Lloyds Banking Group

Hailed as a “standout example of people-first digital innovation in HR” by the PMAs judges, Lloyds Banking Group’s (LBG) development of generative AI-powered digital HR platform Prosper was motivated by the need to better serve its customers by significantly enhancing the employee experience at scale. 

Employee feedback had revealed that navigating HR processes at LBG was time consuming, fragmented and frustrating, with multiple entry points and channels such as SharePoint, Workday and ServiceNow, and that with an estimated 30 per cent failure demand – where staff didn’t find sufficient answers to people policy questions – 300,000 hours per year were being wasted on HR queries, time better spent supporting the firm’s 26 million customers. 

In response, in just six weeks, Gen AI-enabled prototype Prosper was delivered. Eighty LBG HR experts processed 70 HR-related queries and evaluated the AI-generated answers produced by the service portal, virtual agent and employee centre. With improved speed, quality responses, reduced clicks and higher satisfaction compared to existing tools, the results were impressive, and the transformational potential clearly aligned with LBG’s broader strategy to enhance productivity, support customers and secure senior executive support for investment.

The PMAs judges were “unanimously impressed by” Prosper – which is forecasted to save each colleague at least 1 per cent of their time and deflect 90 per cent of HR queries – and its eight-people development team, which “delivered significant impact in a remarkably short timeframe”. 

“The initiative delivered a great impact in time saved serving queries and meeting a clear need of employees to find crucial information in a useful and consistent manner. The team’s thoughtful approach showcased strong strategic and technical planning and demonstrated a significant emphasis on empathy and care, reflected in features such as a sensitivity plug-in and the way communication was handled throughout the change process,” the judges said. 

“We felt that what set Prosper apart was its deep commitment to engagement, change management and governance. The team involved HR business partners, line managers and employees from the outset to ensure the solution met real needs.”