Why we’ve joined the Valuable 500

I’m proud to announce that RSA has officially joined The Valuable 500, an international initiative aimed at promoting disability inclusion in business, and have pledged to support its efforts and vision going forward.

We want to build a workplace where our employees can be themselves and succeed. When people feel confident to talk openly about their disabilities and have all the tools they need to carry out their roles effectively, we can unlock their full potential.

In 2019, we launched our Diversity & Inclusion champion’s network, sponsored the Dive In festival for the first time, and rolled out inclusivity training to our managers. 

This year, as part of our commitment to The Valuable 500, which is also backed by the like of Barclays, Deloitte, Sainsbury’s, Unilever and Virgin Media, we have pledged to make progress five key areas.

1. Ensuring the board of RSA Group has inclusivity on its agenda to help create a culture where our employees can develop and thrive in their careers
2. Supporting mental health in the workplace by highlighting that “it’s okay not to be okay” and signposting support available, including our mental health first aiders
3. Opening up the conversation on disability led by our D&I Council and D&I Champions as we did for International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2019
4. Embedding our award winning Customer Connections programme, where our trained call handlers, support customers with cognitive disorders, across RSA
5. Making sure all workplace adjustments for people with disabilities are put in place in a timely manner. There are a whole range of different adjustments we can make for employees and potential employees with disabilities. For example, we can provide written materials in large font for people with visual impairments, extra time in ability tests for candidates with dyslexia and adjustments to equipment provided to employees.

Our work with The Valuable 500, is just one way we are trying to make RSA a more diverse and inclusive place to work.  We promote inclusive culture and behaviours that will make our offices, call centres and meeting spaces places where difference isn’t just valued and respected, it’s celebrated.

Last year, we won two awards for our work on staff mental health and wellbeing, while we also have - RSA Balance and RSA Building Pride - our Employee Resource Groups for those who want to get more involved in building diversity and inclusion at RSA.

Read on for more on RSA’s approach to Diversity and Inclusion