|
MBNA
 |
Providing Meaningful Career
Opportunities in a Truly Integrated Business Model
MBNA, the world's largest
independent credit card issuer has it’s headquarters in Wilmington,
Delaware with operations throughout the United States, Canada,
Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. MBNA Corporation, a bank
holding company, provides retail deposit, consumer loans, and
insurance products and is the leading affinity marketing company in
the credit card industry with endorsements from more than 5,100
organizations. |
Best Practice Context
MBNA is a company of people committed
to:
- Providing the Customer with the finest
products backed by consistently top-quality service.
- Delivering these products and services
efficiently, thus ensuring fair prices to the Customer and sound
earnings for the stockholder.
- Treating the Customer as we expect to
be treated-putting the Customer first every day-and meaning it.
- Being leaders in innovation, quality,
efficiency, and Customer satisfaction. Being known for doing the
little things and the big things well.
- Insisting on an inclusive work
environment where every single person is given the encouragement,
support, and opportunity to be successful.
- Expecting and accepting from ourselves
nothing short of the best. Remembering that each of us, the people of
MBNA, makes the unassailable difference.
MBNA is a company of people who expect to:
- Be treated fairly.
- Work hard in an environment absolutely
committed to excellence and Customer satisfaction.
- Work with people who respect each
other as important individuals.
- Have meaningful work to do and the
education, equipment, and support to do it.
- Know what is required of them and be
kept candidly informed of their performance and progress.
- Be judged individually by the quality
and consistency of their effort, enthusiasm, honesty, and results.
- Have the opportunity to develop and
advance.
- Be encouraged to offer suggestions and
ideas with the understanding that each will be promptly considered and
responded to; be able to reasonably speak their minds.
- Receive ample information about the
company's plans, activities, and results.
- Be part of a company that recognizes
each individual as absolutely fundamental to its overall success.
These precepts are exemplified in MBNA's
business approach and are used actively to guide the company in all its
business decisions. As a result, MBNA has attracted national attention
for its work environment as well as for its business performance.
Among other awards, the company was named one of Working Mother
magazines top 100 companies for family and work policies for the
eleventh consecutive year in 2002. For the fifth year in a row, FORTUNE
magazine ranked MBNA one of the top companies to work for in the US and
inclusion in the Business Week 50, an annual ranking of America's best
performing companies.
MBNA employs more than 28,000 people. Having a diverse workforce and
commitment to equal opportunities for all have been both a sound
business practice and a reflection of the values of the people at MBNA.
Educational programs help the people of the company understand and value
differences among co-workers and also among customers, so that they are
more effective working together and interacting with each customer.
The company has benefited from the insights of people from a variety of
backgrounds. MBNA insists on an inclusive work environment where each
person is given the encouragement, support, and opportunity to be
successful. They ensure their employees have meaningful work to do and
the education, equipment, and support to do it. Within this context the
company's Support Services Department arose and thrives, currently
offering opportunities for hundreds of people with cognitive and
developmental disabilities in Maine, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland and
Canada.
Best Practice: Support Services Department
 In 1990, Mr. Cawley made a commitment that people with cognitive and
developmental disabilities would have meaningful career opportunities.
From the first four employees who began in Credit Services, over 300
people are now employed in Support Services providing integral business
services such as packaging and mailing, premium fulfillment, collating,
data entry, and courier services to other MBNA departments.
In its first years, the program worked in partnership with a residential
program for persons with cognitive and developmental disabilities,
providing employee mentors on site. Early on, the company assisted in
obtaining group home living in the community and brought on professional
help from the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC). Rather than
contracting out, MBNA now provides all job support internally through
Support Services managers which has improved the efficiency and
effectiveness of the model for its internal customer departments.
Fifty-one managers now manage the
efforts of representatives (employees) in four departments that make up
the Support Services Division:
- Graphic Arts - t-shirts and
other premiums are designed and printed for marketing events, and wide
format printing and engraving are also completed;
- Fulfillment - where previously
outsourced functions such as letter fulfillment, mailing premiums,
document imaging, and account documentation are now provided directly
to internal customers;
- Warehouse and Inventory Management
- maintains 50,000 square feet in which all premiums and marketing
equipment are kept current, clean, tracked, prepared and shipped to
locations for representatives; and
- Competitive Employment - in
which people are placed in typical positions in many other areas of
the business.
Michael Shriver, Director of Support
Services explains that the program has evolved into an effective
business model. Shriver said, "We found that we can capture business
processes, procedures and needs that had been completed by outside
vendors, by doing a better job internally. We kept moving downstream to
address internal customer needs, such as on-line inventory management
and ordering for marketing functions. We benchmark against the market
for the cost to the business unit. We charge the same, but improve the
quality and response time. We are able to provide the customer - the
people of MBNA - with total control over the product, a wider span of
control over the process, no invoicing, and rapid turn-around for urgent
needs. All this work happens to be done by people with cognitive and
developmental disabilities, which also helps our company fulfill the
philosophical commitment expressed by leadership."
Individuals in the competitive employment department are placed in other
business areas of MBNA - 35 different departments currently - such as
Aviation, Personnel, and Consumer Finance. Competitive Employment
Managers from Support Services support the people placed in these
business areas. In order to secure competitive employment opportunities,
these managers seek out opportunities in the company. After developing
these jobs, they recruit individuals with cognitive and developmental
disabilities through nonprofit agencies in the surrounding community (as
well as from within Support Services). As people of MBNA, they are able
to explain the job requirements and the type of skills required.
The agencies select and refer participants who appear to be good matches
for the jobs. Competitive Employment Managers screen these candidates
and refer only the candidates that qualify for interview and final
selection. Once hired, the community agency retains responsibility for
managing the personal efforts and needs of the individual outside of
work, such as transportation, housing, finances, and health care. MBNA
provides job coaching and other support through Support Services
Competitive Managers.
MBNA maintains regular communications with sponsoring agencies so that
they can collaborate as needed to help individuals retain employment. In
addition, because MBNA is a major employer and employs so many
individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities, they play an
important role in advocating for improvements in services and resources
that benefit all consumers, such as the para-transit system.
Results
At this time, over 300 individuals with cognitive and developmental
disabilities are employed in meaningful careers throughout MBNA, working
through Support Services. These individuals earn salaries that are
commensurate with any other MBNA employee at the same grade level. They
receive the same benefit package, including contributions to a 401K. The
average tenure attained by Support Services representatives is 7 years,
and 8.5 years for Support Services managers.
Placement into Support Services is not a dead-end for people with
disabilities, but the beginning of their career development within MBNA.
Consider Thisa's experience, a woman in her mid-30s and the single
mother of two children. About 4 years ago, The Arc of Delaware, a local
rehabilitation agency, referred Thisa to Support Services. Department
Manager Dino Capp managed Thisa in the Fulfillment area. Over time, her
skills became evident in leading tasks, organizing projects and handling
the telephone.
Dino received a request from his
colleague, Karen Nygaard, manager of the Competitive Employment area.
She developed an opportunity in the Advertising Department to refer
people from Support Services who could handle a temporary placement for
someone taking a 60-90 day family leave. When Karen receives these
requests, she notifies all the Department Mangers in Support Services to
find out who may be ready for a career development opportunity in one of
the typical business units. Dino suggested Thisa. Thisa had limited
experience handling multiple phones with high volume calls. The
Department recognized her talent, commitment and personality for the
job, while she eagerly undertook company education opportunities to
develop needed computer skills. Based on her productivity, the
Advertising Department was successful in adding a position to keep Thisa
on permanently.
"It's a wonderful opportunity", Thisa explained about her new position.
"I love working here. And I can be myself. Everybody is friendly, they
are willing to teach you, show you things hands-on, give you experience
and educate you. They care about people." Thisa worked in fast food
before coming to MBNA. This is the longest she has worked anywhere. "I
never thought I would make this salary. I am very happy where I am. I
don't want to leave. I want to learn more skills, explore new areas and
keep moving up."
"Support Services is creative in meeting the work needs of MBNA while
offering career opportunities for people with disabilities", explained
Nygaard. "We educate the managers and mentors in the Department to
maximize the development of the representatives they supervise. We study
the needs of the business units first, and then offer opportunities
outside Support Services to people who are ready to meet them."
"The attitude at MBNA is right for this", Karen says. "What is possible?
That depends on you. If people achieve, they are given more opportunity.
People are treated fairly at MBNA, so this philosophy extends to all
employees. When a representative like Thisa excels, we see this as a
representative who needs an opportunity, not a person with a disability
who needs special placement. We set expectations high and support all
people to achieve them".
Before moving to Support Services as Department Manager almost 3 years
ago, Dino spent 9 years managing representatives in typical business
units of MBNA. "I was recruited for this position as an opportunity",
Capp said. "Even though I do not have experience in this area, I am well
versed in our company's culture and understand why we do this and why it
succeeds. The work ethic of the representatives in Support Services is
unprecedented. They add value and they know they add value. We are
passionate about what we do."
Conclusion
MBNA has developed a remarkably successful program that has led to long
tenure and high quality employment outcomes for many people with
significant disabilities, and with equally favorable outcomes for the
company. They have experienced very few barriers internally to the
success of this program. Shriver attributes this success to the
philosophy and commitment of the people of MBNA. They also provide
educational sessions and use communication vehicles of the company to
support these efforts and keep the program visible. They make a constant
effort to evolve the program to serve changing needs of the customer and
keep making it work. "This has not been hard", Shriver says. "We use a
business model. These are good people, who like people, and they
demonstrate each and every day they have the desire and ability to be
very successful in a corporate environment like MBNA."
For information regarding this Case Study contact:
Michael F. Shriver
Senior Vice President
Support Services Administration
302-458-1132
michael.shriver@mbna.com
Other Case
Studies
|