Write up - ABI Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit

“ABI?data shows the urgent need for action in order to increase diversity in the insurance and long-term savings sector. Ethnicity, age, gender, ability, socioeconomic backgrounds, there is a need to boost the attractiveness of the industry to people of all backgrounds. The Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees make up 10% of those holding entry level positions. At Executive and Board level this drops to just 2%. Improving diversity needs to be seen as a major long-term programme of cultural change that is properly resourced, planned, measured, monitored and supported by senior leadership.”

I was recently at the ABI diversity Equity & Inclusion Summit. There were fantastic talks and discussions with Industry leaders, I found it a very insightful and a thought-provoking event.

It really highlighted the disproportionate numbers of diverse talent who have a genuine and meaningful seat at the top table. Amanda Blanc, Group CEO of Aviva plc, highlighted that although there has been a significant increase to 40% of FTSE 100 organisations having female leaders on the board, a staggering 91% of those were in the form of NED positions and not in C-suite or executive positions.

It feels that those numbers call attention to the notion that EDI is being seen more as a box ticking exercise rather than being a crucial and passionate focus. This may not necessarily be the case, there is no magic wand to turn an organisation into the most diverse and inclusive in the world overnight, Rome was not built in a day. However, there are many techniques, processes, actions, or measures (pick your favourite word) that can help turn the tide and begin to make a true and beneficial change.

Discover your WHY!

As with many things in life the why is the most powerful driver. Why would you want your c-suite to be diverse? You need to understand IF you were to have 8 people who all looked, spoke and thought the same the argument would be that the diversity in ideas would be very limited. A more diverse top table can and likely would be more representative of your complete customer base, often seeing certain challenges from a different perspective and offer alternative solutions.

Each speaker at the summit, was very open and honest with their ideas, actions, and the results they have yielded within their own organisations. Discussing thought processes and best practices on how to tackle the issue. An underlying theme for the summit was sharing best practice with the reminder that collaboration and synergy is the only way to continue to make progress, work together as a collective to tackle the issue and to not see diversity and inclusion as a white elephant, competition, or branch to beat one over the head with. Instead view diversity as a needed and beneficial change and concept that would enrich and enhance company performance, sharing and collaborating to drive the change needed.

Inclusive Culture

Amanda brought to light that she will be approached on average 5/6 times every couple of weeks on LinkedIn by people who feel they are experiencing discrimination. They are often scared about broaching the subject in their current organisation due to fear of consequences of speaking out.?

The importance of an open and supportive culture was seen as the cornerstone of any successful EDI strategy and that must be lived and breathed by the executive management team. A true passion and backing to the cause is needed. It is more likely that if the senior leadership are committed to values and can communicate that it will transcend through the company with the right comms and support.

Education and training to line managers is also important, they need to feel confident and empowered to report potential issues. Understand how best to support colleagues with concerns or issues and make sure that all team members are committed and understand the principles and values that have been set. Feedback from line managers is also important, they will know more than most what could be improved, what has worked well and potential solutions to certain issues.

Best and Brightest

There is an argument, certainly within insurance that it is hard to have parity within the c-suite as there is a distinct lack of talent with the right experience to be able to make the jump, especially to a CEO position. A lack of P&L responsibility for a lot of senior women is a frustrating and damning reality and one reason why it is difficult to then obtain a CEO position. Natalie Campbell (Co-CEO/ Belu water) suggests gaining more P&L responsibility by either shadowing or co sharing certain roles, she herself decided that for the development of her own COO the best way for her to gain valuable experience was to Co-CEO, she said that it was seen on the outside as her almost taking a step back. Natalie did not share that thought she said that it is just a different way of leadership and looking at things, the benefits are huge, and the experience gained and progression shown were proving to be exceptional.

Another way suggested to fix this “pipeline” issue is to invest in your talent all the way at entry level, clearly defined career pathways, support and commitment. Show that there is a route for them to the top table. ?More opportunities across the business, not seen as no mobility between departments, again shadowing or Co responsibility on certain roles, allowing the opportunity to gain vital and valuable skills that might not be there at a certain stage of career development.

Recruiting the best and brightest. Clearly if there is not the right experience or skillset currently in the organisation and the career pathway agenda is just being implemented then an obvious way to gain a more diverse senior leadership team would be looking to hire, not necessarily commit to any hire being diverse but commit to a diverse shortlist of interviewees. Amanda Blanc has implemented that at Aviva, they now have a 50% shortlist policy where 50% of the candidates shortlisted for interview are from a diverse background.

Sheldon Mills (Exec Director, Consumers and competition/ FCA) highlighted the part that external agencies can play in finding the top diverse talent. Search consultancies and recruitment firms speak with diverse talent every single day, they are the most likely source to have a diverse talent pipeline, often with specific industry experience. The “gatekeepers” of talent. Clearly for the long-term fulfilment of EDI strategy it would be irresponsible to think that if you simply hire diverse talent that are currently senior leaders that will solve EDI issues throughout the company. However, it might help give context and fresh ideas to the statement and strategy of EDI, where previous experiences can be drawn upon.

Amanda gave a top tip about reducing the length of job descriptions and the requirements section. Women will often look at a list of 15 or so requirements, ticking off those they believe they can, or cannot do and will step back from applying if the list is too long. She said that the results have been phenomenal in respect of the number of females they now have applying for roles.

Things that get measured get done.

How will you know if your EDI proposition and strategy are being seen as a success to your workforce and are ultimately bringing the diverse senior leaders through? It's as simple as ensuring that data is available, current and complete. It is imperative to track performance indicators, we measure all other results across all disciplines in business life, why would the EDI be any different? The results good or bad are nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of and should be used in a positive and pragmatic way to improve. If the feedback from the ground up is that colleagues are not sure of process or feel that the company is not an inclusive environment, then you have the base on which to make improvements, if you are not seeing the progression or retention of staff through to senior management, you can look at the career development strategy and identify where it is falling off. The point is, if you are not measuring your EDI performance then how would you be able to understand how successful it is, outside of looking across your board room.

Overall, I found the ABI session to be extremely insightful and a great conversation starter of the issues mentioned. I’m sure you will have your own thoughts or experiences on EDI and I would love to hear, if you would like to share, or if you would like me to signpost you to more information on the ABI session, please do drop me a note at [email protected]