Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 61

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INSIGHT In social mobility, honesty is the best policy… ‘Tell him I’m not in!’ That’s my mum, telling the seven-year-old version of me to pretend she was not home when the Pearl Assurance man came knocking. In common with lots of people born in the late ‘70s, door-to-door financial services (and ignoring their representatives when they called) was par for the course. And, for countless other families like mine on the council estate that I lived on, ignoring the phone, gas, and electricity bills until you received a final demand was the first rule of household budgeting. 8 | MODERN INSURANCE
INSIGHT My Dad passed away when I was a teenager, my Mum had multiple health problems, and we were known to social services. However, having a childhood characterised by scarcity of income and a wealth of challenges did give me two things; a burning desire to get out, and an unending curiosity around what it takes to break free of a cycle that can trap so many. Fast forward to today, and I have jewellery listed as individual items on the household policy and the privilege of being asked by the likes of Direct Line Group and NIG to speak at their conferences. How does this happen to a council estate kid who set fire to their formative years? What is ‘Social Mobility’? Ultimately, Social Mobility is an individual’s ability to change their socio-economic status relative to that of their parents, or within their own lifetime. Despite many of us believing that the UK is a meritocracy, it has one of the worst Social Mobility rates in the developed world 1 . So, those like me who do achieve Social Mobility do so despite (and not because of) the household into which they were born. Those who dare to jump when they have no safety net need welcoming hands, not judgement because they’ve done it in the ‘wrong’ colour shoes. A Social Mobility Story Fortunately for me, I was not only incredibly motivated to improve my lot in life, I was born first. Of six siblings, I am the only one to have completed the Social Mobility Triumvirate of greater financial, social and cultural capital than my parents. Had I been the middle child, or the youngest, the story would have been very different. With a corporate career, mortgage, three cars on the driveway and two lovely gun dogs, I am an outlier. It was in realising this that I decided to dedicate the second act of my career to speaking about why Social Mobility matters in the context of corporate culture. Soft-skills and Hard Truths Going from my first job in a greengrocers to the pinnacle of a decade at Microsoft was no walk in the park. It took all of my working-class wiles to convince people to hire me. I honed my ‘gift of the gab’ while selling bananas to bodybuilders, and this meant that I was perfectly placed for a career in sales. What I didn’t have were some of the more nuanced skills that come from having parents with professional occupations. Moving into the corporate sphere gave access to training that was priceless to me. Negotiation, persuasion, teamwork, emotional intelligence and money management were all on the table, and I eagerly took every opportunity that came my way. When you go from sharing a bedroom to owning shares, it is a culture shock – especially when you can’t go to your own family for relevant advice. A one-way cultural exchange? As I gained the skills needed to operate in this new world, I was shedding – even disguising – parts of who I was. I learned the names of ski resorts and sailing clubs, where to get the best diamonds from, and that people are talking about their house(s) when they refer to ‘property’. I bought dresses from Hobbs and developed a nice line in conversation about the virtues of Granite vs. Corian work surfaces. This was juxtaposed with visits to see relatives in prison and engaging in diplomatic correspondence between my mother and social services. Social workers told me I ‘sounded like a professional’, my family told me I ‘talk like a teacher’. Senior leaders said I ‘didn’t have enough gravitas’ and ‘needed more polish’. When someone is torn between where they’re from and where they find themselves, it’s referred to as code-switching. I characterise it as a one-way cultural exchange. Whilst I was busy building up my frame of reference to include paired wines on tasting menus and the correct way to pronounce ‘Glyndebourne’, no-one really wanted to know the protocol for family visits at HMP Winchester or how to decipher the acronyms from a Person-Centred Planning (PCP) review. Mitigating Against Risk So, what can businesses do to help people from lower socio-economic backgrounds feel welcome within their organisation, and safe to share their experiences? And what is the business value in investing time and money in Social Mobility initiatives, anyway? Based on my work with organisations who are leading the Social Mobility charge, here’s some tips on what you can do today, and what you can plan for in the months and years ahead. Seize the business opportunity Read McKinsey’s excellent piece on the business value of socio-economic diversity 2 . It states how improved socio-economic diversity within an organisation leads to: l Increased overall productivity l Commercial advantage l Improved employee and customer satisfaction l More effective decision making “Moving into the corporate sphere gave access to training that was priceless to me. Negotiation, persuasion, teamwork, emotional intelligence and money management were all on the table, and I eagerly took every opportunity that came my way” MODERN INSURANCE | 9
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Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 61

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