People
Our people are our most valuable asset. Recruiting, retaining and developing our talent is therefore a priority.
We have an open and non-hierarchical culture, provide an inclusive and supportive working environment with opportunities for training and career development, and foster the physical and mental wellbeing of our employees. We value diversity and believe that a variety of perspectives enhances our decision making. Our recruitment, promotion and reward processes are based solely on merit.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
We cultivate an inclusive environment for existing and prospective employees which respects, involves and leverages diverse talent for greater organisational good. Our main focus is gender and ethnic diversity, as well as diversity of thought, perspective and background.
Our Equal Opportunities and Diversity, and Global Recruitment and Selection policies establish that all 3i employees, contract workers and job applicants are treated fairly and are offered equal opportunity in selection, training, career development, promotion and remuneration.
We aim to build on our progress through internal efforts, including leadership and mentoring programmes, as well as partnerships with external initiatives.
3i is an official sponsor of Level 20
Level 20 is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving gender diversity in the European private equity industry. It is sponsored by over 120 private equity firms. Its ambition is for women to hold 20% of senior positions in this industry. It works to empower women who already work in the industry, encourage new talent to join, and provides leadership teams with insight and best practice solutions to help them address current gender imbalances within the industry and their firms. It aims to achieve its goals through four key pillars of activity: Mentoring and development, Networking and events, Outreach and advocacy, and Research.
For more information, visit Level20's website.
3i participates in the GAIN Empower Investment Internship Programme
Our participation in the GAIN Empower Investment Internship Programme (in partnership with Level 20)
GAIN (Girls Are INvestors) is a community of investors, with charitable status, set to improve gender diversity in investment management by building a talent pipeline of entry-level female and non-binary candidates. GAIN aims to inform young women with online resources and to inspire them with a strong network of relevant role models who speak in high schools and universities around the UK and feature on its online channels, delivering compelling and high-impact messages on the many benefits of investing as a career. Among the initiatives managed by GAIN is a summer empowerment investment internship programme, open to female and non-binary students across the UK. In addition to hosting interns, several of our employees participate in GAIN's 1-2-1 mentoring programme, both as mentors and mentees.
For more information, visit GAIN's website.
3i participates in #10000BlackInterns initiative
3i has partnered with the 10,000 Interns Foundation since it was first established in 2021 to help transform the horizons and prospects of young black people in the UK. The #10000BlackInterns initiative seeks to offer 2,000 paid internships to black students and graduates each year for five consecutive years. The initiative has partnered with firms across over 30 sectors, delivering internships across a range of business functions. Since its launch, the programme has garnered great support with over 500 companies offering internships to black students in the UK as a way of attracting a more diverse range of talent to their sectors.
For more information visit the 10000internsfoundation website.
Please refer to our latest Annual report for progress on these initiatives.
Learning and development
We can only achieve our strategic objectives if we continue to attract, retain and develop capable people. We therefore provide our employees with the opportunities, experience and training to contribute to the success of the organisation, realise their potential and develop their knowledge and capabilities.
We encourage employees to take responsibility for their own development, working with their line managers to devise personal development plans to support the achievement of their individual aspirations, consistent with 3i’s objectives.
Given the specialised nature of many of the roles in 3i, an emphasis is placed on work based learning, with the provision of development opportunities supported by appropriate targeted training (which in previous years has included topics such as value creation, presentation and communication skills, climate change and human rights) and mentoring. This is supplemented by formal courses conducted both internally and externally and usually with a multinational group drawn from across the countries in which 3i operates. In addition, we have comprehensive induction plans for all new joiners, including sessions with different teams across the business to help facilitate integration.
Our formal appraisal and objective setting process, held annually for each employee, is key to their personal development. During this process, we measure each employee’s performance against their agreed objectives and 3i’s values to inform decisions on remuneration, training, career development and future progression. We encourage employees to make use of an online facility to obtain 360-degree feedback as part of this process.