Our people and culture

LV= recognises and embraces the benefits of having a diverse Board. We see it as an essential element in maintaining a competitive advantage. A truly diverse Board will benefit from differences in the skills, regional and industry experience, education and professional background, race, gender, and other qualities of Directors. These differences are considered in determining the optimum composition of our Board and when possible should be balanced appropriately.

All LV= Board appointments are made on merit and reflect the skills and experience the Board as a whole requires to be effective. The Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee (NomCo) reviews and assesses Board composition and recommends the appointment of all new Directors to the LV= Board.

In reviewing Board composition, NomCo considers the benefits of all aspects of diversity in order to maintain an appropriate range and balance of skills, experience and background on the Board. The Board supports ethnic and gender diversity and is aware of the Women in Finance Charter target for women to represent 33% of Board membership and the Parker Review recommendation to have at least one non-white director by 2024. However, in identifying suitable candidates for appointment to the LV= Board, NomCo will consider candidates on merit against objective criteria as well as having due regard for the benefits of diversity on our Board.

As part of the annual performance evaluation of the effectiveness of the our Board, Board Committees and individual Directors, NomCo will consider the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge on the Board and the diversity representation of the Board.

Covid-19 communication

As many of our people continue to work from home, we’ve maintained our internal communication campaigns to keep in touch regularly. Employee engagement is key to our business performance. If our people feel energised, fulfilled, connected and believe in what we do, they’re more likely to deliver great experiences for our members and customers.

During 2021, our ‘Stay Connected ‘campaign continued to connect our people to one another, thereby supporting their wellbeing and providing them with strategic business updates. The campaign was also complimented by a variety of initiatives, support and guidance to help colleagues through lockdown and the pandemic as a whole.

When restrictions were lifted during 2021 we moved to our ‘Coming Together’ campaign to help reintroduce some of our people back to the office. As part of this colleagues could meet with their manager to ‘Reconnect and Refocus’ amidst the pandemic, the main focus being safety, flexibility and collaboration.

Our policy is to promote an internal culture that is truly free from discrimination, harassment and victimisation. A place where we can all celebrate differences in a trusted environment. We proudly do this right from the start and throughout our people’s career journey with us.

We’re also committed to ensuring that vacancies are accessible to anyone who wants to work at LV=. We’ll always do whatever we can to make any adjustments that employees might need in order to do their job to the best of their ability.

It’s been two years since the majority of our employees have worked from home, and many continue to do so as we live with the pandemic. This has shone an even brighter light on the importance of flexible working and the desire to maintain a sustainable work-life balance.

Our people have told us how much they value certain aspects of remote working. We’ve been mindful of this alongside the benefits of collaboration and unity achieved by working together as a team in our offices.  As a result, most of those who’ve returned to our sites have done so on a hybrid basis with the right support and ability to retain a good homeworking balance. We’ve been extremely careful to re-open work spaces in a planned and phased way with the safety and wellbeing of our people at the forefront of our minds.

Compared to women we currently have a higher proportion of men in senior positions. However, we believe that pay and reward at LV= is fair and unbiased and that the gap is driven by the gender distribution across LV=.

In 2021, we were encouraged by a further improvement in our gender pay gap to 25.5% (2020: 28.6%).

We continue to ensure that everyone at LV= is open to the same opportunities and we want to continue to improve the gender balance of our workforce. One of the ways we do this is by looking at the talent we have and where we can promote from within the business. We’ll continue to monitor our initiatives to further improve the gender pay gap across the business.

We assess the amount we pay our employees on a regular basis to make sure that we’re rewarding our people fairly, in line with market rates. All of our people are paid at least the Living Wage Foundation rates of pay. As well as their salary, employees are also eligible to be considered for a bonus based on their own performance and that of the overall business.

Anyone who joins LV= is automatically enrolled in the LV= Pension Plan. Our people can choose to contribute a minimum of 3% of their salary into their LV= pension and we double match their contribution up to a maximum of 14%. The LV= Pensions Village, an online tool, can help employees plan for their future. It allows them to track their pension and check the impact it will have on their retirement income.

Our people also receive core benefits such as life assurance, virtual doctor services and a competitive holiday entitlement. We also have a flexible benefits package which gives them the chance to select other benefits that are right for them and their lifestyle. Every year they can choose from a wide range of options, including buying and selling holiday and private medical and dental insurance.

Recognising people for the great work that they do is important as it drives motivation and makes people feel truly appreciated and proud of what they’ve achieved. And so through the ‘My Recognition’ platform employees can nominate their colleagues to receive a reward for an outstanding job or for living our values. Our values are courageous, curious, trusted and inclusive.

We continue to focus on the importance of supporting the mental health, wellbeing and resilience of our people. We created a ‘Wellbeing Hub’ so that our people can easily access resources designed to help them in a range of different ways, such as encouraging exercise, or reminding them how to keep connected with virtual coffee chats. Our 2021 initiatives were all designed with our people at the heart. You can find out more about these below.

Senior leader panel event

We’re committed to creating a positive and inclusive culture where our people feel they’re able to talk openly and honestly about their mental health. To further encourage this across the business some of our senior leaders spoke at an internal panel event about their own experiences. As a result of their honesty and in the spirit of openness, our colleagues felt more confident in speaking openly about their own experiences and to seek support.

Courageous conversations

In 2021 we continued our ‘Courageous Conversations’ mental health training, which we started in 2020, led by the charity Mind. We held sessions for our managers where we discussed various case studies  that covered a range of scenarios, including dealing with challenging conversations and spotting the signs of burnout. Building on the skills accomplished  during the initial training, these sessions gave managers another opportunity to practice spotting the signs of mental ill-health, develop empathy and provided practical tools to so they can have more meaningful conversations with their team.

Parental returners coaching sessions 

We recognise that starting to work again after a long time away can be daunting, especially in the current environment. These sessions are especially for returning parents so they can talk openly and transparently about their concerns and aspirations. The coaching format enables our people to pursue their career ambitions, provides relevant support and encourages them to achieve their full potential with confidence.

Suicide Prevention Policy

We’ve created a Suicide Prevention Policy which aims to look after anyone who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts. The policy explains terminology that our people may be unfamiliar with, provides intervention guidance, such as how to respond to a crisis along with postvention support, if this is required.

We signed up to the Women in Finance charter in 2016, demonstrating our commitment to support gender diversity and our aim to increase the proportion of women in senior positions across the business.

By the end of 2021 the percentage of women in senior roles stood at 40.7%. Given that the business went through a period of uncertainty during 2021, we’re satisfied with this result and are confident that we’ll continue to move in a positive direction over the next 12 months. The target of 43% remains in place.

Supported by the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter, the Women in Finance Awards are Europe's largest diversity initiative in the finance sector, recognising high-achievers, advocates and role models for women in the industry.

We’ve supported and sponsored these awards since they launched in 2017. In 2021 we were thrilled to have two shortlisted nominations of our own;  Georgina Farrell, Chief Administration Officer, in the Insurance Leader of the year category and Lisa Stroud, Lead Finance Manager, in the Accountant of the year category.