Benefits development. This helps line managers needs. This is supported by a dedicated
Programme at the HR Excellence Awards. to identify colleagues’ training needs and team of trainers who provide job specific
monitor their progress against clearly training, for example, on the collection
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT defined career paths. It also helps process and our operating procedures.
We foster a strong culture of learning colleagues to track their progress, in All our collections staff are encouraged
and development across the business. combination with our appraisal process, to attend a specialist course run by the
We want to give colleagues the skills and and meet their career objectives. During Credit Services Association to gain the CSA
knowledge they need to have a successful the year 189 colleagues were promoted Diploma qualification.
and rewarding career while contributing into higher grades (2006: 165), an increase
Similarly, CIF has an extensive training
to the Company’s success. of 15%. A further 588 colleagues were
programme to ensure that colleagues
promoted within their current grade
During 2007 we delivered over 16,000 days can perform to their full potential. All line
(2006: 511), an increase of 15%.
of training in addition to regular ‘on the job’ managers are required to attend a one-day
training and coaching provided by line In our 2006 CR Review we reported the course on how to recruit effectively,
managers – see Fig 2. This equates to introduction of the Management Academy. manage performance and get the best out
3.4 days or £381 per colleague. It was a This is a structured management of their teams. All colleagues are required
significant increase on the 5,300 days development programme designed to to attend anti-money laundering and data
provided in 2006 and reflects additional enhance the management skills of talented protection training sessions on an annual
training to help colleagues make best use individuals at various levels in the business. basis. We also offer colleagues open
of our investments in new technology. For The Foundation Management Skills course, workshops to support them in their current
example, we delivered over 6,400 days of part of the Management Academy aimed at or future roles. These include sessions on
training on our new customer relationship aspiring first time line managers, has since understanding finance and financial
management system alone. Excluding received external accreditation from the analysis, taking the first steps into
systems training we delivered 9,575 days. Institute of Leadership and Management. operational and client management, and
This means that colleagues completing the effective communication. We also support
All new colleagues receive a thorough
course now receive an externally recognised colleagues through relevant professional
induction into the business. The length
qualification. The first colleagues to benefit qualifications such as those with the Asset
of this depends on the nature of their role.
from the new course graduated in Based Finance Association.
Every induction includes an introduction to
December 2007.
our approach to CR and our CR cornerstones.
Fig 2.
COLLEAGUE TRAINING (Number of days)
16,019
5,300
2006 2007
Developing our colleagues to maximise their

talent and match the needs of our business
is key to our success.
continued
LISTENING TO OUR COLLEAGUES To gain a better view of colleague
87% We have a range of mechanisms for

communicating with colleagues and letting
them know what is happening in our
perceptions we have changed the way
responses are measured to provide an
indexed value. This value recognises
response rate in colleague Speak Up survey
business. This helps to create a shared colleagues’ responses more accurately and
culture and a belief that everyone can is weighted to highlight differences
82% contribute to and benefit from the success

of the Group. We endeavour to create a
culture in which colleagues’ views and
between what we do well and what we
could do better, to help us learn and
improve. In 2007, this indexed value was 59
of colleagues gave positive response to
working for the Group opinions are considered important. We out of 100. We will report on this basis and
want colleagues to feel valued and able to in more detail in next year’s CR Review.
provide ideas and perspectives that The Speak Up findings are used across the
improve working practices. Group to develop action plans that will
Our annual Speak Up survey, covering WFS, deliver a better working environment for
Lewis and Cattles support functions, asks our colleagues. This is done at Group level
colleagues their views on a number of and within individual teams. Each
different issues including their perceptions department head or area manager is given
of the Company, its leadership, line anonymous feedback on the survey results
management, team working, training for their team, including an analysis of
and development, wellbeing, customer strengths and weaknesses. They can then
expectations and CR. In this year’s survey plan specific changes that, although often
we were pleased to maintain an small, can make a significant difference
exceptionally high response rate of 87%. to the way colleagues feel about working
The proportion of colleagues agreeing for us.
or strongly agreeing with favourable Colleagues continue to believe we are
statements about the business was 82%. committed to caring for communities
In addition, 97% said they ‘get on with and the environment, and that they
colleagues’ and ‘demonstrate Treating are encouraged to support good causes –
Customers Fairly in dealing with customers’. see Fig 3. It is particularly encouraging
to see that colleagues still support our
ongoing commitment to improve standards
Case study
Fig 3.
SPEAK UP 2007: CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY (% favourable – Agree or strongly agree)
79 59 88 90 80 79
73
2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007
Understanding our colleagues’ perceptions of CR ‘I am encouraged to ‘I believe the ‘I believe we should ‘The Company
The Speak Up survey includes four questions on support good causes.’ Company makes a support money demonstrates its
how the business addresses CR. These only give us positive difference to management education commitment to care
the world we live in.’ in schools.’ for communities and
a snapshot of some of the issues, but help in (new for 2007) the environment.’
broad terms to gauge colleagues’ views of our
performance.
Three of the four questions have remained
unchanged for the past three years and we can
see how colleagues’ responses have evolved. We
added one new question this year on whether the
Company ‘makes a positive difference to the world
we live in’.
in money management education. It is not ENSURING HEALTH AND SAFETY Some of our activities inevitably involve
entirely clear why the question about We undertook a significant review of our personal risk, particularly collections.
making a positive difference to the world approach to health and safety during 2007, Personal safety training remains a key
we live in received a lower score; we will including a revision of our health and safety concern. We continue to provide online
investigate this over the coming months. policy and management procedures. These training and workshop sessions on this
do not alter our commitment to the safety issue. In 2007 we ran a Lock It! campaign to
We run a similar colleague perception
of colleagues and anyone else coming into encourage collection agents working for
survey twice a year in CIF. As with Speak Up,
contact with the business, but they better Shopacheck to lock their cars immediately
the most recent results are very positive –
reflect changes in the way the business on entering to avoid the risk of robbery. We
96% of colleagues said they were satisfied
operates. also supported the Suzy Lamplugh Trust
working for CIF, 99% said they understood
Personal Safety Day in October. In the event
the business’ objectives and 92% that Health and safety issues are managed by of an incident we are quick to react and do
two-way communication in the business our Group Health and Safety, Fleet and all we can to ensure the ongoing safety of
was effective. Environment Manager, supported by a those affected and their security. This
Our 2006 Speak Up survey showed that Health and Safety Policy Committee that includes changes to their working
some colleagues felt the business did not agrees the health and safety plan each year arrangements and providing access to
always listen and needed to improve and reviews its implementation. They are counselling if appropriate.
communication from the top. In response also incorporated into our Speak Back
Forums to give colleagues a voice on these In last year’s Review we reported our work
to these findings, we established our Speak
matters. to improve our company car drivers’ driving
Back Forums in 2007. These are regular
standards and reduce the risk of incidents.
meetings held between WFS directors and We operate a system of continuous training We have continued to work hard in
colleague representatives from all grades for colleagues on display screen equipment, this area and have introduced a system
across the business (excluding CIF, whose manual handling, fire, pregnancy and of driving licence checks with the DVLA.
similar Innovation Forums were described general health and safety in the workplace. In 2007, we made 1,350 checks and used
in last year’s CR Review). Forums are held This is available online, and in 2007 over the information to prioritise drivers for
twice a year; the main points discussed are 13,000 risk assessment and training driver training. We continue to work with
shared with the business through volunteer modules were completed. Our directors the RAC to provide online driver risk
Speak Back representatives and a dedicated have also received a Safety Training for assessments, which are also used to
intranet site. Matters discussed so far Senior Executives course accredited by the identify drivers for training.
include trading performance, our way of Institute of Occupational Health and Safety
working, health and safety, and policy to ensure they fully understand their
changes. responsibilities to colleagues in this area.
RISK.MANAGED.
Meeting the directors
Effective two-way communication is fundamental
to our success. At the WFS Directors’ Roadshows
in October 2007, the Managing Director of WFS
and other directors met with over 800 colleagues
Engaging with at eight venues across the UK. The main purpose
of these sessions was twofold: to let the senior
management team share information and
colleagues their perspectives on the business; and, just

as importantly, to let colleagues ask questions
and give their views.
Each business also holds conferences for its
colleagues to review performance, business aims
and objectives, and celebrate its success. For
example, WFS held its Aspiration 2007 event to
reward key achievers from across the business.
Regular team briefings and other communication
media such as intranets and internal magazines
supplement these events.
continued
With this investment in driver training, More recently we have introduced our
Colleagues develop new, and our overall accident frequency, in terms of Colleague Assistance Programme. This
enhance existing, skills through insurance claims made per 100 drivers, has is a free, independent, confidential and
community activity – these skills reduced from 70% in 2006 to 63% in 2007. impartial personal support service available
are transferable to the workplace. Moreover, analysis shows that the severity to colleagues and their immediate
of accidents occurring has reduced as family members. It provides a telephone
indicated by the overall cost of each claim. hotline with qualified advisers and also
This has reduced from £641 per claim to face-to-face meetings with specialists
£438 for our trained drivers. if required. Advisers can provide general,
legal and financial advice, and counselling
28% In 2007, we had three RIDDOR incidents
(legally reportable under the UK Reporting
of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous
if appropriate.
increase in colleague volunteering hours Occurrences Regulations 1995). This

COMMUNITY INVESTMENT see Fig 4
Our community and charity work addresses
compares with only two in 2006, when the
a number of risks and opportunities. At the
number of people we employed was lower.
most basic level, healthy communities
We want to look after our people, and our make for healthy businesses so we aim to
Wellbeing programme aims to increase play our part in them. There are also clear
their awareness of the benefits of healthy benefits to be gained from improving our
living and improve their working reputation and profile in the communities
environment. This includes benefits such as where we live and work. But perhaps our
healthcare, eyecare and childcare vouchers, strongest motivation comes from within:
and discounts on leisure activities and taking part in community activities is
health insurance. popular with our colleagues. In the
competition for recruitment and retention,
this kind of positive experience can make
an important difference.
Case study
When the UK was hit by widespread flooding
in 2007, our offices in Hull were particularly badly
affected. There were two immediate concerns:
ensuring the safety of our colleagues – many
of whom were personally affected by flooding
Managing at home, and maintaining continuous service

for our customers.
a crisis – On the afternoon the floods began, it was clear

that our Hull CSSCs were likely to be affected.
We put our crisis management plan into action.
Dealing with Business was transferred to our Nottingham

CSSC where colleagues volunteered to work extra
shifts to deal with customers’ calls.
flooding in Hull A buddy system was implemented to ensure that

all our colleagues were accounted for and their
safety assured whilst travelling through the
flooded areas between office and home.
We very much appreciate our colleagues’ teamwork
and commitment during this difficult time.
We aim to provide tangible support directly Our Community Investment Officer
in the communities we serve by focusing on identifies and co-ordinates our community
three areas: activities, particularly volunteering projects.
A Charity Panel of senior managers, chaired
• Raising standards in financial education
by the Company Secretary, evaluates
• Improving the welfare of young people requests for financial donations over £5,000
against formal criteria in line with our
• Addressing issues of social disadvantage
community investment policy. Donations
We do this in three main ways: under £5,000 are considered by the CR
Manager and approved directly by the
• Developing partnerships with a small
Company Secretary. More details are given
number of key charities or community
in our Approach to Community Investment,
organisations whose work relates to
which can be downloaded from our website
our business activities and community
at www.cattles.co.uk.
investment policy. This concentrates
our support to maximise its impact. In 2007, the Group invested £635,085
in community activities and initiatives.
• Favouring community activities in
This includes financial donations, as well
which our colleagues have a particular
as donations of time. It equates to 0.38%
interest or skills. We believe community
of pre-tax profits.
involvement should contribute to
colleagues’ personal development, so we
encourage volunteering by offering paid
time in line with our volunteering policy.
We facilitate and promote payroll giving,
and participate in matched fundraising.
• Focusing our donations of money, time
and gifts in kind on community initiatives
that link with our core business and meet
our community investment policy.
RISK.MANAGED.
Fig 4.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
2007 2006 2005 2004
Financial donations £409,946 £433,621 £396,101 £262,727
Gifts in kind – £50,972 – £2,300
Volunteering £46,799 £33,726 £26,079 £7,931
Management time £178,340 £167,598 £127,929 £114,837
Total investment £635,085 £685,917 £550,109 £387,795
% of pre-tax profits 0.38 0.52 0.48 0.38
Fig 5.
VOLUNTEERING HOURS
DONATED
2,644
2,059
1,717
491
2004 2005 2006 2007
continued
COLLEAGUE VOLUNTEERING Our volunteering projects included: Ollerton Pit Woods restoration project,
We promote colleague volunteering in Nottingham
Wheeler Street Primary School
the firm belief that it not only helps build One of our senior managers took his whole
gardening project, Hull
strong links with local communities but management team out on a team building
Colleagues from one of the Customer
also gives colleagues opportunities to day. Colleagues from two sites, separated
Sales and Service Centres in Hull worked
learn new skills and build team morale. by some 80 miles, joined to clear dead
alongside the Woodland Trust to create
wood as part of the Forestry Commission’s
Hands Up, our volunteering initiative, a lasting memento of the children’s work
programme for safe use for the community.
encourages colleagues at all sites to at the Wheeler Street Primary School.
This opened up an overgrown pathway
make an impact in their local They excavated part of the school playing
through Ollerton Pit Woods, a 225-acre
communities. We work closely with field and fixed concrete paving slabs, which
Nottinghamshire beauty spot being
Business in the Community’s national the children had created, into a nautically
nurtured on a former colliery site by the
employee volunteering programme, Cares, themed display. Logs created the outline
Forestry Commission.
which encourages businesses to develop of a boat and trees were planted to
partnerships with local communities enhance the whole play area. Community benefit: The Forestry
and helps colleagues to volunteer their Commission said: ‘The help we had was
Community benefit: Wheeler Street
expertise and skills to community invaluable: we do not have the manpower
Primary School teacher, Julie Nunn said:
projects and initiatives. However, we to carry out such tasks. The transformation
‘Cattles has been fantastic, and with the
are increasingly sourcing our activities is amazing and visitors can once again
help of volunteers we now have a pleasant
through the Hands Up Committees at enjoy walking and exploring, while enjoying
outdoor environment for pupils to enjoy.’
our main office locations, because great views over the local countryside.’
they can develop closer links with local Business benefit: This project gave
Business benefit: The management team
communities and better understand individuals from different departments the
wanted to inspire their own teams to get
their needs. opportunity to work together. They learned
involved in community activity and felt
that teamwork, important in the workplace,
In 2007, our colleagues undertook 2,644 that leading by example was the way
was just as vital for the project. It improved
hours of volunteering – an increase forward. It was also an excellent way to
their communication skills and built
of 28% on 2006. This indicates the build team spirit and see a positive result
relationships that have continued in
continuing commitment shown by our from the team’s efforts.
the business.
colleagues and the importance we attach
to these activities.
Taking part
in community
activities is
popular with
our colleagues
Ings Road Resource Centre, Hull Coaching at West Bridgford High School, Tree planting, Hull
Colleagues from our office at Hessle worked Nottingham As part of a wider team from the local
together to create a sensory garden at the Colleagues undertaking the coaching community, 13 volunteers spent the day
Ings Road Resource Centre, a community module of the Management Academy planting trees in the Bransholme area of
centre used by the local community and were able to swap role play for some Hull. Three thousand trees were planted
adults with learning difficulties. They real-life coaching with 22 Year 10 students – double the day’s target of 1,500.
erected and painted fencing and brightened at the West Bridgford High School in
Community benefit: Hull is reportedly
up the whole area, working with other local Nottingham. Each student received a
the UK’s least tree-populated city. The time
businesses to provide plants and shrubs. 40-minute coaching session, with each
we donated for planting trees has brought
of the managers delivering two sessions.
Community benefit: The volunteers long-term benefit to the local community
transformed an overgrown area into Community benefit: The students gained and wildlife. This has promoted awareness
a garden designed to provide sensory a unique insight into our business and the within the community and our colleagues
opportunities for sight, sound, touch and types of skills required for working in a large that getting involved will help future
smell that both disabled and able-bodied organisation – talking with someone from generations, and given all involved a sense
visitors can enjoy. They also widened access the world of business gave them a different of belonging.
areas to enable wheelchair users to enjoy perspective. The school felt the exercise
Business benefit: Our colleagues worked
the area. The Centre did not have the funds was extremely valuable in helping students
hard to achieve the number of trees they
for this refurbishment and the labour to achieve their potential and to set goals
planted and they were rightly proud of
provided was invaluable. and targets.
their achievement. As ambassadors for our
Business benefit: The team was motivated Business benefit: The coaching sessions business they took pride in making a lasting
to complete the challenge as they felt enabled managers to put into practice commitment to their city, supported by the
the users of the Centre deserved better those skills they had learned through business they work for.
facilities. It had a really positive effect on formal training, in a real-life and relatively
Christmas activities
their commitment to our business and a ‘safe’ environment. This helped with
In addition, there was a substantial amount
feeling of pride to represent us in the wider confidence and technique. The feedback
of volunteering activity over the Christmas
community. Bad weather forced them to from the Academy candidates was positive,
period in 2007. In total we supported
‘think on their feet’, and this helped them as they found the experience challenging
25 community partners, provided 453 gift
develop their problem solving skills. and enjoyable.
or food hamper donations, and helped
266 children enjoy a visit to either a party
or a pantomime.
continued
INTERNAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES CashMatch

15% Cattles 50/50 Club
This is our Give As You Earn (GAYE) scheme.
This initiative gives colleagues the
opportunity to double their fundraising
for charitable and community activities.
of colleagues participate in Colleagues’ contributions are matched by
Cattles 50/50 Club the Company and donated to five charities We will contribute an equal amount, up
selected by colleagues’ online votes on our to £500, provided certain criteria are met.
intranet. Colleagues who participate are In 2007, we CashMatched 22 projects
22 also entered into a monthly prize draw.
In July 2007 we donated £10,600 to each
with contributions totalling £7,420.
We continue to support the Leeds Project,
community groups benefited from charity: Macmillan Cancer Support, The brokered by Outward Bound. This gives
CashMatch awards Children’s Variety Club, Promise Dreams, schoolchildren from disadvantaged areas in
Mencap and Henshaws Society for the Leeds the opportunity to participate in a
Blind. five-day residential programme of activities
Over 700 people now participate in the to promote self-confidence and personal
scheme – 15% of all our colleagues. This development.
high level of participation earned us a Gold We have also participated in the
Payroll Giving Quality Mark in a Employability Programme for Young
Government-funded scheme run by the Learners in Nottingham. This is a pilot
Institute of Fundraising. scheme to encourage young people to
We were also runners up in the Most undertake vocational qualifications. To
Innovative Promotion category at the support it we have offered a student from
inaugural National Payroll Giving Awards the area a 10-week day release placement
2007. These celebrate the efforts of in our IT department. This gives the student
employers, charities and professional an opportunity to learn how a company
partnerships in promoting payroll giving in operates and to develop their skills in a
the workplace. The judges commented: work environment, whilst enabling us to
‘The online colleague voting and prize draw build strong relationships with the local
obviously help to engage employees. This community and potential recruits. One of
company shows a real willingness to learn our colleagues is assigned to mentor the
and to be adaptable in offering a GAYE student over the 10 weeks, giving them an
opportunity to its colleagues.’ opportunity to enhance their coaching and
communication skills.
Hands Up, our volunteering initiative, encourages

colleagues to make a positive impact in the local
community.
Welcome Car Finance donated a car to a group of Paul Hibbert, Welcome Car Finance operations
first-year apprentice mechanics from Wakefield manager, explained: ‘We were delighted to support
College as part of Wakefield’s ‘Make Your Mark’ the Make Your Mark campaign. As a business we
Oiling the campaign.

Make Your Mark is a national campaign to inspire
recognise the importance of encouraging young
people, who will be the workforce of tomorrow, to
hone their entrepreneurial skills.’
young people to turn their ideas into reality by
wheels starting a business or social enterprise, or making
an idea happen, in their community or school. A
On behalf of Wakefield College, Mark Butcher said:
‘We are very grateful to Welcome Car Finance
Rover 200 car was the prize in a competition to for generously donating the car, which we will
of enterprise come up with an innovative and environmentally
friendly way to transport it from Welcome Car
use for training including stripdowns and rebuilds.’
Finance’s Castleford branch to the College’s

Wakefield campus.
Three teams of students took part in the challenge,
which focused on enterprise skills including
communication, ideas generation, teamwork,
planning and presentation, competitive spirit
and innovation. Each team gave a PowerPoint
presentation, and the winning idea of ‘vegetable oil’
was selected by a panel of judges.
BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
As a growing business
we recognise we
have an impact on
the environment.
Considerate
Growth
We have a duty to manage our ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT We have continued to participate in
environmental impact and minimise it We have identified four significant Business in the Community’s Yorkshire
where we can, and to raise awareness of environmental impacts on which we focus and Humber Index of Environmental
environmental issues among our colleagues. our efforts: Engagement to assess our environmental
Our stakeholders expect us to do this, and performance, and in 2007 we maintained
it also helps us to operate more efficiently • Energy used in our buildings the Bronze position we achieved in 2006.
and reduce our costs. • Fuel used by our transport fleet, We continued our environmental
Priorities particularly company cars awareness raising programme among
• Increase awareness of environmental • Use of materials and consumables colleagues, including a number of
issues within the business such as paper presentations to teams across the Group.
We also published articles on the
• Focus on our high priority impact areas • Waste generated through our activities environment in the WFS colleague
• Operate in an environmentally efficient way Our commitment is set out in our magazine and posted an environmental
Approach to Environmental Management, quiz on the intranet.
• Improve our environmental performance
to generate tangible business benefits which can be downloaded from our
website at www.cattles.co.uk. We take the BUILDING ENERGY USE see Figs 6 - 8
Performance highlights management of these issues seriously: We use energy, predominantly electricity,
• Company car fuel consumption reduced as an office-based business we have a to heat and light our buildings and power
by 11% relatively small environmental impact, but our computers and office equipment.
we recognise that as a growing business Owing to difficulties in obtaining accurate
• CO2 emissions from electricity use
this impact will increase unless we put data for some of our smaller sites and
in buildings reduced by 8% per unit
structures in place to manage it effectively. leased properties, we only measure the
of revenue
electricity used by our main offices – where
• Hybrid cars introduced to company Our environmental impact is managed over 25% of our colleagues work.
car choice list day-to-day by a dedicated Environment
Officer, working closely with the Fleet In 2007, we used 4.9 million KWh of
• Meeting Zone teleconferencing system Manager and the Health and Safety team. electricity – unchanged from 2006, despite
launched to help reduce business travel significant growth in our business. This
We set environmental objectives and targets equates to 2,564 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
• Successful pilot of the use of mobile annually. Progress against our 2007 targets To assess our efficiency we monitor our
handheld technology in Shopacheck, is shown on pages 34 and 35, and discussed emissions against revenue. In 2007 we
which will reduce paper use significantly in the sections below. Of the five targets emitted 2.7kg CO2 per £1,000 of revenue,
that we set, we have achieved four. compared with 2.9kg in 2006 – an 8%
reduction. This stems, we believe, from the
colleague awareness initiatives and the
‘switch off’ campaign undertaken last year.
Fig 6. Fig 7. Fig 8.

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN CO2 EMISSIONS FROM BUILDING CO2 EMISSIONS FROM BUILDING
BUILDINGS (Million KWh) ENERGY USE (Tonnes) ENERGY USE PER UNIT OF REVENUE
(kg/£1,000)
4.9 4.9 2,564 2.9

2.7
2,096
2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007
We focus our efforts on reducing energy used

in our buildings.
BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
continued
In November 2007, we invited the Carbon But this does not give the whole picture.
11% Trust to help us find ways to reduce our
energy consumption. It undertook a series
For a variety of reasons, an increasing
proportion of colleagues either do not use
reduction in fuel consumption of site visits to identify opportunities for a fuel card (on which our consumption
greater efficiency. We are now considering data is based) or choose to drive their own
its recommendations and expect to vehicles and reclaim fuel costs for business
47% implement a number of them during 2008. travel. While our fuel card data covers the
majority of fuel used on company business,
of waste recycled BUSINESS TRAVEL see Figs 9 - 11 giving a representative measure of
We have a substantial fleet of 1,452 performance, some consumption is
company cars (2006: 1,354), plus three omitted. Determining how this can be
commercial vehicles and six vehicle measured accurately is an aim for the
transporters in Welcome Car Finance. coming year.
In 2007, our fleet used 2.3 million litres During 2007 we introduced a new
of fuel, a reduction of 11% compared with fleet policy that gives colleagues more
2006. Key factors were more efficient cars information on the cars they are able
replacing older vehicles and more driver to choose and the benefits of driving
training. Fuel use equated to 6,030 tonnes efficiently. We also revised our list to
of CO2 emissions. As an indication of fleet include hybrid cars for the first time. This
efficiency, this represented 6.3kg CO2 per underlines our commitment to reducing
£1,000 of revenue compared to 9.5kg CO2 our fleet’s environmental impacts.
in 2006.
We have continued to develop our support
for greener travel, and to this end we
undertook an initial survey of colleagues to
understand their travel habits. From this
information we plan to offer realistic
options that encourage colleagues to be
less reliant on car travel. We hope to report
more fully on this in next year’s Review.
Case study
Fig 9. Fig 10. Fig 11.
FUEL CONSUMPTION BY CO2 EMISSIONS FROM CO2 EMISSIONS FROM COMPANY
COMPANY CAR FLEET COMPANY CAR FLEET CAR FLEET PER UNIT OF REVENUE
(Thousand litres) (Tonnes) (kg/£1,000)
2,630 6,779 9.5

2,331 6,030
6.3
■ Petrol
■ Diesel
2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007
Projected saving of 16 million sheets of paper

from introduction of mobile handheld technology
in Shopacheck.
PAPER USE see Figs 12 - 13 Despite these and other initiatives, our use
We are an office-based company and use of office paper increased by 10% in 2007.
a lot of paper. In some instances this is But this was less than the growth in
unavoidable – for example, when handling business. Paper use per £1,000 of revenue
customers’ credit agreements. But in other improved by 17% reflecting the more
cases we are able to cut our consumption. efficient use of paper within the business.
The primary reason for this improvement
As already mentioned, following a was the increase in the number of printers
successful pilot we expect to move being used across the business with
in 2008 to mobile handheld technology double-sided print capability.
in Shopacheck to save over 16 million
sheets of paper a year. And, as part of CIF’s WASTE see Fig 15
business efficiency programme, we have During 2007 we focused on improving the
made debtor statements virtually paperless management data received from our waste
– saving over a million pieces of paper and management contractors. This enhanced
an estimated £200,000 a year. This has data enables improved control over the
been made possible by encouraging initiatives that we implement and more
debtors to accept statements by fax precise measurement of the associated
(generated and sent electronically) or performance improvement. We are now
email, which both reduce postage, confident that we have reliable data which
CO2 emissions and the use of envelopes. covers the Group.
We are currently looking to apply these
principles to other paper-based In 2007, we generated 1,077 tonnes of
communications. By the end of 2008, we waste compared with 927 tonnes in 2006
aim to be communicating electronically – an increase of 16%. In terms of kg per
with 85% of the CIF client base. £1,000 of revenue we improved our
efficiency by over 12%.
Almost half the waste we generated (47%)
was recycled. This proportion relates mainly
to paper waste. Our policy is to shred and
recycle all paper used in the business,
whether it is confidential or not.
RISK.MANAGED.
Fig 12. Fig 13.
PAPER USE PAPER USE PER UNIT OF REVENUE
(Reams ‘000) (Reams/£1,000)
82.7 0.10
75.0 0.09
2006 2007 2006 2007
Meeting Zone – teleconferencing to reduce Fig 14. Fig 15.

business travel
TELECONFERENCING ACTIVITY IN 2007 WASTE GENERATED AND RECYCLED
During 2007 we rolled out a new internal (Tonnes)
teleconferencing facility. This allows colleagues from
different sites around the business to communicate
1,613 1,077
without the need for travelling. Colleagues wishing
to minimise CO2 emissions by reducing travel have 927
welcomed the system and adoption rates have
been high since its introduction in April.
832
In the first nine months of 2007 there were 2,878
Meeting Zone conferences. Although we do not yet
have a 12-month record, these preliminary findings 433
■ Recycled
are encouraging. During 2008 we will continue to ■ Landfill
raise awareness of the system as a key way to Q2 Q3 Q4 2006 2007
reduce car use.
SUMMARY OF PROGRESS AGAINST OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS
Objective Target
1.
Embed our CR strategy into colleagues’ Publish CR policy on website
operational processes
Review opportunities to incorporate CR into colleague training and induction process across the Group
Provide regular Board updates on CR activities and performance
2.
Establish clear performance measures and Review business management scorecards developed across the business to ensure link with CR and
confirm that our aims are being achieved to avoid duplication of effort
at both corporate and operational level
Rationalise KPIs and strengthen the relationship to the CR cornerstones
Incorporate graphical elements to the scorecard to facilitate interpretation
3.
Review our support for financial education Develop an engagement plan to facilitate better links with organisations working in the areas
to identify opportunities to generate better of responsible lending and financial education
value from investment in this area
Develop a flagship project for Cattles, focusing on financial education for implementation in 2008
4.
Increase two-way communication with Undertake CR awareness presentations at WFS, Lewis and CIF
colleagues to enhance CR awareness
in the business
Develop an internal communications plan for CR
Review the CR element of Speak Up perception survey to ensure it supports ongoing CR activities
5.
Invest in local communities where we Develop an impact review framework to measure the benefits of our community activity
live and work, and promote colleague
involvement in community activities
Increase overall volunteering hours by 10% a year
6.
Improve environmental performance and Reduce CO2 emissions from our energy consumption by 3% per £1,000 of revenue
deliver tangible benefits to the business in
our high priority impact areas
Reduce fuel emissions from our car fleet by 5% per £1,000 of revenue
Reduce paper use by 5% per £1,000 of revenue
Develop a Group-wide green travel policy
Increase waste recycling by 2%
Status Comment for 2007
Achieved Ongoing Not achieved
CR policy published on website
Some opportunities have been identified (for example, within the CSSCs) but these have been
limited during 2007 – however, CR is now included in all colleague induction
CR updates are provided for each Board meeting and are a regular agenda item
Other scorecards used in the business were reviewed, resulting in some management
information now being shared
KPIs now support CR cornerstones
Scorecard has been developed to include charts and graphical elements that allow more
straightforward interpretation and review
Key stakeholders have been identified and engaged in ongoing dialogue
We are now working with Credit Action to distribute its Moneymanual to sixth formers leaving
school, and researching their attitudes towards money management
24 CR roadshows have been undertaken to date
This target became redundant as a result of the success of the CR roadshows – however, CR has
been featured in existing internal communications such as articles in internal magazines
Four questions on CR included in 2007 survey
Will be completed during 2008
We donated 2,644 hours of colleague time to volunteering activity in 2007, a 28% increase
on 2006
We reduced CO2 emissions from energy consumption at main sites by 8% to 2.7 kg CO2 per
£1,000 of revenue
Emissions from the company car fleet per £1,000 of revenue have reduced by a third compared
to 2006
Paper use reduced by 17% per £1,000 of revenue
Draft green travel plan developed and awaiting formal approval
Recycling increased from 35% in 2006 to 47% in 2007
THE YEAR AHEAD
PLANS FOR 2008 The Group has set a number of high level
We are committed to the principles objectives for 2008:
of CR and achievement of our three • Review our CR governance arrangements
CR cornerstones. In each of these areas to ensure they accommodate the growth
we demonstrated our ability to improve of the business
our performance throughout 2007.
We will strive to continue this trend in • Seek further opportunities to embed the
the coming year. CR cornerstones into our operational
processes
We are confident that we have the
foundations in place to deliver • Integrate CR key performance indicators
improvements in the way we operate with our existing business management
and to meet the expectations of systems, particularly those relating to risk
our stakeholders. management
• Continue our colleague engagement
programme to promote awareness of our
CR cornerstones and activities
• Instigate a programme of dialogue
with external stakeholders to ensure
our approach to CR is consistent with
their perceptions and expectations of
the Group
• Support financial education initiatives
and the development of money
management skills
These objectives are supported by
detailed targets.
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK To obtain a copy of any document referred
Understanding the views of our to in the Review or to provide feedback,
stakeholders is important to us. It provides please contact:
useful feedback as we develop our Jayne Johnson
approach to CR and implement initiatives CR Manager
across the business. It also gives us Cattles plc
confidence that we are reporting on the Kingston House
areas our stakeholders want to know about. Centre 27 Business Park
If we are not doing something right, we Woodhead Road
want to know so we can do our best to put Birstall
it right. Batley
WF17 9TD
If you would prefer, you can also contact us
by email at cr@cattles.co.uk.
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sustainable managed forests. Environmental care system ISO 14001 is in place with
regard to waste management. The mill is EMAS registered. All chemicals are treated
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The text pages of this Review are printed on Challenger Offset paper which is
recyclable. A large proportion of the raw material used is the by-product from other
production processes i.e. saw mill waste and waste which results from forest
thinning. The mill holds not only ISO 2002 but also the ISO 14001 accreditation
for their environmental management systems, which include an active policy on
sustainable forestry management.
Challenger Offset paper is certified according to the rules for the

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Kingston House
Centre 27 Business Park
Woodhead Road
Birstall
Batley
WF17 9TD
Registered in England: Number 543610
Tel: 01924 444466

Fax: 01924 442255
www.cattles.co.uk

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Shared Corporate

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REVIEW 2007

Welcome Finance, the principal lending business,

Shopacheck provides short-term home collected loans

Welcome Car Finance sells around 14,000 used cars a

GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE CONTENTS

This Review relates to all aspects of Cattles plc

ifc Corporate Responsibility

RESPONSIBLE GROWTH 08 GROWING AS PEOPLE 18 CONSIDERATE GROWTH 30

DAVID POSTINGS WELCOME TO OUR 2007 CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Case study RISK.MANAGED.

‘Risk.Managed’. requires an unrelenting awareness

Objective Summary of performance

Invest in local We continued to invest in community initiatives – focusing on raising standards in

Suppliers and business partners

Communities and charitable organisations

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

By working with trade associations we contribute

We continue to remain a member of FTSE4Good.

Case study RISK.MANAGED.

MAINTAINING HIGH OPERATIONAL To live up to our standards we ensure that

To live up to our standards we ensure all

Case study RISK.MANAGED.

The Credit Today awards recognise and reward top

ENSURING CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE support the delivery of excellent customer

Case study RISK.MANAGED.

We continue to invest in our cultural and values

INFLUENCING POLICY MAKERS We make our views known in a number of

We understand the challenges facing both our

Case study RISK.MANAGED.

Working in of financial exclusion on the poorest in society

the Association provider to present a united, co-operative

of British Credit affordable credit and banking services available

Moneymanual In 2007, Credit Action produced a Moneymanual for

Having the right people,

We pride ourselves on our processes for enabling

PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION within the business. This is in addition

777 AND REWARD

Our culture seeks

Developing our colleagues to maximise their

LISTENING TO OUR COLLEAGUES To gain a better view of colleague

87% We have a range of mechanisms for

82% contribute to and benefit from the success

2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007

colleagues their perspectives on the business; and, just

increase in colleague volunteering hours Occurrences Regulations 1995). This

Managing at home, and maintaining continuous service

a crisis – On the afternoon the floods began, it was clear

Dealing with Business was transferred to our Nottingham

flooding in Hull A buddy system was implemented to ensure that

INTERNAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMMES CashMatch

Hands Up, our volunteering initiative, encourages

Oiling the campaign.

Finance’s Castleford branch to the College’s

Fig 6. Fig 7. Fig 8.

4.9 4.9 2,564 2.9

2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007

We focus our efforts on reducing energy used

2,630 6,779 9.5

Projected saving of 16 million sheets of paper

2006 2007 2006 2007

Meeting Zone – teleconferencing to reduce Fig 14. Fig 15.

Provide regular Board updates on CR activities and performance