As Head of Talent at IQUW Group, I’m dedicated to creating a collaborative, inclusive and dynamic working environment. Across IQUW Group, colleagues thrive on the exchange of great ideas, partnering with colleagues with different skills and experience and fostering a culture of innovation. Together, we work towards the common goal of driving success and embracing the spirit of teamwork.

The insurance industry has historically lacked diversity. At IQUW Group, we believe that true progress stems from embracing different perspectives and backgrounds. Over the last year we have established an Inclusion Council, held focus groups to discuss key diversity topics, organised events aimed to enhance awareness and understanding and developed partnerships with organisations whose core purpose is to enhance diversity. Our partnership with “The Brokerage” has supported our overall agenda to enhance diversity and, in particular, to address social mobility.

Exploring the Collaboration

The team at the Brokerage is committed to breaking the corporate mould, focusing on equal access to opportunity and allowing talented young people to get the jobs they deserve – whatever their background.

As part of the partnership, IQUW participated in the summer intern programme in 2022 where members of The Brokerage joined the company for six weeks. The interns worked across different teams to understand more about the insurance and reinsurance market and how IQUW are using data and digitalisation to drive decisions. We’re very excited to be expanding the programme this summer with 9 interns joining the team.

IQUW has also hosted masterclasses on public speaking, interviewing skills, an introduction to insurance and Excel for members of The Brokerage and has supported a micro-mentoring programme. The aim of both the masterclasses and the mentoring programme is to equip the attendees with key skills for the future.

Looking Closely at Recruitment

Our partnership with The Brokerage has also played a pivotal role in enhancing our recruitment process. Through the feedback and insights of their members we have been able to review our approach and ensure that we’re using the right tools and language to attract diverse candidates.

We continue to partner with The Brokerage to promote roles across the business, such as our Data and Analytics Early Careers Programme and to support our ambition to hire more members on a permanent basis.  We already have one member that has joined us on a permanent basis and we are really pleased they have chosen to develop their career within the Insurance market.

Engaging the Team and Driving Adoption

At IQUW, we understand that garnering buy-in from across the business is essential to successfully implement our initiatives. We are fortunate to have an engaged team that is enthusiastic about embracing new ideas and approaches.

To ensure that our team remains informed and inspired, we have implemented innovative communication strategies. Using QR codes on our office screens, is one strategy that provides a convenient and efficient way for team members to access relevant information and resources. We’re also committed to making the team accessible – everyone can communicate with our talent team to raise ideas, ask us questions – and discuss the sort of organisation we want to be!

As we forge ahead, a commitment to diversity, learning and community engagement remains at the core of our talent strategy.