Lloyd’s still shy on ‘cultural fabric’ needed for top talent, but won't take cues from Atrium scandal or D&I

Lloyd’s needs to strengthen its “cultural fabric” to avoid getting left behind in the industry’s pending tidal wave of hiring, although neither D&I considerations nor a recent bullying and discrimination case truly define the challenge, chief executive John Neal has suggested.

Neal sees London and the broader industry lined up at the opening bell of a highly competitive HR competition:

“We will hire twenty thousand people in the next three years,” Neal said. “Half of those hires will be under thirty.”

“If we don’t get our cultural fabric right, we will not get the right talent; we will not succeed as a marketplace.”

A recent headline case of employee bullying and discrimination in the marketplace wasn't of the type to sully Lloyd’s “fundamental fabric”, Neal nonetheless said.

While a policy of “zero tolerance is the only answer” and Lloyd’s cannot accept any form of bad behaviour”, a recent case involving managing agent Atrium is only an example “pocket of bad behaviour”, Neal said.

“I don’t feel that the fundamental fabric of the market is fundamentally wrong,” Neal said. Most marketplace participants “passionately believe in the fundamental call of insurance.”

Lloyd’s issued a Notice of Censure and an over £1 million fine in response to findings of discrimination, harassment and bullying at managing agent Atrium.

Neal appears to define “cultural fabric” beyond the gender and ethnic inclusion targets his firm crated in response to criticism of the group's D&I credentials.

“Yes, we put in place targets around leadership balance ... and hiring targets” on both gender and ethnic scales, Neal said. “But for me, we have to move beyond the D and move beyond the I to a really deep conversation" on cultural factors that draw talent,” Neal said.

Lloyd’s set its D&I journey in 2020 with the launch of its culture dashboard plotting the path to gender parity and a 1 in 3 ethnic minority count.

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.