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ANZ National Bank Limited is one of the world’s 100 largest banks with $177billion in total assets and one of New Zealand's leading banking and financial services groups with more than one million customers. ANZ has 11,600 employees, of which 61% are female. In 2007 it undertook a study to find out why women were under-represented in leadership roles. Since then the ratio of women at the executive level in the bank has risen from 14 to 21%. In recognition of its efforts, ANZ received the Equal Employment Opportunities Workplace Diversity Award for 2008. Felicity Evans is the general manager of human resources for the bank.
Diversity!: CEO Graham Hodges has said that ANZ could not turn its back on half its workforce—in other words, its female staff. How did this realization come about? And how did the other pieces of the Diversity & Inclusion strategy fall into place?
Felicity Evans: ANZ National established its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in 2006, after research by the HR department highlighted the importance of women as a future talent pipeline. The aim is to create a workplace where employee differences such as gender, age, culture, disability and lifestyle choice are valued. The policy is governed by a 13 member Diversity and Inclusion Council, made up of senior leaders from different areas of the organization. The strategy has three key ‘pillars’: workplace flexibility, respecting and reflecting our community, and diversity in leadership.
ANZ National is committed to diversity and inclusion as part of our responsibility to the society we operate in. It’s also makes good business sense. A commitment to diversity gives us a diverse range of experiences and ideas which increases our potential for innovation and creativity, and it gives us a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining staff, who are expecting employers to provide greater flexibility, personal development and work/life balance. It also allows us to connect with our customers by understanding their needs and differences.
DIW: A diversity and inclusion strategy can only work if an organization’s workforce understands that diversity and inclusion are part of the corporate culture. What did ANZ do to get buy-in from its employees, especially with an employee base of this size?
FE: At ANZ National the diversity and inclusion strategy is led from the top, with senior leaders ‘walking the talk’ and taking part in the Diversity and Inclusion Council, rather than diversity being solely an HR initiative.
ANZ National also regularly shares stories with staff demonstrating the importance of diversity to our business. For example, recently ANZ sponsored the Big Gay Out, a popular gay festival in Auckland, which was supported by the bank’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affinity Group. The ANZ tent was one of the most popular sites at the event and generated more than 150 referrals. This success was communicated through stories on our bank-wide intranet ‘The Vault’ and our global staff magazine.At ANZ National we are fortunate that many employees already understand the importance of diversity and inclusion to our business. Since 2006 we have been providing staff with the opportunity to share their views on diversity at ANZ National through our bi-annual ‘My Difference’ survey. In 2005 the survey showed that 80% of employees understood the importance of diversity and inclusion, and by 2007 this had grown to 83%. We expect to see a similar increase in results when we complete the survey this year.
DIW: ANZ commissioned a study to find out why women were under-represented in leadership roles. What did the results of that study show? And how did ANZ go about breaking down the barriers for women to advance them through the organization? In other words, what changes had to be made to allow this to happen?
FE: The Providence research into women and leadership at ANZ National showed that silos within the business prevented women from moving around the organization. We’re now looking at ways to make it easier for staff to move around our business, for example, through the NZ Women’s Network events – which touch all business areas.
We’ve established recruitment policies actively looking for women to fill specific roles and are involving more women in succession planning.
Another way we are breaking down the barriers is through our MyFlexibility programme which assists staff to achieve work-life balance. This includes options for flexible hours, start and finish times, working outside the workplace, part-time work and job sharing. Our policy accommodates a range of needs including study, commuting, and other commitments as well as child care and elder care.
We’ve also established aspirational targets through a Diversity Scorecard which measures our progress.
DIW: In just 2 short years ANZ has made tremendous strides, especially in terms of establishing affinity groups. Are these networks, management or employee-driven? And how were they developed?
FE: ANZ National supports six Affinity Groups under the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: the Asian Network, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Network, the Maori & Pacific Networking Group, the Indian Networking Group, the Part-time Working Parents Forum and the NZ Women’s Network. All the affinity groups are employee-driven, and all were self-developed. Staff who wish to start an affinity group contact HR who provide assistance, funding and support.
DIW: What kind of feedback has ANZ got from its employees? And how has its diversity & inclusion strategy changed the work environment at ANZ? How has it paid off for ANZ?
FE: The Diversity and Inclusion strategy at ANZ National is still young, and we are yet to see the full impact. However, feedback from staff suggests a number of benefits, including: better work life balance, increased job satisfaction, greater opportunities to achieve personal and career goals, improved well-being and mental health, relief from the burden of commuting, and better facilitates change to retirement or return to work after extended leave.
In terms of benefits to ANZ National, we anticipate increased engagement, motivation and productivity, access to a diverse talent pool, and improved customer satisfaction. We’ve also seen increased levels of women move into senior positions in the organization and women have a higher proportionally representation in our ‘talent radar’ population now.
ANZ National was recently recognized for our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion when we received the Equal Employment Opportunities Diversity Award 2008, presented by the EEO Trust.
DIW: Despite the successes and recognition ANZ has received for its diversity and inclusion initiatives, what challenges still remain?
FE: The focus for the immediate future is to continue to promote and enhance activities to support our three key strategic priorities. Our current projects include providing Parenting Rooms at our office locations in Auckland and Wellington, and creating an online-portal for parents with information and links to external resources. The bank is yet to realize the full potential of the affinity groups – for example, tapping into the diverse thinking for marketing purposes, and for developing strategies across the whole bank. |
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