OUR BRAND VALUES
> Including Mission & Vision, brand strategy and challenges for the year ahead
VERSION 1.0 MAY 2024
Introduction
This document provides an overview of H&T’s current brand values and how they are incorporated throughout the business in order to give us purpose and to support our goals of growth, great customer experience and opportunity for our colleagues. To achieve our ambitions, it is important that all colleagues feel involved and aligned with the brand values.
MISSION VISION
H&T Pawnbrokers began serving communities in London in 1897. Since then we have expanded to become the leading pawnbrokers in the UK. H&T has accelerated its development by adding new products and services, expanding the store network and developing our range of online services. Our continued investment in the business and the communities we serve has resulted in us becoming the largest pawnbroker in the UK.
OUR PURPOSE
To ensure communities across the UK have access to a range of affordable alternative financial services that suit their needs.
OUR VISION
To make pawnbroking a more widely accepted and valued financial service by ensuring that borrowing against an asset is simple, inclusive and transparent.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to provide a service that exceeds our customers’ expectations and delivers attractive returns for shareholders.
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Contents
P.2 - Mission & Vision
P.4 - Our Values
P.6 - Our Strategy
P.8 - Core challenges
P.10 - Our customers
P.12 - ESG
P.13 - Your contribution
VALUE AND RESPECT
We work together appreciating and supporting each other
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
We ensure that customers are at the heart of everything we do.
OUR VALUES
INTEGRITY
We are open, fair and transparent.
OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
We are committed to developing our people and ensuring they realise their potential.
VALUE AND RESPECT
- Our business is underpinned by value and respect, both internally across our colleagues and teams, and also with our customers, shareholders, suppliers and regulators. Every person is valued for the role they play, with no one person being any more important than another and we aim to work as one team towards our goals. We celebrate and encourage diversity within our business. This brings difference in opinion and views, avoids “group think” and enables us to take a broader view to make the best decisions. We want our environment to be inclusive so that everyone is comfortable to be themselves at work and we can enjoy the unique characteristics of each other.
OPPORTUNITY
FOR ALL
- We are very proud of how we develop our colleagues and teams to grow in their roles, both in seniority and in new skills and expertise. Vacancies within the business are shared and applications are welcomed from internal candidates so that we can give our colleagues the maximum opportunity to find career development and fulfilment. Everyone is encouraged to take control of their career, to proactively discuss their development and aspirations with their manager, to seek and to be challenged with new opportunities.
INTEGRITY - It is important in H&T that we do the right thing and act with integrity across all of our activities. This may require us to question a process or policy that has been in place for a long time, and we encourage our colleagues to speak up through the various employee forums across the business, such as Ask Chris, Your Voice and Innovations. For our managers and leaders, it is important that they listen to their colleagues, understand their questions or concerns, and feel empowered to resolve or escalate these. If required these concerns may require formal action to investigate and identify actions for improvement.
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
- We are a people business with customers at the heart of everything we do. Our teams take pride in establishing relationships with our customers to ensure they build trust and can have respectful interactions. Our customers regularly tell us what a great job we do in looking after them and this puts a smile on our faces every day. We also realise the importance of achieving great collaboration between support centres and stores. Our focus is to work together towards our goals and to celebrate our successes.
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OUR STRATEGY
2024 > 2025
The Group’s strategy is to grow its sustainable business model responsibly through three key opportunities, identified below.
BROADEN OUR BUSINESS
Our core strategic objective is to grow and broaden our pawnbroking business, and make pawnbroking a widely accepted and valued service.
STORE ESTATE
Opportunities remain to expand our store estate in a controlled and measured way throughout 2024 alongside the current store refresh programme.
DIGITAL CAPABILITY AND CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Continued investment in to the development of our online customer channels in order to provide improved experiences. The new core IT platform, EVO, is to be implemented across the wider business with ongoing functionality improvements.
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Rated ‘Excellent’ FCA regulated Trading since 1897
CORE CHALLENGES
Core challenges are key issues that a brand must address and overcome in order to grow its business. The two key challenges for H&T are detailed below, along with our current approach to addressing them.
CHALLENGE PERCEPTIONS
In order to make pawnbroking a widely accepted and valued service the business must challenge negative perceptions of pawnbrokers. H&T does this by;
Leveraging our mainstream services - Using travel money and retail to engage with those who may not have considered interacting with the H&T brand before.
Exceeding expectation - Whether in-store or online, we want to ensure first and lasting impressions of the brand are better than the assumptions made to ensure advocacy and further recommendation of the brand.
PAWNBROKING EDUCATION
To ensure consumers are aware of H&T’s credentials as a legitimate and well established brand, there are a number of educational and trust messages that can be conveyed;
• Underlying all marketing and communications with key trust markers (such as on the left) to promote trust and further understanding of pawnbrokers credentials as well as their role in society.
• Promoting pawnbroking as a credible, alternative lending option.
• Ensuring every new customer understands what we offer and what we can do for them.
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WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS THINK?
Several times a year H&T runs a consumer and customer insight data gathering survey in order to gain valuable insight in to H&T’s customer experience, services on offer and brand loyalty. This data is used to ensure that the current strategy in place is working effectively to help the business achieve its goals.
H&T consumer insight data 2023:
Satisfied and happy to recommend
89% of customers surveyed said they would recommend us.
Return customers
37% of customers surveyed have used us more than ten times. 90% of customers told us they would use us again.
Understanding & Non-judgemental
Professional, understanding, compassionate and fair are some of the words customers used to describe our service. Non judgemental is a common phrase.
Brand trust
Of those asked 92% said we are a company you could trust.
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Customer Reviews
Online reviews provide realtime feedback on customer sentiment and can help the business quickly address any operational issues.
6,000+ Reviews 7,000+ Reviews
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ESG RESPONSIBILITY
The ESG logo is a visual representation of our commitment to ESG. It embodies dedication to environmental, social, and governance practices. The leaf symbolises the mission to help safeguard the future of the planet. The people represent the focus on nurturing colleagues. The pillars represent governing of the company for the benefit of all stakeholders, and the individual focus pillars. Stay up to date with the latest progress via the H&T website: Click here
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU?
ITS YOU WHO MAKES US GREAT!
H&T want to ensure that opportunity lies in everything we do. Our people are what make us a great business and we recognise that you go above and beyond everyday to ensure the best levels of customer service, so this should be reflected by the support offered internally. Developing people through career support, internal training, learning and development programs are all some of the ways that we invest in people and make sure that no one feels disconnected. Furthermore, employee feedback forums, surveys and YourVoice platforms give all colleagues an opportunity to ensure their voices are heard.
PURPOSE AND CONNECTION
A business that is aligned in its goals and ambitions, with a workforce who understand their role in achieving them will naturally work more effectively and ultimately offer the customer a more positive experience. A happy customer is a returning customer who will share these positive experiences online as well as with friends and family.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Innovation is an essential part of the business, it can help us achieve goals and improve our products and services. Submit your ideas to help the business by Clicking here
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CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Through our annual Superstars awards event, H&T will continue to highlight the success of those who strive to go the extra mile in all areas of the business and who demonstrate our core values and behaviours, as well as acknowledging our colleagues’ long service achievements. Watch out for further announcements to come.
Customers and colleagues at the core of our business
