Verna Myers once said, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance”.
Ahead of this year’s global DiveIn festival, we spoke to Celine Greene from Willis Towers Watson, about their approach to I&D and why this agenda remains a key strategic objective for them.
How does Willis Towers Watson approach inclusion and diversity?
We celebrate diversity and the range of differences and similarities of employees including race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability and culture. We also promote inclusion by recognising and valuing the different perspective and backgrounds each person brings to the table and provide an equal experience at work for all employees. One of our objectives is to attract, retain and develop
the very best talent to support our global business strategy. Inclusion & diversity has a direct impact on our ability to achieve this. An inclusive culture – one that embraces diverse ideas and perspectives – is critical to our ongoing, collective success. It will produce the best outcomes for both our clients and our colleagues.
What I&D policies, practices and training has WTW developed?
We ensure that initiatives are delivered “by the business, for the business”, with HR support. For our Unconscious Bias & Inclusion training, we leverage globally applicable content with “best practice” guidelines that include a preference for in-person training (where participants can interact and engage in-group discussion), with content to be delivered by business leaders (who have been trained for this purpose) and aimed first at people managers and expanding the audience over time. We measure impact through feedback after workshops and through our All Colleague Engagement Survey.
How did the inclusion and diversity committee come about?
The I&D Committee in Ireland was set up in 2017 and is a diverse group of 15 colleagues. It meets every two weeks and as Chairperson, I link in with the I&D Western European Council each quarter to share strategy and progress. We set annual objectives to strive for better gender balance and overall diversity on our leadership teams, developing a strong diverse talent pipeline and promoting inclusive leadership and culture. We recognise key events such as International Women’s Day, Pride Month and World Autism Day, and these help us get to know one another better and become more aware of our similarities and our differences.
How will I&D change the future of your business?
The future of how we work is changing rapidly and the introduction of Flexible Working will be essential to our I&D objectives. The pace of life means traditional work arrangements can be a challenge to manage and so a flexible work culture is increasingly fundamental in attracting and keeping our most talented colleagues. Whenever business and client demands allow, WTW will look for creative ways to help colleagues more effectively blend work and personal life.
You can find out more about how the global insurance industry is innovating in this space at Dive In .
