Taking a holistic approach

For Sue Davies, chief human resources officer at Markel, it’s extremely important that a company shows in both words and actions that diversity and inclusion (D&I) are truly important to it. And according to Davies, Markel has worked hard to do both.

The re/insurer has formed a global D&I steering committee comprising senior leaders, which has worked to create a vision and strategy and now ensures this strategy is being put into action.

On the US side, there are now seven employee resource groups across different areas. Internationally, Markel operates a broader inclusion network.

“They are employee-led, but they all have executive sponsors and clear goals and pillars of activity. They’re involved with talent acquisition, professional development activities and community outreach,” said Davies, speaking in an Intelligent Insurer interview on D&I in the re/insurance industry.

“Having that supportive culture, where psychological safety is core, is really important.”

But these initiatives would have much less impact if they weren’t integrated into the business.

“It’s very important that we keep D&I very closely tied to and focused on the business and profitable growth goals, and that we see it as integrated into the business. We certainly approach D&I as a core part of the business, not as a sort of add-on,” said Davies.

For example, Markel’s D&I steering committee supports the re/insurer’s talent acquisition activities, a key pipeline for talent coming into the organisation.

She added: “We make sure D&I is very integrated into all of our talent processes, be that acquisition, development, or retention. We’re ensuring we keep it tightly connected to the business.

“I never want it to be a standalone function or standalone piece of work. Keeping D&I integrated is a key challenge and opportunity for our D&I team and for our broader leadership team as well.”

It’s important to measure efforts, but while diversity is more easily calculated, measuring inclusivity can be a more nuanced exercise, Davies said.

She recommended that companies use engagement surveys and regular pulse surveys, adding that the idea of the “voice of the employee” is key at Markel.

Every two years, Markel conducts an in-depth engagement survey, with more than 70 questions and a D&I index.

“We look at that as a key measure of trends. In terms of additional feedback, we have new joiner, stay, and exit interviews. Those are all important ways we listen to our employees,” she said.

Focus groups, 360-degree feedback, and regular town halls with senior leaders provide additional ways of addressing D&I questions and getting a pulse check on what’s going on in the organisation.

“You have to stay close to that. Measuring inclusivity is not a task where you can simply go into Workday and pull the data. You need to be listening and giving people the opportunity to share their opinions on a regular basis,” she said.

Fishing in a bigger pool

Davies addressed under-representation in the insurance industry generally.

“If you look at the data, we do still see under-representation across minority groups, especially at more senior levels in the industry,” she said.

This is partly because of the legacy of the traditional sources of talent that insurance hired from, such as a limited range of schools and universities, added Davies.

Now, the insurance industry is working on broadening the industry by looking at new and different sources of talent.

For Markel, this includes involvement in Lloyd’s Dive In Festival, the global festival for D&I in insurance, which this year takes place September 27 to 29. It also means improving Markel’s early careers programmes to “make sure we’re trying to think about different sources of talent, and encourage and educate people about the exciting careers that are available within insurance”, said Davies.

She added: “All of that hopefully means we are fishing in a much broader pool than we have traditionally.”

Turning to the future, Davies set out three major changes she’d like to see take place in the next five years.

First, she would like to see insurance become a “go-to” career, with the industry becoming an employer of choice with a more diverse talent pipeline and more diverse representation. Second, she hopes that all the effort that is now being put in will bear fruit, so that we see more minorities and diversity in senior leadership roles across the industry.

Finally, Davies hopes the things we label as D&I today become a “much more natural and embedded way of doing business”.

“At Markel, we want to develop what we call a ‘distinctive talent advantage’. We want to make sure that across all demographics, we’re pulling in the key talent that’s so important to the business and that we become a magnet for excellent talent.

“I’d like to think that in five years or maybe sooner, we can have achieved a number of these changes,” she concluded.