'Diversity and inclusion is a supply and demand issue'

This has long been an important topic for me. As the regulator identifies, diverse teams create better outcomes for consumers, by "reducing groupthink, unlocking talent and improving understanding of diverse...needs". But teams don’t become diverse by themselves, and simple goodwill is not enough. 

In my own firm, our efforts on this front mean we now have 45 per cent women and non-binary colleagues. Team members speak 27 different languages, and 43 per cent are non-white, while 10 per cent are LGBTQ+ and 21 per cent identify as neurodivergent.

We have worked steadily and consciously to get to this point, tracking progress as we go – and we continue to focus on the gaps. Along the way, we have identified some key learnings.

First, diversity and inclusion is a supply and demand issue, and needs to be tackled on both fronts.

On the supply side, the continued challenge is that too few people from diverse backgrounds see financial services as a career path for them.

On the demand side, it’s much easier to recruit within your existing networks, and many firms and hiring managers continue to choose the path of least resistance. 

Bridging the gap

Fortunately there are organisations such as the charity Urban Synergy, who I have worked with, that help to bridge the gap.

On one hand, the charity empowers young people to see the possibilities by connecting them with role models and mentors, and providing work experience, apprenticeships and placements at industry-leading firms. On the other, it connects those firms with a pipeline of work-ready talent to support more diverse hiring.

To date, it has helped more than 20,000 young people to achieve their potential. 

For financial services firms themselves, the supply element can feel harder to address, but there is more everyone can do to encourage a wider range of people to see themselves in the industry.

Think about the photos on your website or in your adverts, or who you send to represent your company at recruitment events. 

So many product failures and PR disasters could have been avoided if the right people had been in the room. 

And can you get involved in mentoring, either as a firm or as an individual? If you have ever thought about it, I urge you to give it a go. The difference you can make is enormous, and it is hugely rewarding for mentor as well as mentee. 

On the demand side, look at every aspect of your hiring practice. Where are you advertising? Who is making the decisions? Are there biases you need to address? Set targets, make people accountable and track progress, because it has to be done with conscious effort.

If you are working with recruiters, challenge them on the candidates they are sending you. They might believe you want to see more of the same, so if you are looking to build more diverse teams, let them know. 

Maintaining the stats

Second, the work does not stop once the hires are through the door. If you do not accompany diverse hiring with an inclusive culture – which means ensuring talent is recognised and promoted, and allowing people to bring their whole selves to work – you will struggle to retain people and your diversity stats will be a constant battle. 

That brings me to my third point: if you get it right, it becomes self-fulfilling. Remember I said it is easier to recruit in your networks? As your firm becomes more diverse, that becomes an option again.

Your happy paraplanner has a talented uni mate who has been looking for a place where they will feel at home. Your hiring managers are themselves a diverse group of people, so the impact of biases fades. 

All of this takes work, but there are countless examples that show why it’s worth it. From soap dispensers that don’t recognise darker skin tones to the infamous Bic for her, so many product failures and PR disasters could have been avoided if the right people had been in the room. 

If you are working with recruiters, challenge them on the candidates they are sending you.

In the advice industry, where personal relationships are at the heart of the work, it is easy to see why clients might want to work with advisers who share their background or experiences. It is also clear that more diverse voices in firms’ decision-making processes would be valuable.

As the FCA points out, people from certain minority ethnic backgrounds are much less likely to have the pensions, savings and protections they need, while more than half of people with disabilities have had difficulties dealing with their providers. 

Greater diversity of people and of thought has the potential to improve outcomes for a wider range of clients and take down barriers to advice.

Firms that can get it right position themselves to expand and diversify their client bases, which can only be a good thing for the future of their businesses. 

Ben Goss is chief executive of Dynamic Planner