Provide in depth information about you and your current job role.
I have been in my role of Head of Inclusion and Diversity since February 2021. Previously there was nobody at Brit in this position, so it has been my responsibility to create an I&D strategy, manage our Employee Resource Groups as well as generation of ideas and delivery of initiatives.
Success has come in the form of our employee engagement surveys in which I&D scores consistently highly, as well as for our recent I&D data capture in which over 90% of colleagues responded and provided their diversity data.
To me this was a huge indicator of success in my role as it shows that people have trust in the commitment Brit have made around I&D.
I&D makes up one of the four central pillars of our Group strategy, highlighting its place at Brit as a very real business priority. Members of the Executive Committee sit on our I&D committee, meeting every six weeks to keep up momentum and accountability. I have developed our comprehensive I&D strategy, which is underpinned by a clear vision:
1. Colleagues and culture: We want our colleagues to consider us to be a progressive organisation which demonstrates its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across the business and in our sector.
2. Robust recruitment: We have a robust recruitment process to ensure we attract and recruit the best talent from a diverse talent pool and we make sure candidates are given an equitable playing field regardless of their identity or characteristic.
3. Promote diversity: We are an organisation that accepts, recognises, encourages, celebrates and promotes diversity in all its forms and adopts a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discriminatory and non-inclusive behaviour.
4. Leadership and management: Our leadership and management populations act as role models & allies, actively raising awareness, challenging prejudice & demonstrating best practice approach regarding inclusion and diversity at Brit.
This framework helps to ensure that executive leadership is fully engaged with I&D, while also providing mechanisms that allow us to continually ask ourselves what we can do better and avoid complacency.
Why do you feel you have been selected for the Head of Diversity & Inclusion Award?
My I&D work goes far beyond executive decisions: all Brit employees have a voice in making our company an inclusive place to work. We have fostered 5 incredibly strong Employee Network Groups across a range of topics, including race, identity, sexual orientation, disability and gender, with more than 70 colleagues from across the business recognising these groups as a safe space to raise issues with management and create real change. The engagement from employees that we are increasingly seeing across the business – e.g. our recent British Sign Language class was attended by over 150
employees – is testament to the work that our I&D committee has driven in tandem with more grassroots ideas and initiatives.
Our overarching goal has been to create a supportive workplace in which our employees can thrive. With equality and fairness guiding our strategic decisions, we have introduced a range of supportive policies that respect and cater to varying needs and living situations. These include, but are not limited to, enhanced shared parental leave and an increased focus on issues stemming from domestic abuse, menopause and fertility. Remaining acutely conscious of these concerns is the key to cultivating a supportive and respectful environment.
It’s important that the structure of our business reflects our deep-rooted concern with equality. I recognise that a hierarchical, top-down environment is not the best environment in which to nurture talent. Instead, Brit relies on an open platform governed by respect, mutual support, and knowledge exchange. A reverse mentoring scheme supports our goals around leadership and management, with senior executives engaging with mid / junior level colleagues to hear about their experiences. This ongoing exchange increase visibility of issues like micro-aggressions in the workplace, building senior awareness and understanding of the challenges that others face. These conversations ultimately help shape our wider approach and ensure that everyone is part of the discussion.
Testimonials
“Over the past two years Brit have demonstrated a clear commitment to progressing Inclusion & Diversity, establishing themselves as a leader within the Insurance industry. Through initiatives such as the Brit People Forum they have embraced co-creation in their approach to I&D, providing Brit people with spaces to learn, build empathy, and drive action. The Executive team and I&D Committee have taken, and continue to take, tangible and decisive action to make Brit a more inclusive place to work.”
Harriet Molyneaux, Managing Director at HSM Advisory
“Brit is doing an excellent job displaying its evolving company culture. From the exterior (outsider perspective mainly based on LinkedIn page), this gives the impression of genuine dedication to cultivating, championing and progressively driving forward the I&D agenda. The combination of your employee-led imagery, company benefits, Team Brit sponsorships amongst other posts provide a sense that the Company is not just wearing the T-shirt but is also creating the conditions for I&D to thrive. As flag bearer for I&D myself, I wanted to take the time to commend Wayne Page, your I&D champions and leadership team for their untiring efforts to move the needle on a very important agenda beyond an organisational level. It’s truly inspiring, progressive, and above all feels genuine! Keep it going. ”
Dauda Jammeh, Head of Finance Operations at Beazley
What diversity initiatives have you implemented within your workplace across the following diversity strands?:
Age | Disability | Gender | LGBT | Race | Religion & Faith
Religion and Faith:
I recognise that we live in a multi-cultural and multi-faith society. But not only do I recognise the importance of this diversity, I also celebrate and champion it. Our approach to public holidays avoids
the typical ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead gives every employee an allocation of days equivalent to the number of public holidays. This time off can be taken on any public/national holiday or on any religious belief, culture or diversity day. The most important thing: our employees can now spend time with their loved ones when it matters to them. We also have multifaith room which is available to all colleagues and celebrate key religious dates throughout the year.
Race
All colleagues are required to attend mandatory Let’s Talk About Race training, covering issues such as unconscious bias, privilege and micro-behaviours. We currently partner with the African Caribbean Insurance Network: to improve ethnic representation across the London market, working to attract new graduate talent and promote the insurance profession amongst students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Brit has also signed up to the Business in the Community (“BITC”) Race at Work Charter.
Gender
We work with Code First Girls to build female representation at a junior level across the industry; creating internships in which women can earn a nano degree in coding. Our first intake in 2022 were all converted to permanent hires after the internship programme. I recently coordinated a very successful speed-networking event in which women from across the organisation took the opportunity to network informally and discuss their careers and highlights.
LGBT
I have provided several training opportunities such as a lunch and learn with guest speakers from the transgender community to deliver educational talks. We work with LINK (LGBT network specialists in Insurance) and support and promote their activities. Alongside Link, we have marched at London Pride and most recently added Gender Dysphoria to our healthcare benefits package.
Disability
I have created a workplace adjustments policy to enable improvements for those who require adjustments at work. I have provided several guest speakers and also hosted an internal panel event where colleagues could discuss their disabilities and health conditions. Partnering with the Business Disability Forum allows me to seek guidance when needed.
Age
Taking part in 2022’s Fifty over 50 gave us the ability to celebrate women over the age of 50 in Insurance. I have also provided guest speakers on the multigenerational workplace. We also have several graduate and internship programmes to encourage young people to pursue careers in Insurance.
What impact have these initiatives had on your workplace?
The results speak for themselves
Benchmarking helps us track our progress on the most critical I&D issues, and the results speak for themselves. We were delighted that our inaugural I&D survey showed that 94% of respondents had a favourable or neutral response to the statement that leaders at Brit build an inclusive environment.
95% feel encouraged to take care of their wellbeing and the same number feel able to bring their full selves to work. 94% of respondents also responded favourably or neutrally to the statements that everyone is included at Brit and that Brit values diverse perspectives.
A 62% disclosure rate highlights a strong level of employee engagement, and we will continue to run this survey on an annual basis and encourage even more responses. While it’s great to have these numbers to show we’re on the right track, we believe that what we’re doing goes far beyond metrics and quantifiable data. We understand that this is a continuous journey without an ‘end goal’, and our strategy will be ever-evolving to further better our business, culture and people.
Success has come in the form of our employee engagement surveys in which I&D scores consistently highly, as well as for our recent I&D data capture in which over 90% of colleagues responded and provided their diversity data.
Have you or your company received any accolades as a result of your work surrounding equality, diversity & inclusion?
Brit were successful at the 2023 National Insurance Awards in the Inclusion and Diversity category. We were also nominated at the Trading Risk awards 2023.
Please provide a name and contact details of a person we can contact to make this evidence credible.
Name
Andrew Taylor
Email Address
andrew.taylor@britinsurance.com
