We are working hard to build a diverse workforce because we believe it will allow us to build trust with the people we serve, and help us to make better decisions. We are striving to create a workforce that reflects the diversity of the society we serve, and we think diversity and inclusion go hand in hand. In order to achieve this, we have several initiatives in place that address various areas of diversity and inclusion. This year we renewed our diversity targets, set for the end-February 2028. These include the proportion of staff we want to be of a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background, and female, at various levels. We also considered how we expand our public commitments beyond gender and ethnicity. Our ultimate aim is also to work towards ensuring appropriate representation for other protected characteristics, such as disability and sexual orientation. At this point, as with many other organisations, we do not feel there is sufficient data available internally to support this and are working to address this over the next few years. This is an issue we have also noted in many other organisations in the financial sector, where data on the progress on diversity and inclusion across the sector is fairly limited. Firms have been recently contacted about participating in the pilot survey on diversity and inclusion.
The nature and speed of change pose some opportunities for smaller firms that are not weighed down by massive infrastructure and can be nimble in decision making; but there are also a number of threats from the bewildering investment choices, the costs of investment and the ongoing need to adapt. Mutuals face particularly difficult decisions as you are essentially investing your members’ (past, current and future) money and will be highly aware of the potential damage caused by delays and cost overruns; and balancing the need to invest to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s customers with the the risks to the firm’s future if investment doesn’t pay off. It is also important to note that maintaining technology can come with high fixed costs alongside the people associated with supporting that technology. Gaining relevant technical expertise at Board and senior management is one option that some firms determined to make the most of the right technological advances take. Pooling expertise or outsoucing – subject to tight and expert oversight – are other options. Organisational transformation projects are always difficult to achieve in a fast-paced environment. Firms, faced with declining demand for their current services and lacking the resources to invest in new services, may take the path to merge. For Friendly Societies, this could be achieved through a Part Eight transfer. The PRA currently has an open consultation on Insurance business transfers, CP16/211, which welcomes comments and feedback until 28 October.