Banks: Try changing attitudes rather than the decor

Forget the beanbags, an innovative culture is created by knowing your company’s core values and having a board that shares them

Monday 1 December 2014 at 17:00

“We have totally changed the working environment in our bank to make it cooler and more attractive to the top talent who would otherwise join Amazon, Facebook or Google.”

This is a line I hear all too often from top executives of incumbent financial service firms. It's a bit optimistic. Even if they've bought some trendy furniture, for many in the hacker/Gen-Y talent pool these gigantic companies still look as stuffy and bureaucratic as a government department.