First bank awarded diversity accreditation

Tuesday 13 February 2018

Standard Bank Wealth International is the first bank in the Channel Islands to have been awarded the DIFERA employer accreditation, which promotes diversity, inclusion, fairness, equality, respect and acceptance in the workplace.

Liberate conducted an audit of Standard Bank’s policies and procedures and surveyed the bank’s employees in Jersey and the Isle of Man to find out how diverse the workforce is before producing a report that will serve as the benchmark from which to measure Standard Bank’s journey on the scheme.

Vic Tanner Davy, CEO of Liberate, said: “Standard Bank’s results were very encouraging and showed a culture of respect and acceptance within the bank. The bank’s policies and procedures were particularly comprehensive and well-written with, for example, a maternity policy that is more generous for pregnant employees than statute. This type of provision supports women in particular within the workplace, helps retain that talent through pregnancy and afterwards, and attracts more women to work for Standard Bank, widening their choice of candidates.”

Liberate presented their report to the Executive Team at Standard Bank in a meeting during which a wide range of initiatives were discussed, including ways to recruit more disabled people or to increase the number of women at senior levels.

Tina Monro, Head of Human Capital for Standard Bank Wealth International, said: “We committed to this review process with the hope of gaining insights into our culture and what our people were thinking and feeling about the bank as an inclusive workplace, but came out of it with a very detailed analysis across a range of inputs and a clear action plan for improvements. Liberate’s work was thorough, diligent and very professional”.

Will Thorp, CEO for Standard Bank Wealth International, said: “We are delighted to have been able to have this resource available to us, particularly through a charity. This work has been invaluable to us and we are looking forward to continuing with this partnership as we focus on our organisational culture.”

The DIFERA scheme was launched in May to assist organisations with implementing or improving their diversity and inclusion programmes. Organisations seeking accreditation provide their own policies for review by the charity and have to be willing to be audited by Liberate through an anonymised questionnaire which all staff are encouraged to respond to, so that any improvements necessary may be made and the resulting standards retained through an annual review.

Pictured: From left, Vic Tanner Davy, CEO of Liberate; Tina Monro, Head of Human Capital, Standard Bank Wealth International; Rachel French, Chair of Liberate; Paddy Haversham-Quaid, Chief Experience Officer of Liberate; and Jonathan Peake, Chief Financial Officer, Standard Bank Wealth International.