September 24, 2024
I started in the insurance industry at Hastings Direct, when I was 16, as a part-time Customer Service Advisor, then following college and university I moved into the HR function. After a few years working in HR at Hastings Direct, I joined First Central in 2008, just as the business was being established, when there were just 20 staff (we now have circa 1,300).
Although I have had some fantastic managers during my career, back in the early days there were very few senior women in insurance to look up to as role models. To help overcome this, I worked hard to build a strong network around me (not just women) and took inspiration and advice from anyone I could. This is why I have been so passionate about establishing our DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) communities where colleagues can network and share ideas, as well as establishing First Central’s ‘Women in Leadership’ network to inspire future generations of female leaders. We also set up an active mentoring programme at First Central - again to develop and inspire our future leaders.
The biggest contributor to First Central's success in improving diversity is our authentic and human culture, which has been recognised with several industry awards, including ‘Best Insurance Employer’ at this year’s British Insurance Awards and 9th place in Glassdoor's Best Places to Work in the UK for Women. We’ve worked hard to ensure that culture is embedded at every level of First Central and it’s gratifying to see it demonstrated time and again by colleagues across the business.
We want to ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are inspired to progress their careers. One of the ways that we do this is our ‘Leadership Lounges’ where our senior leaders (including our Group CEO) talk very openly about their career journey and experiences they have faced. We’ve covered topics such as mental health, fertility, discrimination, challenging childhoods, grief and much more. These talks help to inspire future leaders and demonstrate that anything is possible, and challenges can be overcome.
At First Central, we regularly review our policies and practices to ensure we feel they are fair and are supporting our organisational goals. For example, we recently further enhanced our maternity and paternity policies (and renamed them Primary Parent and Co-parent policies) and introduced a ‘Your Time in Need’ policy which supports colleagues experiencing urgent or challenging life events. Examples have included organising a care home for an elderly relative, solicitor meetings to process a divorce, death of a pet etc. We’ve also introduced a ‘Time Off for Fertility’ policy and flexible bank holidays, so colleagues can choose as and when they take their bank holidays.
I have personally experienced fertility challenges (with several unsuccessful rounds of IVF and the decision to no longer pursue parenthood) but the support and compassion received from my manager (Michael Lee) and my senior colleagues helped ensure I could continue operating in my Exec level role during this time. This has made me an even bigger advocate of ensuring colleagues receive the necessary support during times such as these, as well as making sure we are flexible as an employer, which helps achieve our DEIB aspirations.
Across my time in the industry, it has made huge progress in terms of becoming more diverse. However, I think we all still have a part to play to encourage younger people from a wide range of backgrounds to consider a career in insurance and help them understand the variety of careers available. This is why we are passionate about the relationships we have with local schools and colleges, and provide regular work experience and apprenticeships.
At First Central, having an exceptional colleague experience isn’t ‘just’ the right thing to do – it is at the heart of our business strategy and key to us delivering sustainable growth and profitably.
Although I have had some fantastic managers during my career, back in the early days there were very few senior women in insurance to look up to as role models. To help overcome this, I worked hard to build a strong network around me (not just women) and took inspiration and advice from anyone I could. This is why I have been so passionate about establishing our DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) communities where colleagues can network and share ideas, as well as establishing First Central’s ‘Women in Leadership’ network to inspire future generations of female leaders. We also set up an active mentoring programme at First Central - again to develop and inspire our future leaders.
The biggest contributor to First Central's success in improving diversity is our authentic and human culture, which has been recognised with several industry awards, including ‘Best Insurance Employer’ at this year’s British Insurance Awards and 9th place in Glassdoor's Best Places to Work in the UK for Women. We’ve worked hard to ensure that culture is embedded at every level of First Central and it’s gratifying to see it demonstrated time and again by colleagues across the business.
We want to ensure that people from diverse backgrounds are inspired to progress their careers. One of the ways that we do this is our ‘Leadership Lounges’ where our senior leaders (including our Group CEO) talk very openly about their career journey and experiences they have faced. We’ve covered topics such as mental health, fertility, discrimination, challenging childhoods, grief and much more. These talks help to inspire future leaders and demonstrate that anything is possible, and challenges can be overcome.
At First Central, we regularly review our policies and practices to ensure we feel they are fair and are supporting our organisational goals. For example, we recently further enhanced our maternity and paternity policies (and renamed them Primary Parent and Co-parent policies) and introduced a ‘Your Time in Need’ policy which supports colleagues experiencing urgent or challenging life events. Examples have included organising a care home for an elderly relative, solicitor meetings to process a divorce, death of a pet etc. We’ve also introduced a ‘Time Off for Fertility’ policy and flexible bank holidays, so colleagues can choose as and when they take their bank holidays.
I have personally experienced fertility challenges (with several unsuccessful rounds of IVF and the decision to no longer pursue parenthood) but the support and compassion received from my manager (Michael Lee) and my senior colleagues helped ensure I could continue operating in my Exec level role during this time. This has made me an even bigger advocate of ensuring colleagues receive the necessary support during times such as these, as well as making sure we are flexible as an employer, which helps achieve our DEIB aspirations.
Across my time in the industry, it has made huge progress in terms of becoming more diverse. However, I think we all still have a part to play to encourage younger people from a wide range of backgrounds to consider a career in insurance and help them understand the variety of careers available. This is why we are passionate about the relationships we have with local schools and colleges, and provide regular work experience and apprenticeships.
At First Central, having an exceptional colleague experience isn’t ‘just’ the right thing to do – it is at the heart of our business strategy and key to us delivering sustainable growth and profitably.