Bank of Ireland is to implement a series of measures to improve and promote ethnic diversity among its workforce, including both hiring and promotion.

Chief people officer Mark Elliott said: “If everyone – broadly speaking – looks the same, sounds the same, has the same world view, and the same set of experiences, that is a risk for any company. When looking at both challenges and opportunities, companies need diversity of views, background, and life experience. That’s the type of diverse community we are seeking to build at Bank of Ireland.”

The initiatives will take ‘targeted action’ in four key areas, according to Elliott. They are:

• Education and training By the end of 2021, all 2,200 people managers in the Bank of Ireland Group will complete Unconscious Bias training, designed to help recognise often unconscious attitudes which can affect how employees engage with each other.

• Inclusion diversity training Including modules on diversity at work, unconscious bias, and respect at work, which will be introduced as required training 9,800 staff.

In Association with

• Policy changes The bank has introduced a Recruitment Charter which sets out clearly its commitment to diverse hiring, with ethnicity monitored at application, shortlisting, and hiring stage.

• Tracking and measuring The bank has made changes to its HR systems to record diversity data among its workforce, provided by employees on a voluntary basis. The banks says this  will give a better understanding of how ethnic diversity within its workforce compares to diversity in its customer base and in the communities where it does business.

• Talent development An Ethnic Minority Talent Programme designed specifically for staff whose ethnicity and race are not those of the majority group. The programme aims to equip bank employees with the skills and knowledge to support their progression into management positions.

The bank will also participate in the Black British Business Talent Accelerator programme, which was established in 2014 to accelerate the progress of high potential Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic professionals from ‘the middle’ to the top of their organisations.

Elliott added: “Any successful company should be reflective of its customer base and the communities it serves. That delivers better customer outcomes and a relationship with your customer over the much longer term. Diversity also challenges ‘groupthink’ and that is especially important when we consider how we will develop our business into the future.”

Photo: Bank of Ireland staffers Bongile Mellon (right), Vinil Thombrey (left) and Zoe Deverell. (Pic: Naoise Culhane)