HOLLOWAY FRIENDLY ///// 25
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“We need to think
about how we will
use and harness this
data and the new
technology that will
become available.”
DRIVING CHANGE
Throughout my career I have worked with incredible people who have
given me invaluable advice, support and a shoulder to cry on when
needed. I have also worked with some challenging people who I have
learnt from in a different way. I vowed not to treat people in the same
manner—treat people the way you want to be treated has always been
my personal motto.
I have spent the majority of my career working within the various
entities of a large insurance company and seen many restructures,
product launches and rebrands. I have encountered many personal
and professional challenges and rejections, and went from witnessing
bullying in the workplace—which meant having to blow the whistle—to
seeing myself and my female colleagues drive though positive change
within our companies and also the wider financial services industry.
There were far more female senior managers and executives when I
left the large insurer than there were when I started and, at my current
company, we have more women on our senior leadership team than
men. The majority of our sales team are also women.
This is so encouraging to see and I feel that, in a small way, I have
helped pave the way for the next generation of female leaders.
I see change, more diversity and more flexibility on the horizon. I
see technology changing how we work and interact with each other
and I also think we, as a financial services industry, will start to focus
on the ‘how’ not the ‘what if ’.
Everything we do will be highly measured due to the internet of
things and as an industry we need to think about how we will use and
harness this data and the new technology that will become available.
I think we will look to build more inclusive propositions which
focus on letting people live the life they want, in the way they want to
live it. We won’t build ‘products’ as such, but inclusive propositions
which will offer more than just singular insurance policies with some
value-added services stapled on to the side.
FLEXIBILITY
The industry is definitely more diverse now. When I used to go to
industry conferences and events there was rarely more than a handful
of women in the audience and almost no female speakers on the
agenda. You never had to queue for the female toilets at a financial
services event!
As an industry we are starting to think about how to make the
workplace more inclusive and accessible. We have seen an increase in
‘return to work’ programmes, more agile and flexible working, as well
as people challenging the norm and asking questions, such as ‘why do
I have to work these hours, in a set location?’.
These changes are enabling more women to return to work after
having a career break, whether that’s been to have a child, to look after
an elderly or sick family member or perhaps to re-train so they can
change careers.
We can still do more to make the industry more diverse and I call
on all senior executives, regardless of gender, to think about how they
can invest in the leaders of the future. ■
Georgia d’Esterre is head of marketing at Holloway Friendly.
www.holloway.co.uk
SHUTTERSTOCK / RAWPIXEL.COM
www.intelligentinsurer.com Diversity and Inclusion Report 2019