Diversity of thought and the benefits to business
‘Lateral thinking’, ‘outside the box thinking’ or even ‘blue sky thinking’: for years businesses have challenged conventional wisdom in order to gain a competitive edge. However, it is labelled, the fact remains that having access to a diverse range of opinions and ideas is invaluable when tackling problems or delivering innovative approaches to new markets. Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a proactive way to deliver this and it is good to see it on the agenda for BIBA this month.
Bringing different perspectives to the table is a powerful way to create inclusive propositions, particularly for community-centred businesses like brokerages, which are able to serve their customers best when they reflect the needs and values of the communities’ they operate in.
I am proud to be a part of a business that values diversity as highly as Aviva and proud to see the work we're doing to promote gender balance and inclusion recognised in the 2021 Times Top 50 Employers for Women awards. The benefits of increased diversity and inclusion are something I see first-hand internally and in both our Broker Apprentice scheme and our Future Leader Programme, which recently welcomed its youngest and most diverse cohort to date. I can’t wait to see how they progress with such a range of different perspectives in the group.
Improving Diversity and Inclusion in an office can be easier said than done, particularly in an established team or a challenging recruitment market. But it is worth the effort: aside from being the right thing to do, it is well-documented that businesses who embrace D&I outperform those that don’t.
For instance, the Centre for Talent and Innovation reports that organisations that rate highly in both Diversity and Inclusion have 19% better employee retention, 42% greater employee commitment and are 57% more collaborative. It is unsurprising, then, that those businesses are 70% more likely to have success in new markets and are 45% more likely to improve their market share.
One of the biggest diversity challenges facing brokers in the near future is the age gap. Aviva research shows that over three-quarters of brokers are male and over two-thirds are in Generation X (mid-to-late forties or older). This stands in sharp contrast to the demographics of the UK and global workforces, which have shifted towards a younger generation. Last year KPMG reported that Millennials (born between the 1980s and 2000s) make up just under 50% of the UK workforce and Gen-Z (born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) are now entering the workforce too. So, going forward, broker propositions will need to take into account the needs and values of a younger generation, placing further importance on the next generation of broker leaders and apprentices.
The industry better needs to reflect today’s society, ensuring that they take it into account from the beginning stages of product design, through to end-customer marketing. This is essential if brokers are best to serve society’s insurance values and priorities. By embracing diversity, and diversity of thought, brokers will continue to be able to serve the changing demographics of their customers and communities, and ensure that they are as inclusive – and relevant – as possible.
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