Doors opened to the biggest ever annual Dive In festival last week as industry leaders and inspirational guest speakers called on the insurance industry to herald in a “braver culture” at 150 events in 40 countries.

A record attendance – with more than 60% of this year’s participants at their very first Dive In – tuned in to discussions across a wide range of cultural issues, from hybrid work models, to neurodiversity, to poor rates of cultural representation.

Here are highlights of local sessions held in Australia and New Zealand attended by insuranceNEWS.com.au.

‘GIVE THEM A VOICE’

At the “Whole of self, Psychological Safety in Action” session, prominent lawyer and board member Shirley Chowdhary told attendees – including hosts Chubb local President Peter Kelaher and Honan CEO Andrew Fluitsma – it is "not enough to open the door to people who look different, think differently come from different backgrounds … and then not think about inclusion”.

"It's a tick the box exercise. Yes, we've got 3% of indigenous employees, we've got multicultural employees, we've got, you know, women and men – but bring them in and give them a voice,” Ms Chowdhary said.

She encouraged executives to “ask them what they will change in your organisation to feel psychologically safe. Ask them how you could do business differently”.

"You're not selling just to white men over 50. You're selling to everybody and you need everybody represented in your pipeline, thinking about the services and insurance products you offer, how you underwrite your insurance, how you sell your insurance, how you market your insurance, how you price it.

“Because if you don't have that diversity voice around the table, you will miss key opportunities.”

‘THE DESIGN OF OFFICES WILL NEED TO CHANGE’

At the “Building Brave workplace Cultures in Post Pandemic world” event, UNSW Academic Frederik Anseel outlined four main considerations when redesigning work after covid made hybrid models the norm.

Flexibility: People have really learned to value workplace flexibility and “they do not want to give that flexibility back,” he says, especially diverse groups. He warned not to make assumptions about how these groups want to work and said this is “core to the future”.

Office design: "Our offices are designed for a completely different world. We will need to redesign workplaces to support diverse, flexible, and tech enabled workforces,” Mr Anseel said, adding that while a lot of companies have already made good progress on this, there is still work to do.

Psychological aspect and purpose: For employers to “lure people” to come to the office and work together, they need good reason. This could be encouraged because they "feel a sense of belonging, the sense of inclusion, a sense of social cohesion identity,” Mr Anseel says.

Revaluate how work is organised: The new flexible work practices should be offered under a new, overarching work model where people have new norms and ways of collaborating with their peers, he said.

‘YOU MAY BE UNAWARE’

At " Out of sight but not out of mind: the hidden disability journey,” attendees heard that work culture must better support those with hidden illness, such as arthritis, asthma, back pain, cancer, heart disease, mental health conditions and diabetes.

Many people go through their work lives without revealing to their employer a disability and how it impacts them. Yet almost half Australians are living with chronic conditions, and Speech Pathologist Jane Panaccio told attendees and session host Brent Lehmann – WTW GM Affinity and Commercial Australasia – that workplace leaders and managers must upskill and "have some health literacy”.

She recommends safe space areas for people to regenerate that are “not frowned upon,” as well as appropriate bathrooms, lifts and other facilities.

“Everybody can benefit from some wellbeing programs. Having access even just to healthy foods or healthy initiatives – walk-and-talk type meetings where people can feel a little bit more relaxed and allow them to open up a little bit more with their managers.”

‘REPRESENTATION IS ABYSMALLY LOW’

At “Building Inclusive Company Cultures,” Australian Human Rights Commission Anti-Racism Champion Tasneem Chopra said Australia is “such a diverse country but the representation of culturally diverse individuals is abysmally low,” with “even a cursory glance” at the demographic makeup of leadership in Australia revealing it is overwhelmingly Anglo Celtic.

"Some people would go so far as to say “pale, male, stale,” she said. “To leaders in your organisation, I challenge you to make space at that coveted decision-making table for those outside the mainstream.”

Culturally diverse communities comprise over half our population, and she says "we can and should be doing better” with metrics and representation.

Transparency and accountability also help attract the right talent.

“Make yourself open to that level of scrutiny because it shows professionalism, it shows integrity,” she said.

‘A GREAT PLACE TO FIND NEW TALENT’

At “Putting the ‘Neuro’ into Diversity,” hosted by Marsh at its Barangaroo office, attendees heard organisations can benefit from hiring neurodivergent Australians and “broadening the spectrum of diversity”.

Around a fifth of the population are neurodivergent, and targeting this area in recruitment can help solve the talent crunch.

“There's never been a greater need than now to address the needs of many companies that are searching for talent across a wide number of jobs, and particularly in the IT sector but across all kinds of employment settings,” Cornell University Professor Susanne M. Bruyère said.

“Affirmative hiring programs for neurodiverse individuals can be a great place to find new talent for these jobs. They’re eager to have an opportunity to be able to prove themselves in your workforce.”

Building internal awareness about initiatives was “critically important,” starting with an articulated statement from the CEO stating this is a strategic business imperative and that they want everyone to be on board. Next, create educational opportunities for supervisors who “will be your champions”.

Then, build a talent pipeline by identifying community partners who “can be conduits” for qualified neurodiverse candidates, and educate recruiters about how they can make the job application process more successful for the neurodiverse.

"Does your workplace look neurodivergent friendly from the website and how you present yourself?” she said. Having internships for young recruits is also a way to test candidates out in the workplace, educate supervisors and give people job experience.

“Once people get into the workplace, it's important to create opportunities for them to advance and thrive like everyone else in our workforce. That may mean mentorship opportunities and an opportunity to provide ongoing ready feedback, preparing your supervisors to feel well equipped to do so.”

She also recommends the public relations department “send a message to your external environment that this is a part of your business imperative … and that there are success stories that you can share.”

More than half of unemployed autistic Australians have never held a paid job despite vital skills, and more than half that are employed want more hours and more challenging roles.

‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY’

At “Workplace flexibility for the modern family,” Colin Biggers & Paisley Partner Melissa Fenton said working lives are now expected to be structured around family life, and the industry was at a watershed time in which “we can craft out how we want it to look”.

Parenting, other caring responsibilities, or “passion pursuits you want to do to make your full-self content,” were all reasons behind the push for more flexibility.

“It's a time where we really can create the kind of workplace that we want – this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Ms Fenton said. "The industrial revolution in the 1800s was a gamechanger for workers and brought them from the fields to the factories. Then World War Two was a gamechanger for women into the workforce.

“The covid pandemic has seen all of us leave offices and go to our homes. We're coming back, but now is the chance to say “well, what do we want it to look like and how can we create the best life for us both personally and professionally?’,” Ms Fenton said.