Together inTandem People Magazine
August 2022
Summer of fundraising
PAGE 14
this month
PAGE 6
Introducing Dawn Brown, our new Chief Risk Officer
PAGE 23
A big thanks to those that went the extra mile!
Contents New starters................................... 04 Internal promotions....................... 05 Introducing Dawn Brown............... 06 Recognising our team.................... 08 Work experience............................ 10 ESG impact.................................... 12 ESG monthly stats.......................... 13 Bike Ride for The Christie............... 14 One million minutes........................16 BHY summer camp.........................18 Cycle to work day........................... 19 Macmillan coffee morning............. 20 Diversity and inclusion................... 21 Announcements............................ 22 Top performers.............................. 23 Shines............................................. 26
New starters
Welcome! Julie Taylor Dealer Service Manager
Charlotte Mountcastle Administrator
Sharon Critchley Lending Manager
Sarah Winn 1st Mortgage Underwriter
Scott Palmer Underwriter
Sarah Broeckl Customer Relationship Manager HL
Oliver Gillet Supplier Risk Manager Chris Butt Account Manager Marcella Ajuzie Deputy MLRO Bethany Cavanagh Administrator Matthew Tough Underwriter Fiona Hewet Underwriter Elliot Green Underwriter Sam Dunkley Underwriter Lisa Dyball Customer Relationship Manager
We’re h
iring!
If you w informa ould like any tion on the role availabl s e, pleas e e m a recruit ment@ il myoplo .co.uk
Cameron Walker Administrator Melanie Harvey Administrator Gabriella Mollart Finance Assistant Mollie McNicholas Finance Assistant Sebastian Arthurs Marketing Assistant
Kim Gough Secured Sales Advisor Mick Ellis Bus Driver Thomas Sangster Complaints Officer Tom Price Customer Operations Specialist Emmanuel Zaccheus Approvals Underwriter Amber Whiteside Underwriter Stefan Steiner Data Analyst Ian Wright Mortgage Operations Manager Claire Moxon Customer Service Specialist Freya Mollart HR & Recruitment Administrator Hannah Veitch Treasury Manager Shaun Payne Proposition Strategy Analyst
Internal Promotions Daniel Gray Senior Credit Risk Analyst
Declan Lever Decision Engine Analyst
Jake Colling Senior Credit Risk Analyst
Ryan Molyneux Completions Assistant
Christopher Heafield Senior Credit Risk Analyst
Neve Stafford T&C Assistant
A very Happy Birthday to all our
July Birthdays! Tanya Rowbotham
Dawn Brown
Alison Hart
Katy Brown
Maariyah Safdar
Jamie Bird
Ben Wilcox
Sadia Ghafoor
Shannon Kenny Cooper
Sharon Critchley
Thania Bari
Michael Noonan
Amber Langley
Andrew Rios-Hall
Anthony Corbett
Timothy Nicholas
Billy Wharton
Joseph Hall
Chris Bromage
Glenn Marsh
Sadie Thorley
Matthew Clare
Bruce Reynolds
Sam Dunkley
Eliot Helm
Raj Sidhu
Jemma Partis
Koon-Fai Li
Daniil Prodanov
Introducing
Dawn Brown,
our new Chief Risk Officer Our new Chief Risk Officer, Dawn Brown, has been spotting the green initiatives in her local area whilst out walking her dog. From her field, within a 280-degree panorama, you can see: � their wind turbine, plus several other domestic wind turbines; � a leaky dam which the council has funded as part of the flood defences for the Calder Valley (which has seen some really bad flooding over the past few years); � about 150 trees that some local school children planted with a company called Treesponsibility which are also part of the flood defences; and � a large commercial wind farm, you can see about 30 wind turbines across the horizon.
Recognising our
Home Loans Team We all need to understand impacts of vulnerability to our customers, we have a great Specialist Support Team who provide 1 on 1 care to our customers that need extra support. We have great people in our teams who have been trained on vulnerability and how to recognise when a customer needs support. Below is an example where a customer called in, distressed and was expressing wanting to take their own life. In this situation it is most likely not the right thing to transfer to someone else such as SST given the circumstances at that moment. The story demonstrates the great work by Rebecca Heatley and the real difference we can make to our customers lives.
The customer called on 28/02/22 and spoke to Rebecca Heatley. They explained that they have had a change in circumstances due to a recent split with their partner which has impacted their mental health and general wellbeing. The customer further explained that they are no longer working and have a lack of support due to the absence of family in the country. There was a concern for the customer in general as they had made several references to self-harm/suicide. Rebecca took ownership of the account from the offset and handled the customer’s account with great caution and sensitivity. She took time to ask the customer how he was doing, if they had any other source of support and discussed priority bills. Rebecca managed the conversation around suicide/self- harm in a professional and understanding manner. She was able to establish that he was not in any immediate danger as it was not something he planned to act on, so a welfare check was not needed.
Rebecca further reassured the customer that we are pausing the payments temporarily and would be a happy for the customer to use his saving to travel to see family and get the support he requires. It was agreed that the direct debit will remain in place for the time being, but Rebecca will maintain regular communication. Towards the end of the call the customer became quite emotional, Rebecca maintained her composure during this and reassured the customer we are here to support them. There was a follow up call on 23/03/22 to review the customer’s circumstances. The customer was distressed and concerned around the wellbeing of his son following a recent conversation with him. Rebecca remained composed and empathic and was able to establish a good understanding of the customer’s current situation and provided suitable options. She also promoted the benefits of making part payments, when possible, which the customer agreed to.
Rebecca arranged another further call on 22/04/22. The follow up call which was arranged for 22/04/22 was rescheduled as the customer had just returned from Africa. Another call was made on, 26/04/22 and during this call the customer was a lot more upbeat, they explained they were in a much better place mentally after spending time with family and just had an interview for a teaching position. They also explained that they had put their house up for sale and had accepted an offer for it and the sale would take 4-8 weeks to complete. The customer discussed his current financial situation with Rebecca, including lack of mortgage payments. Rebecca confirmed their current account standing and reassured the customer that we will not ask them for payments due to their difficulties. However, the
customer clarified on a call on 05/05/22 that he wanted to use his house sale funds to settle his account. He thanked Rebecca for her support and the service she provided, he explained he was on verge of suicide when they first spoke and that he feels she has helped save his life with the support and time she has given him. Outcome: At present we are still waiting for the account to be brought up to date, but in relation to the customers current journey with ourselves we have moved from a customer in serious distress and at risk of self-harm/suicide to a customer who is in much more positive position with a new lease of life, potential job opportunities on the horizon and a plan to settle the account in full using funds from the house sale.
Introducing our
Work experience team Seb Arthurs “Hi everyone, I’m Seb. I’m 16 years old and I have many passions in life. The biggest of the lot is skiing. I love traveling the world to different ski resorts and the picturesque and beautiful mountains you find there. From the time I am spending her at Tandem; I am hoping to get a sense of how an office runs and a business works, then hopefully I can take this experience and make it useful later in life.”
Freya Mollart “Hello, I am Freya, and this is my first summer working at Tandem. I am looking forward to being able to fully recognise each process within Human Resources and working independently. Through Tandem and the work experience they have provided me I am able to access my full potential in their professional environment, and also further my understanding of creating contracts while building up my confidence.”
Mollie McNicholas “Hello, I am Mollie, and this is my second summer working as a finance intern at Tandem. I am excited to enhance my understanding of financial terminology and learn new skills in addition to those I learnt last year and why each activity I do is important to stay in line with the FCA. Thanks to this amazing opportunity last summer I had an insight into working life including the structure and authority in a workplace and became more adaptable to change and new situations. A kind and welcoming environment like Tandem also allowed me to develop a sense of responsibility with the jobs I was given whilst feeling supported.”
Gabriella Mollart “Hello, I am Gabriella, and this is my second summer working as a finance intern at Tandem. I am looking forward to not only developing the skills that I learnt last summer, like my understanding of how the FCA operates, but also gaining increased understanding of why we undertake each process, not just how. Tandem has taught me how to work in a professional environment and communicate with people much older than myself effectively in a cohesive unit. Thanks to Tandem, I am excited to work with the team again this summer and develop my skills and knowledge further.”
Ready to make an Impact? Everything you need to know about our environmental initiatives
ESG Monthly Stats Tree Planting
23,484 trees purchased since February 2021 from Trees for Life and Leighton Hall. We have planted 30,000 of our overall 3−year agreement with Leighton Hall ahead of schedule in March 2022 as part of our volunteering event, bringing our combined total 40,914 trees. 33 of our people purchased a tree in the grove in June, 12 of which were monthly direct debits, totalling 50 trees purchased for the month by our people. Watch all about our Tandem wood here
Pawprint
227 people signed up with average score of 12.6 tonnes co2.
EV Scheme
10 electric cars on the roads saving 47,761.84 co2 emissions per annum.
Bike2Work Scheme
4 people signed up.
The Green Deal
Renewed from April 2022, 33 members, with 26 rewards eligible for redeeming.
Swap Shop
76 items, totalling 18kg at our Cardiff office.
GiveAll
10 people total monthly donation £147 .
ESG - Charity Fundraising
Manchester to Blackpool Bike Ride for The Christie - The cycling event of the summer! Our very own Rick Keeble joined #TeamChristie and hopped on his bike completing a 60-mile route from Media City at Salford Quays and finished beneath the iconic Glitterball on Blackpool’s South Promenade. A little mention from Rick about the day: “Well, that was a sweaty one! Thanks to all those who contributed to my Just Giving page I raised £570 for the Christie against a hoped-for pledge of £100. They felt like the warmest UK miles I've ever done, 75 in total including the 15 miles to the start, very enjoyable too. Thanks again.”
A huge well done Rick!! Please donate if you can: justgiving.com
Sunday 1 0th July 2022
One Million Minutes! Our new company wide target for our people to help within the community is to reach a whopping ‘1 million minutes’ worth of volunteering time by June 2023. Not just through our charity partners, but also including any volunteering you do outside of work – do you help at a local scout group, or perhaps regularly take part in a gardening community group –those minutes count! The definition of volunteering is ‘when you choose to give your time and energy to benefit other people without being paid for it’. All those minutes will add up to some exceptional prizes for 1st, 2nd, and joint 3rd, 4th and 5th place and more importantly help us give back to the people and the planet. These minutes can be logged on your usual HR system – as they are not official working days, any weekend volunteering work will have to be submitted via email to esg@myoplo.co.uk
Any questions please reach out to the ESG Team. Please watch our lunch and learn from July - Passcode: J?H0^Fd&
ESG - Volunteer days/ what's to come
BHY Summer Camp 2022 Following the setup of the camp on Saturday 30th July, Laurance would like to invite you to join the team for a couple of hours on the site to learn more about the work of the charity and to volunteer during certain times to help with some camp chores and activities, such as grass sledging, football and rounders. This will be a great opportunity for you to see The BHY in action and also present an opportunity for you to meet and speak with staff and young people. The dates are from: � Monday 1st – Thursday 4th Aug � Monday 8th – Thursday 11th Aug � Monday 15th – Thursday 18th Aug
Bibby's Farm Scout Activity Centre, Back Lane, Chorley PR6 9DL
If you’re interested, then please click here to access the booking form and make sure you add our company name to the booking form for Laurance to see.
ESG - Volunteer days/ what's to come
Cycle to Work Day
Thursday 4th Augu st
Thousands of commuters have made the switch to cycling to work. They’ve got fitter, reduced their stress levels, saved loads of money on commuting costs – which has never been more important – and done their bit for the environment. So, this year, whether you’re already a committed cycle commuter or are just starting out on your journey, let’s get on our bikes and get to work the best way we can. Love to Ride – the heart of the Cycling to Work Day The free Love to Ride online community is where all the action takes place. This is where you can log your ride, set your goals, upload your photos or tell us about your reason for riding.
Here’s how it works: 1
Join Love to Ride - it takes less than 2 minutes to create your free profile.
2
Sync up – connect a smartphone app to your Love to Ride account. Record you rides, set your goals, share photos and experiences and sync them to your profile automatically.
3
Record your ride - it doesn’t matter how far, how fast or the type of ride. Simply log a bike ride on 4th August and you’ll be entered into their prize draw.
Don't forget employees can save up to 48.25% on the cost of bikes and equipment through the Cycle to Work scheme, contact the People team for further information.
ESG - Charity Fundraising
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Friday 23 rd Septemb er at 11am
This world's biggest coffee morning and quite literally our biggest with all our new offices on board! As the official coffee morning date is at month end, we have moved our coffee morning forward a week so everyone can get involved. Calling all the Mary Berrys and Paul Hollywoods out there to dust off their aprons and get out their mixing bowls and get ready for a monumental bake sale here at Tandem.
Diversity & Inclusion The Diversity and Inclusivity working group is led by
Morgan Lyons and aims to make Tandem a Diverse and Inclusive place for everyone! This could be anything from making sure we feel free to be ourselves at work, to educating one another about and celebrating our differences! We have a half-hour, bi-weekly session in which we set ourselves a quarterly objective and strive to offer forums for conversation, opportunities for learning and lots of fun events. Some key initiatives we have worked on are, our recent Pride celebrations, Lunch and Learns on topics such as 'My Trans Journey' hosted by Katie, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and recognising celebrations such as Ramadan, Christmas and Diwali! We want this forum to accurately represent the diverse people at Tandem, so please do come along and join us at 3:30pm every other Tuesday Just contact Morgan for details.
s t n e m e c n Annou 5 years service -
Alice Urwin
Management Accountant What's kept you at Oplo for all these years? I would say the team, the support and the progression within the department and the company itself. There is never a boring day at Oplo or in the Finance department, always facing new challenges, projects, or deadlines. Which part of your role do you enjoy the most? I have a love/hate relationship with month end. The busiest time of the month but it involves some of my favourite jobs like reviewing P&L. I also enjoy the project work, like currently we are beginning to merge processes and systems with Tandem which is certainly an exciting time. What advice would you give to new starters? You get out what you put in. Get involved and show the willingness to learn and take on new responsibilities and you are rewarded with the support to do so.
Top Performers Fiona O’Brien
Training and Competency Assistant, Home Loans Fi was recently voted as the departments shining star. Some of the comments from the team were: �
Constantly being there for people’s tricky cases and helping us understand them down to a T.
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She’s been amazing with training, always has an amazing attitude and always on hand to help!
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Always so positive, always there to help and nothing is an issue. When I joined Oplo I was very hesitant to ask for help due to past experiences and Fi has now made me overcome this.
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For always being super friendly and helping me with everything and all my millions of questions. She’s the best person for when you first start in your role as she makes you feel comfortable and settled, and she’s hilarious.
Zoe Todd
Junior Test Analyst “Zoe has worked extremely hard, working with the team to ensure that we could launch our 1st Mortgages this week. This included working beyond her hours to ensure that we had everything in so that we could register brokers for our portal.” - Richard Angell
Tia Walsh
Admin Team, Home Loans “I would like to nominate Tia from HL Lending on the Admin team. Due to absences, she has been doing so much more than what is expected and working all the overtime hours to try and not let the workload get too heavy.” - Ryan Molyneux
Tanya Rowbotham
Approvals Underwriter, Personal Loans “Tanya works tirelessly day in day out to ensure her and her team fire through approving all applications daily. Her workload has been increasing over the last few months in line with our continued growth; Tanya has continued to grow with them and matches the challenge she faces each day. She’s an absolute credit to the team, thank you Tanya for all your hard work!” - Jake Quinn
Ryan Lambert Car Finance Savings
“Ryan joined the business at the start of May and has shown a determined and enthusiastic attitude towards all of his training. We have received feedback from different departments commenting on how well Ryan has applied himself to all aspects of training and learning his new role. After only 2 months, Ryan is already working all aspects of the role and completing these to a very high standard. Ryan has made a huge effort to become part of the team and he is a massive part in keeping the team morale up on a daily basis. Thank you for all your hard work so far and keep it up!” - Vanessa Stell and Chloe Smail
Kyle Butler
Service and Systems “I would like to nominate Kyle Butler for doing a great job updating/rebranding the desktop icons on SharePoint with the new tandem logo.” - Cameron Schofield
Team Helen Personal Loans
“I would like to nominate my entire team (team Helen) from personal loans for top performers. Last month we only had a full team for two weeks at the end of the month and we smashed every target we had. The teamwork among us is amazing and we always pull together to make sure we achieve our team goals. It’s a pleasure to be on a team with you all!” - Amber Sloan
Christina Bunting
Customer Relationship Manager “Personal Loans Collections would like to nominate CJ for employee of the month. Since joining us CJ has a positive can-do approach to her work. She is always willing to take on additional tasks when needed and is adaptable and supportive to the team on a consistent basis. She remains focused and is a joy to have on the team, nothing is too much trouble for her! Thank you for all your hard work.” - Personal Loans Collections
Shines “I would like to ‘shine’ on Kanchana Thatmee and Nicolette Cummins. Kanchana and Nicolette are prime examples of people who go above and beyond to support others no matter how busy they are. Although we don’t directly work together every day, their continued support and positivity is hugely appreciated.”
“Not only does Sujatha Chandrabose do a great job day in and day out, but she has also coped with a recent sickness yet still pulled it out the bag. I think this is a great opportunity for our company to show how much we appreciate the passion and dedication that she brings to the table.” - Jerome Hurley
- Hannah Bryce
Sujatha Chandrabose “She has been going above and beyond to pick up the slack in testing for our team.” – Chris Orton
“Ann Rutherford and Ceri Hodgson recently joined the Car Finance Collections Team and have hit the ground running, with all the recent changes going on within the Team they have stepped up to mark every day with a smile on their faces. Thank you to you both for being assets to the team!” – Amber Langley
Service and Systems - “I would like to nominate the whole of the Systems Team for their work on the 1st Charge and Payment Projects.” – Sarah Wiggin
Thanks!
“Please can I add shine for Jessica Richards our HR Administrator. She has been exceptional during the recruitment process and providing a great onboarding service for all the new candidates and ensured the new process ran smoothly. She is always willing to help out with additional tasks with a friendly attitude towards working.” - Jessica Elliott
“I would like to nominate Sasha Ehlke-West for a top performer as she has been so amazing during my first couple of weeks. She is so full of knowledge and so friendly and helpful, and she is always available for any questions I might have or if I need any help with anything. Thanks!” - Melanie Harvey
“I only started last week but Sasha Ehlke-West has taught me more in 9 days than I ever thought I could learn in my life! She has to be up there for consideration ” - Bethany Cavanagh
“Massive thank you to Claire White for taking the time to record an urgent IVR message for the savings phone lines to enable us to advise customers of a period of system downtime. This helped massively as it helped prevent customer complaints.” - The Savings Team
Send your nominations to: Marketing@myoplo.co.uk
Joe Isard-McNulty - “For quite a few months we have been looking to bring in a QA based platform for use across the wider bank to share all Customer Journey assurance results. It was originally felt that this would pass through standard Oplo governance however due to some unforeseen delays it ended up needing to pass through the new (to us) Tandem governance process. Joe has supported us in understanding this process every step of the way and hopefully by the time this ‘Shine’ is shared, Evaluagent will be in use across the Bank. Thanks for your support again Joe!” - Rick Keeble
“Bethany Howarth is always on the ball and always hitting her targets, she’s determined and efficient. As I have only been here for around 2 months, she’s really helped me out checking on me every half an hour or so. She makes sure I’m never stuck and has been a real help with settling into Oplo. She will also help anyone who needs it!” - Aishah Rashid
“Jonathan Saxelby - Jonnie started in the business just over 2 months ago and has shown a fantastic attitude since starting, Jonnie is a great team player and is always willing support the department when required. Jonnie is very customer focused and always strives to serve our customers in the best way possible.” - Mark Hardman