Diversity ANZ Bank Essay

After analysing the ANZ diversity policy, I have identified two key business objectives they are trying to pursue. The first being the ageing population within Australia and the second being an international expansion into Asian economies. Ageing Population: Statistics show that Australia has an increasing population of seniors from the age of 50 and over. It is estimated to increase to 57% of the customer population by 2021, making it a large and therefore important market segment for the business overall. With this in mind, ANZ have implemented strategies within their diversity policy that will enable them to better understand the ageing demographic and attend to their specific financial needs. By integrating mature age workers within their culture, ANZ are able to retain certain skills and experiences from older employees that the younger employees may not yet have. This provides ANZ with a great advantage by being able to effectively communicate with senior customers and increasing their overall customer base. Furthermore, they have implemented the Career Extension Policy that enables senior employees to keep working on a Part-Time basis, focussing on their senior customer base. To coincide with this policy they have developed a Retirement Banking Specialist Program that provides extensive training for these employees about the 55+ customer demographic and their specific needs. International Expansion (The Asian Century) ANZ’s approach to cultural and ethnic diversity can be directly linked to their segmented markets throughout Australia, New Zealand & Asia – with the Asian economies being the primary focus of attention. The need to expand into the Asian market is a big step for Australian banks, such as ANZ, as reports suggest that the overall Asian output has doubled in just under 60 years. Reports also suggest that this is set to continue well into the  future, presenting huge opportunities for Australian business. By encouraging employees with various ethinicities into senior type roles, they are able to integrate a lot easier within a certain culture which will in turn enable them to better undertstand the people and the market. A policy ANZ have put in place that supports the Asian market integration is the AsianLink Taskforce. This is designed to provide a capable workforce to help advocate the development of an Asian capable workforce, accelerate Asia focused strategies, invest in developing Asia capabilities and also to better educate about the Asian century. Age – Ageing population By employing mature age workers and implementing the Career Extension Program and Retirment Banking Specialist Program, ANZ have been able to gain a competitive advantage over other banks that will allow them to effectively communicate and engage with their senior target market by providing them with the right economic advice to suit their current stage of life. Furthermore, by retaining mature age workers within the company culture, through the extension program, they are minimising staff turnover and retaining their skills by not replacing them with other staff. Cultural Background & Ethnicity As mentioned earlier, ANZ’s cultural & ethnic diversity approach provides them with various benefits that allows them to easier integrate into new markets and cultures, such as the Asian economies mentioned. It’s not only about having a diverse workplace culture, but it is about also promoting people with different cultural backgrounds into senior management type roles to esnure the appropriate leadership is implemented within a specific culture. Recognizing and valuing the diversity of employees within an institution is very crucial. The reason being is that different employees from different areas of the world have different talents and skills which they naturally bring to the table. These differences provide ANZ with a strong and diverse team which gears the operations of the institution in the right direction. As an ANZ customer, I witness this first hand every single time I walk into one of their branches. I truly believe they are doing a great job in creating a diverse workplace. I believe that ANZ’s diversity policy is a good example of how a policy should be structured. It is easily laid out and the sub headings are easy to navigate through to find the desired information someone maybe looking for. It endevours to target a range of key issues that create a diverse workplace that coincides with organisational goals, and provides specific policies and measures that will enbable them to achieve these. †¢Well structured with an easy flow througout navigation. This refers to the actual design of the website. †¢Professionaly written and easy to understand. †¢A continually evolving connection throughout the document. By this I mean that as you navigate through the policies, they naturally seem to coincide with one another, and the measures in place throughout. This can be related to the structure and flow (design of website too), but focussing on the evolvement of policies and measures as you continue to click through the document. †¢Some very forward thinking policies and measures. †¢A complete document with more than enough information for the general public to understand their goals and plans of action. †¢Direct point of contact to Corporate Affairs, providing the general public with a name and address for mail enquiries as well as a direct phone number to this person. Also has a feedback email account and a link to general enquiries. †¢Subscription service to keep up-to-date with all sustainablity and diversity policies. †¢Compared to the other 3 big banks, the ANZ website looks very outdated and almost incorporates a ‘90’s’ style vibe. It is well structured but does lack a modern approach. †¢Social Media hyperlinks look outdated and are not as prominent compared to the other big bank wesbites. I feel ANZ are not  embracing social media enough, which has been proven (especially for banks) to be a successful integration amongst the general public. Also, compared to the other banks Facebook pages, ANZ has the least amount of likes and followers – by a siginificant number. I would highly recommend ANZ do a website overhaul in terms of making it look more modern and culturally fitting as this current wesbite comes across too formal and not engaging enough to the general public. However, I would not change the overall structure as it is quite creative. I would also recommend they make their social media links more prominent on the website to further embrace the modern culture. Overall, ANZ’s diversity policy can be considered very effective. They have really embraced diversity within their organisation’s culture and have set benchmarks in doing so. For example, their inclusivity of sexual orientation within their policy and support for the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intesrex) community is unparallel to any other organisation I have researched. They work closely with a not-for-profit organisation called ‘Pride in Diversity’ that provides Australian organisations with key information in achieving an inclusive policy with the LGBTI community. As well as this, they complete the Australian Workplace Equality Index which helps them gather results to further support their LGBTI agenda. The Australian Workplace Equality Index is considered to be the only external benchmark for inclusivity of the LGBTI community. ANZ have also got an excellent program in place for recruiting and providing opportunities for Indigenous employees through their Indigenous Action Plan. This is a strategic goal for the company, as well as a chance to provide underpriveleged Indegenous Australians with an opportunity for employment. To ensure that the policy is being adhered to, and that targets are being achieved, it is monitored by an Advisory Group, which is part of ANZ’s Australian Division Advisory Council. The group ensures that the objectives are relevant and are being achieved. As a result of these actions, ANZ have been able to employ and retain many Indigenous Australians within their workforce and maintain the organisation’s diversity. The results for 2013 indicate that a total of 93 Indigenous Australians were given traineeship  roles, with a total of 58 being recruited as employees of the organisation.