The FinTech Baking in Diversity and Inclusion
Toby worked closely with a business banking app aimed at the passion economy. This is an emerging economy that presents new opportunities for sole traders, side hustlers and freelancers. Due to regulatory requirements and an NDA working for this client we are unable to name the organisation itself, however, describe our work together as follows.
Background
Toby worked closely with a business banking app aimed at the passion economy. This is an emerging economy that presents new opportunities for sole traders, side hustlers and freelancers. Due to regulatory requirements and an NDA working for this client we are unable to name the organisation itself, however, describe our work together as follows.
Executive sponsorship is key to driving diversity and inclusion in any organisation. When the CEO joined the business there was a team of about 80 people. To begin with, the objective was to develop unbiased recruitment processes. Initially, this was quite organic and driven by the CEO themselves with a few others who were passionate about sharing their stories, but there wasn’t a strategy underpinning the work.
The Black Lives Matter movement made the organisation realise that they were a bit out of their depth in understanding the range of diversity and inclusion issues. Deciding to get strategic, the client felt the need for end-to-end interventions rather than a sprinkling of things here and there. It was at this point the CEO contacted Toby to work on the development of a D&I programme for the organisation.
Inclusive Growth Approach
The client followed Mildon’s Inclusive Growth Culture programme which the CEO themselves said ‘worked very nicely as a flywheel for diversity and inclusion’. The client started with an audit: survey data followed by small focus groups. People were more prone to sharing their data with a third party anonymously than with the employer. The expert analysis of the data added value meaning the client was able to serve their teams with a lot of insights as a result.
On the surface, things seemed ok, but the data-driven insights showed the client that there was room for improvement for both the LGBTQ+ community and women in the workforce. The subsequent leadership team sessions helped leaders become more aware of the full spectrum of diversity and inclusion. It was only then that the client moved to the design of a strategy along with a step by step implementation plan to make it happen.
Programme Impact
The audit provided in-depth data from the outset, so the organisation knew up-front what needed to change. Crucially, leadership team awareness sessions created a shared understanding. This meant the initiative was coming from the very top and leaders were aligned around diversity and inclusion before designing a programme to tackle the issues.
Future-proofing
The D&I programme has supported future-proofing the FinTech product too. Since the app aims to be inclusive of everyone, diverse representation in the team is critical. Without that, the product can end up being biased towards the segment of people who are building it. Keeping diversity and inclusion at the forefront of product development helps the business holistically understand its customers.
The client’s vision is to ensure that the culture of diversity and inclusion they are building in the workforce and product flows out to customer experience. The CEO says that their product has even better engagement with populations who tend to be forgotten than that of the parent company. She cites this as a ‘massive business win’ that they are starting to see coming through in the data.
CEO Advice
The clients’ CEO’s advice to other chief execs or leaders who want to improve diversity and inclusion and are unsure whether to bring in a D&I expert is to just do it. She went on to say:
‘Don’t hesitate. It’s the best money we’ve invested. The process felt light touch but it provided deep transformation. We didn’t feel we had to chase anything or be anxious. The process is very transparent. It all makes sense and the documents are simple. Toby has taken us on a longer journey. that continues to deliver meaningful results.’
