As Anne Rendall walks off the eight-seater Loganair aeroplane, battling the snow and wind, she clings on to her briefcase full of money on the island of Stronsay. Rendall probably has the most unusual job at the Royal Bank of Scotland. She runs the flying bank. This is how many customers living in Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, get to see the colour of their money. Working from RBS premises, community halls or even a room in a customer’s house, Rendall can count on being kept busy, but she can’t always count on the weather. It can mean the difference between getting home for tea or being put up in a B&B on one of the six remote islands that are her workplace, and where experience has taught her to bring a toothbrush. She’s been stuck on all of them during the past 18 years.

With almost 30 years of service at RBS, the 46-year-old customer services officer is as keen as she was when she started at the Kirkwall branch as a 16-year-old. “I love travelling and meeting people. I think I have the best job in the bank,” says Rendall, who is kept in touch with developments by her business manager. Respect, understanding and support for staff are hallmarks of the retail banking division of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has nearly 9,000 staff as well as 3.5m customers.

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Staff are proud to work here (earning RBS a 77% positive score) while workers believe in its values (82%) and say they can make a valuable contribution (79%, the highest score in our survey). Managing director Ewen Munro leads by example and recently went back to the floor working at the front counter in a branch in Cardiff. His visit was filmed by Royal Bank TV — RBS Retail’s in-house satellite communication network and will be broadcast in banks throughout the UK.

“One of the key things is to work relentlessly in creating a positive environment,” says the boss, who has put in 28 years’ service. “If people looked at our DNA they would see pride and care.” Career development is vitally important and staff appreciate the support they get from their managers. They have confidence in the leadership skills of senior management (71%) and say their manager cares about them as an individual (77% and another top score).

When it comes to camaraderie the bank is definitely in the black — teams are fun to work with (81%) and care a lot about each other (79%). Benefits include flexible working hours, a final salary pension, share options and profit-related pay, and looking after staff pays dividends — one in three of employees has worked at the bank for more than 15 years and half for at least five years.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, RBS records the highest positive score among the big companies for both happiness with work/life balance scoring 70% and job security (79%). Abu-baker Opiny is just starting out what he hopes is a successful career at the bank. “I was attracted by the strength of the management and the fact that they are willing to support staff,” says the graduate trainee.

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