Capital One
Principles
Capital One has two key values, Excellence and Do the Right Thing. Since their introduction in 2003, they have provided the foundation for business decisions and choices. They also serve as the cornerstone of their culture and guide how employees interact with each other.
Values are central to Capital One's success, as they define the culture and differentiate the company from others. Employees (associates) strive to live the values through their performance and contributions, and the values help guide Capital One's success as it evolves. Today, values are connected to behaviours that drive everyday interactions and business decisions. Consciously using and living the Values makes Capital One stronger.
'Excellence' is defined in five ways:
- hiring only the best people for the job
- encouraging people to take ownership of their work
- being strategically bold
- being intellectually rigorous
- good management.
'Do the Right Thing' describes how associates interact with each other and their customers. At Capital One everyone aims to:
- act with openness
- have respect for each other
- have respect for customers
- be a good team member
- make sure there is integrity in everything the company does.
Innovation and enterprise
Capital One has always encouraged innovation and enterprise in the way in which they operate their business
A good example of this was the introduction in 1992 of the 'balance transfer' concept. This was a completely new idea which allowed credit cardholders to move their balances to Capital One at more favourable interest rates.
The strategy brought about a big change in the card market enabling millions of customers to borrow money at lower interest rates. This innovation helped Capital One grow from one million customers at the end of 1990 to approximately 50 million to date.
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