FOREWORD: DIVE IN
Dive In 2022: building a braver culture
If we are brave, invite new ideas and challenge the status quo the speed of progress in developing the culture we want for the re/insurance sector will increase, says Mark Lomas, head of culture at Lloyd’s.
The 2022 Dive In festival will be my first as head of culture at Lloyd’s. I’ve observed from afar for a few years, and am always impressed by its growing footprint across the globe and the power of Dive In to raise the collective awareness of the insurance market about diversity and inclusion (D&I) issues and topics.
It has been described to me as “the jewel in the crown” of the insurance D&I calendar and as the “Glastonbury for D&I” in financial services. These are worthy descriptors for a festival that will reach 40 countries, with thousands of participants, over three days in September.
This year’s theme is about building a braver culture and events will look at areas such as how we create inclusive workplaces; and developing environments that encourage courageous conversations and support psychological safety—all of which enable high performance.
It is a focus that I hope will resonate with colleagues across the globe. We are living in challenging times with economic pressures, war in Europe and many countries just beginning to understand the long-term economic and social impacts of COVID-19. With uncertainty around us, and likely to continue for a considerable time, we all need the ability to feel safe and be our authentic selves at work.
Taking care of ourselves, our colleagues and knowing that we are appreciated for our unique skills, abilities and experiences is something that universally translates, and is even more important during uncertain times.
Slow and steady progress is being made
Each year, as we measure diversity, inclusion and culture in the Lloyd’s market we are seeing improvement. The data demonstrate that we are becoming more diverse, for all colleagues and at leadership levels. We should be pleased we are making headway, but we cannot be complacent. Progress is slow and incremental.
We are seeing increases in gender and ethnic diversity, but in 2022 our picture is still only a partial one.
Data on inclusion and culture show improvements across our market. This too, we must be pleased with. The Culture Survey 2022 demonstrated that more people in the market are describing the culture as inclusive, and the highest scoring themes were on leadership, competence and respect.
These are solid foundations to build upon. If we are brave and invite new ideas, new ways of doing things and an appreciation of challenging the status quo then the speed of progress in developing the culture we all want for our market and the wider sector will increase.
What are the D&I challenges ahead of our market globally?
“The Culture Survey 2022 demonstrated that more people in the market are describing the culture as inclusive.”
Mark Lomas, Lloyd’s
Accelerating the rate of change
Dive In has been a great vehicle for ensuring we are having conversations across the range of D&I topics. Raising awareness is a vital first step in ensuring we create the environment to foster change. Our market now needs to accelerate the rate of progress. This means taking advantage of economies of scale, deciding where working together for the greater good can be actioned and focusing on what efforts have provided impact and effectiveness.
Understanding skills gaps, retaining and progressing talent
The data tell us that we are making progress. Despite this, we need to understand more about the skills gaps emerging due to an ageing workforce, and what this means for the market in relation to technical roles such as underwriting and actuarial skills.
We have a global need to retain and progress talent. This is a challenge we need to lean in to and start tackling today, so that an emerging skills gap doesn’t become a large one in the next 10 years which will be much harder to turn around. Other industries have ignored similar issues and are now having to invest heavily.
We can learn from these lessons, attract new people into the industry, upskill those already in the market, retain and progress talent in order to futureproof the industry.
“This is what we are the best in the world at doing: adapting to manage risk.”
Accessing new talent pools and making use of perspectives for innovation
New talent pools are a necessity for our market. We are getting better at accessing a variety of talent but we need to do more. A variety of sessions across different countries on neurodiversity, disability, social mobility and race equality throughout the Dive In schedule show that these are hot topics globally.
Innovation is a key benefit of diverse perspectives. The more we embrace new perspectives and change, the more our market will thrive.
Success will come
I am confident we will succeed. Our ability to make progress is undeniable. We are making progress and it is evident year on year. But we must acknowledge we need to increase the speed of change. Lloyd’s has constantly changed with the times—from the first aviation policy, the first motor policy, the first satellite policy, the list goes on. When new risks arise in the world, our market adjusts and facilitates change.
A lack of diversity and lack of talent is a key risk. By fostering a braver culture, where we are psychologically safe and more willing to embrace change and seek innovation, we will manage the risk effectively.
I’m confident we will succeed because this is what we are the best in the world at doing: adapting to manage risk.
Image: Shutterstock / Kauka Jarvi
