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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.
We have made reasonable progress in achieving greater diversity within our organisation across a number of senior investment and noninvestment roles. We aim to continue to improve diversity within our ranks by considering diversity in all recruitment processes. However, we are a small organisation with relatively low turnover and recruitment volumes, which means that it is not feasible for us to implement formal diversity targets. We recognise, therefore, that achieving better diversity for us will continue to be an incremental journey, and we aim to build on our progress with a number of initiatives.
In FY2023, we set up a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DE&I”) steering group chaired by our Chief Human Resources Officer and with members drawn from several functions across the organisation. This steering group provides a forum to discuss DE&I issues and suggest potential initiatives to improve our performance in this area.
During the year, we expanded the reach of our Leading with Impact Programme, through which we encourage leaders to reflect on personal and group biases, with the objective of gaining insights into how these influence their everyday behaviours and decision making. Building upon the successful implementation of this programme within our Private Equity and Infrastructure investment teams in FY2023, we extended it to our Professional services team leadership in FY2024. To date, 19 senior employees have taken part in this programme.
Our internal mentoring programme contributes to our DE&I efforts by ensuring that mentees receive personalised guidance aligned with their individual needs and career aspirations. Our mentors undergo training in bias awareness and inclusion, building their DE&I knowledge, skills and confidence. This programme is open to all employees across all geographies and levels of seniority and supports our wider goal of creating a diverse pipeline of talent, based on the principles of fairness and equity.
We place great importance on diversity of thought and perspectives. Recognising its significance, we have been evaluating our individual and team dynamics to enhance effectiveness and foster inclusivity. In FY2024, our professional services employees participated in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator assessment, one of the most widely used tools for understanding normal personality variations, and a great instrument to help shape the professional development of individuals and teams. This was followed by externally facilitated sessions, delving into our preferences and different ways of working. These sessions had already been implemented within our Private Equity and Infrastructure investment teams in the preceding financial year. During the year, we also arranged a training session with Dr Eliza Filby, an historian of generational evolution and contemporary values, on managing a multi-generational workforce in the postpandemic age.
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.