Council will influence building society strategy
Customers of the Black Country’s largest building society are being invited to have a greater say in how the organisation is run.
The West Bromwich Building Society is setting up a member council for the first time in its 169-year history.
The 15-strong council will meet four times a year to share the views of the building society’s membership with its board and management team.
Applications are now being invited with a view to appointing the council by October and holding its first meeting in January.
West Brom chief executive Jonathan Westhoff said: “There is growing expectation for businesses to build strong relationships with key stakeholders and use their insight to influence strategic thinking and decision making.
“For a building society, where our customers effectively own the business, this deeper level of engagement is arguably even more important.
“We already have a number of initiatives in place to gather feedback about our products and customer service. The member council, however, will take things much further by acting in a consultative capacity and making a genuine difference to the way we operate.”
A similar group made up of West Brom employees is also being established and will run in tandem with the member Ccouncil in order to capture a diverse range of opinions.
The West Brom has around 430,000 members and operates 37 branches in the Black Country, Birmingham and parts of Shropshire and mid-Wales.
To be part of the Council, customers must be aged 16 or over and have held either a savings account or mortgage with the West Brom for at least a year.
Applications can be made online or by filling out a form in any branch. The closing date is August 31.
