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At Experian we’re committed to creating a culture of continuous innovation, from the way we work to the solutions we create. This commitment has helped us create a workplace where our teams across the world have a desire to help change the lives of millions for the better. Justin Hastings, former Chief Human Resources Officer for Experian North America, recently wrote an article for the Forbes Human Resources Council which highlights the importance of creating an inclusive environment in the workplace — and demonstrates how innovation, developing new products and services, and providing value are all crucial to a companies’ success. The article, “Deliver Innovation By Embracing Inclusion,” explores what it means to build a culture of innovation, and how to ensure employees feel comfortable bringing their different backgrounds and ideas to their role every day. This is the type of innovative culture we’re building at Experian, which celebrates these differences and works to make employees feel valued and empowered to be innovative and productive. Another concept Justin discusses in this article is “innovating to grow.” It’s important to make employees feel connected to their organization and involved in the creation of new products and services. This has a tremendous positive impact with employees providing valuable feedback, and also creating advocacy among team members. For example when developing Experian Boost, which has helped millions of people raise their credit scores, we first beta-tested and shared the innovation internally and were able to garner valuable feedback and support from employees. As a result, we’ve seen tremendous success since the launch of Experian Boost earlier this year. At Experian we truly believe that inclusion is the key to creating a culture of innovation. You can read the full article here.  

For the second year in a row, Experian Costa Rica has achieved recertification from Great Places to Work in the Central America region. The honor recognizes the inclusive workplace culture that Experian Costa Rica employees and leaders have created, making it a dynamic environment for innovation and high productivity. “Getting re-certified as a Great Place to Work provides and enormous sense of pride. As an organization it validates all the efforts we make to ensure a strong healthy employee culture and as a leader it allows us to come to work knowing that we have a culture that employees enjoy working in,” said Adrian Sibaja, Director of Service Delivery for Experian Costa Rica and Chile. Experian Costa Rica is one of four Global Delivery Centers, strategically located centers of operational excellence that support Experian’s regions. The office is home to nearly 1,000 employees across different business units. This honor reinforces the workplace culture we’re fostering, which our employees are happy to brag about in confidential surveys. Costa Rica leadership is always looking for ways to make the employee culture even better. That’s why recognizing employee accomplishments and encouraging partnership between business units are among their top priorities. Congratulations to our Costa Rica colleagues!

At Experian, we know a credit score is the gatekeeper to better financial opportunities, which is why we are committed to developing products and services that support consumers in their financial journey. Six months ago, we hit a major milestone in bringing this commitment to life with the launch of Experian Boost. This innovative tool gave consumers the ability to add positive telecom and utility payment history directly to their credit file for an opportunity to instantly increase their credit scores for the first time. When we launched Experian Boost, we knew there were more than 100 million Americans who didn’t have fair access to credit because of a limited credit history or a subprime score. We also knew these consumers were often forced to pay higher interest rates and fees for financial services. Today, as we look at our Experian Boost results, we know we’re helping to change that. To date, for consumers who’ve used Experian Boost, we’ve seen: More than 11 million cumulative FICO Score points boosted FICO Scores increased for 2 out of 3 users with an average increase of more than 10 points Of those who boosted their credit scores, an average of 13% moved up a credit tier and of those in the “poor” credit tier, 24% moved to a “fair” tier Approximately 90% of “thin” file consumers who improve their credit scores saw an average increase of 19 points California, Texas and Florida rank 1-2-3 in number of consumers who have boosted their scores and total points boosted To say we’re pleased with the positive feedback we’ve received about Experian Boost to date would be an understatement, but we’re not surprised. For years, lenders have been seeking new means to identify creditworthy consumers. At the same time, consumers have been asking for more control of their data and credit where credit is due. This is exactly what we’re providing with Experian Boost. We’re helping to level the playing field and reward positive behavior and it’s not going unnoticed. Members of the credit counseling and advocacy community have reached out with excitement about Experian Boost. This solution is giving many of their clients a tangible way to impact their credit scores and improve their financial lives. Improving consumer financial health is a core part of our sense of purpose and we’re just getting started. We’ll continue to enhance Experian Boost and develop new products and solutions to improve financial access to for more consumers. To find out more about the Experian Boost, please visit www.experian.com/boost.  

Having a diverse workforce is vital to help us innovate and deliver on the needs of our increasingly diverse clients and consumers. Over the years, we’ve made some great progress, but there’s so much more we can do and it’s going to take the collective effort of all of us to continue to move the needle. That’s why we’re gearing up to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). It’s a day celebrated in many countries around the world to recognize the achievements of women and drive equality among men and women. At Experian, IWD activities are extending throughout the month of March. Have a look at what’s going on around the world as Experian celebrates this important day: Asia Pacific The Asia Pacific region is hosting a range of activities across our offices in March, which will include round-table and speaker events as well as an opportunity to network and pledge their support for IWD. EMEA and UK&I EMEA and UK&I are joining together for IWD to support and celebrate diversity and inclusion. The week started with a video of employees from both regions reflecting on what diverse teams bring to our business. Employees will also be invited to a variety of events to engage and network with inspirational women and hear stories from our leaders on what diversity means to them personally. Latin America Throughout the month of March, Latin America has been running a campaign to share stories of achievements in their region and raise awareness about breast cancer prevention and other diseases more common in women. On IWD, there will be a panel of women leaders who will address issues such as the social inclusion of women in the region, women’s participation in the labor market, Experian’s commitment to female leadership and the importance of a work/life In Brazil, IWD is kicking off with a presentation by members of the United Nations to present their 50-50 Gender Equality program (which aims to eliminate gender inequalities by 2030) and how they are working with companies around the world to achieve this vision. Employees will have an opportunity to hear from leaders in our business about diversity and inclusion plans for the region, and listen to a panel of external speakers discuss diversity challenges and career development. North America Our employees in North America will be kicking off the week with celebrations across their ITS’ 13 offices in the region. Each office will have daily activities throughout the week, and all employees – including virtual and those based in smaller offices – will be invited to attend webinars focused on Diversity and Inclusion topics. On IWD, there will be panel discussions with senior leaders who will speak on various career development topics. To close out the week, there will be a special Book Club discussion on March 9. We will continue to update this blog post all week with pictures and other ways we’re celebrating IWD. Bookmark this page and come back.

I work at SEGA, a global games company. I first met Nakamura-san, my contact at Experian, about eight or nine years ago. I remember telling him at the time that I was a little sceptical of credit report and analytic companies – I thought they were either too expensive or their reports weren’t detailed enough. However, a year later I needed help from a company like Experian, and I thought I’d put them to the test.   My team and I were starting to communicate with overseas markets, to work with companies around the world. So, I phoned Nakamura-san. It was a business negotiation, so I had my poker face on – I played the usual mind games you have to, insinuating that if Experian did this job well then our company might be able to offer them even more business in the future.   Safe to say, they passed the test. We’ve been building a really positive relationship with Experian for the last eight years.   We’re working with companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan and London at the moment. To work with them, we need information – for instance, we need to know if they’re actually located where they say they are. Even if a company gives us an address, it’s always possible that it operates from a different country – we’ve all heard about companies and their tax havens. When we have these questions, Nakamura-san and his team at Experian collect and analyse data on these companies, and give us very thorough information – breaking it all down and explaining everything to us really clearly.   It’s really difficult to get the rich, detailed analysis of data you need, but Experian provides us much better data than any of our previous credit research companies managed to. They consult with us, and help us use this data to get our business to a better place. I’m very grateful for it – they’ve added great value to our business. Mr. Shinji Mutazono, Team Manager, SEGA Group Companies Finance Department, SEGA Holdings CO., Ltd. 

In Malaysia, nearly 280,000 people live without electricity. By volunteering with the Liter of Light program, we’re bringing solar panel lights to remote villages, transforming the quality of life and brightening the darker hours for families. In Malaysia, more than 1 percent of the population lives without electricity – one of life’s basic necessities – which equates to nearly 280,000 people living in darkness after the sun goes down. Some people have never had electricity in their life, making simple tasks like cooking or reading nearly impossible after dark. I wanted to change that. My day job is to support and enable individuals within Experian to pursue various career opportunities, but what I’m most passionate about is the way Experian helps me invest in my local community through the Heart of Experian Corporate Social Responsibility program. This year, my team and I had the chance to collaborate with Liter of Light (LOL) – a global, grassroots movement committed to providing affordable, sustainable solar light to people with limited or no access to electricity. In February, we joined one of their projects to install 60 solar street lights in the village of Orang Asli, an indigenous community in the Cameron Highlands.   Over the span of two days in February, a group of 30 Experian volunteers built and installed the solar panel lights. On the first day, the LOL team taught us how to build the panels, teaching us the skills needed to cut wire, assemble PVC pipes and drill holes. The second day, we rode in Jeeps through muddy roads and a three-foot deep river to reach the village. We spent hours unloading the lights and assembling the panel boxes, plotting the village maps and identifying the right spots to install the solar panel lights. I was happy to see some of the local villagers’ curiosity and participation throughout the day. Some helped us assemble the lights while others prepared the right spots for installation by building bamboo stands. The weather was kind to us, so by 5 p.m., nearly all the lights were installed – just before dark! After completing all the hard work, our team recorded a group video using a drone that all of the Orang Asli children chased after. Thanks to our service project providing light to a village in darkness, 150 villagers in Orang Asli will now have more productive, higher-quality lives during the dark hours of the day. I’m so glad I got to play a role in that.