Propel
The Brief
Reward potential, not just tenure
Lloyd’s Register’s progression culture was tied to time served, not talent demonstrated. Younger employees were leaving, senior retirements loomed, and institutional knowledge was walking out the door. The organisation needed a new approach to career development — one that made growth visible and achievable.
The Solution
Give every employee a map. Then hand them the compass
Propel: an interactive career progression portal built on a universal skills framework. At its heart, a diagnostic tool designed to feel more like a conversation than a test — giving employees clarity on where they stand, what skills they need, and how to have better conversations with their managers.
Propel — Experience Trailer
Two centuries of expertise. A fragile pipeline to protect it.
Lloyd’s Register has operated for over two hundred years, ensuring safety and compliance for maritime vessels worldwide. The work demands rigour, technical depth, and a very specific knowledge base. Many employees have been there for decades.
But this culture of tenure was cracking. Younger hires, frustrated by limited pathways, were leaving. Attrition among employees with fewer than five years’ tenure had become a significant concern — and with a wave of senior retirements approaching, every departure took irreplaceable institutional knowledge with it.
The organisation needed to reward performance and potential, not just years in the building. And they needed to do it in a way that felt genuinely useful, not like another HR exercise.
Our Approach
Listen first. Then build something that changes the conversation
We began with interviews across the organisation, mapping the entire landscape of valued skills. From these conversations, we designed a universal framework: fifteen capabilities relevant to every employee, with expectations tailored by role and seniority.
The diagnostic tool was the breakthrough. Instead of one-to-ten ratings or tick-box agreements, we crafted questions that subtly elicited genuine responses — producing richer, more insightful feedback about each individual.
We prototyped, tested, iterated, and tested again. Workshops with the client fine-tuned every element until we had something that employees would actually want to use.
The result was a data-rich digital platform that gives people a clear sense of where they are, where they’re going, and how to get there.
Key Project Assets
Universal Skills Framework
Fifteen cross-functional capabilities mapped across roles and seniority levels — the strategic backbone of career progression at Lloyd’s Register.
Diagnostic Assessment Tool
A forty-five-question, algorithm-backed tool providing personalised insight on performance and growth — designed to feel like a conversation, not a test.
Propel Digital Platform
A bespoke career progression portal built on Lloyd’s Register’s infrastructure, with plans to layer in learning journeys, mentor matching, and succession planning.
Downloadable Insight Reports
Personalised summaries designed to support richer, more actionable career conversations between employees and their managers.
Impact
Rollout is ongoing, but early signals are strong. The platform is already sparking conversations about what growth at Lloyd’s Register really looks like.
Project Insights
From time served to talent recognised
Career progression tools usually fail because they feel like HR instruments, not personal ones. Propel works because it treats each employee as an individual with a trajectory, not a resource with a tenure date.
The diagnostic is the engine, but the real shift is cultural. When people can see where they’re going and what it takes to get there, they stop waiting for promotion. They start building towards it.
You are amazing and I love you all. Thank you for bringing our vision to life in such a short space of time. Your brilliance never ceases to amaze me.
Elizabeth Pedler, Global People Development Director — Lloyd’s Register
