From helping members own their own home and providing a place to save for their future, to helping staff grow professionally and personally, Dudley Building Society aims to make people's aspirations a reality.

The Society has teamed up with distance learning specialist, Centre of Excellence, to offer employees the chance to learn a new skill from cross-stitch and Japanese to dog training, crystal healing, life coaching and mindfulness. Founded in 1858 and based in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, Dudley Building Society which operates across six branches likes to grow its own talent and more than half the management team have been promoted into their roles.

A flexible approach to working is embedded throughout the Society and this was further encouraged following the period of home-schooling faced by many employees with a number of staff reducing their working days to maintain a sensible work life balance, with no effect on pay.

Senior managers are involved in day-to-day conversations with all employees between branches and the Principal Office, giving them more opportunities to get their voices heard. Listening to their concerns during the pandemic, the Society changed opening hours and working patterns and paid for equipment to provide a more comfortable home working environment. To boost morale the Society hosted a number of lunch time social sessions including Netflix and chat, a book club and a bake-off group. It also sent employees an activity box with kits to make a rainbow cake, a bird box and create their own home spa.