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With data technology and innovation as the backbone of our company and with our commitment to celebrating diversity, we are proud to share an incredible recognition: AnitaB.org has named Experian North America a Top Company for Women Technologists. Organizations on this list are committed to building workplaces where women technologists can thrive, and this honor is considered an industry benchmark for progress toward equity. Our culture of inclusion internally at Experian fuels our innovations to achieve financial inclusion externally. Being named a Leader by AnitaB.org for the second time affirms we’re moving in the right direction. September has been a big month for us: we also earned a place in Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women and PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care 2021 lists for the first time. My colleague and fellow leader for our Women in Experian employee resource group Karen Tatten shares my sentiments: “It’s fantastic to see our efforts to hire, promote and retain top female talent recognized in the marketplace. It’s a tremendous honor and reminder to all women in Experian of why we chose Experian for our career journey.” At Experian North America, men and women are promoted equally. More than half of our new hires and close to half of all employees identify as women. Former Chief Executive Officer Craig Boundy was recently recognized as a Best CEO for Women by Comparably, an acknowledgement especially meaningful because the award relied solely on the input of employees. Even with these accolades, we strive for better. This year, we are committed to a specific goal for the company globally to help close the gender gap. By 2024, Experian pledges to increase the proportion of women in our executive committee and direct reports to 30%, our senior leaders to 40%, our mid-level leaders to 42%, and our total global workforce to 47%. We look forward to sharing our progress.

Today the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched its consultation into the new data strategy for the UK. The consultation lays out an ambitious approach to protect consumers and deliver positive change in the UK. We welcome the announcement and share its vision for a thriving, innovative digital Britain, one where people feel confident that their data is looked after and know that their privacy is protected. We’ve always believed that data has the power to help improve lives, businesses and economies both in the UK and around the world. Over the last 18 months data-driven services have helped people manage their money during unprecedented economic and financial uncertainties; helped small businesses connect with their customers; and supported charities, the NHS and local Government in deploying resources and support to those who need it the most. Now, data can help rebuild the economy, nurture the green shoots of future success, help people take control of their financial lives, and position the UK as a global leader in consumer protection and technological innovation. We look forward to engaging with the consultation process, and working with stakeholders across the ecosystem to help shape that future vision. You can find the full consultation document here and this morning’s press announcement from the Government here.  

At some point in all of our lives, we will know, or perhaps be ourselves, a person with a disability. It’s a natural part of the human experience, and it crosses lines of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and religion. Globally, more than a billion people are part of this community. As society recognizes this commonality, it’s critical that companies do too. Experian does, and I’m happy to share that we have been named to the 2021 Disability Equality Index (DEI) as a Top Scorer. This honor from Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is considered the most robust disability inclusion assessment tool in business. At the most important level – for our people – it means we’re creating an environment where employees of varying abilities know there is place for them at Experian. To know they feel supported, and that we’re going to do all we can to ensure they continue to grow and develop their careers is the most meaningful part of this award. Part of our ongoing commitment includes having an individual who focuses on ensuring our systems, facilities and processes evolve and ultimately exceed regulatory requirements. Only a handful of companies across the nation has a role focused on disability inclusion; it’s exciting to be one of the trailblazers of this work. Being named a 2021 “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” acknowledges this point in our journey and we will continue the work in all the countries in which we do business. This work matters.

This morning, we announced our year-end earnings. Once again, we have demonstrated our resilience in the most difficult of circumstances. With this set of results, I am pleased to report that Experian has now grown through two major global economic downturns. None of this would have been possible without the incredible hard work and commitment of everyone in the company. The coronavirus pandemic is the gravest crisis faced by the world for a generation. From the beginning, Experian moved quickly to make our data insights available to governments, health services, communities, businesses and charities around the world. We also worked rapidly with lenders and governments to support financial accommodation programmes. This has proven to be crucial in making sure financial assistance reached those who needed it, helping people to manage their financial health and ensuring that our economies kept moving through these turbulent times. Looking ahead to the next financial year, our vision for Experian is to continue to bring the benefits of our world class data and analytics capabilities directly to consumers and wider society. Data-led decision making, and technology have been critical in helping humanity to take on the biggest challenge in a generation. It will be a crucial driver of the global economic recovery, helping us all to bounce back stronger and providing the foundations to flourish in the years ahead. I am tremendously proud of our employees around the world. Our people’s professional and personal responses to the pandemic, and the results we have delivered, have been remarkable. We have worked from our kitchen tables, while home-schooling our children, and caring for our family members. We have pulled together and gone above and beyond during one of the most turbulent times in a generation. There can be no greater testament to the character and the strength of our team. I think it’s no overstatement to say that we have delivered one of our most remarkable performances ever. We have made important strategic progress. We have pressed ahead with new product innovation, with our technology transformation, and we have extended our presence across many new markets and segments. As we enter our next year, we do so with strong foundations for further growth and the uplifting confidence that even through the most challenging of times, we can and will continue to create a better tomorrow for everyone.

In March 2020 we left our office desks without knowing we would not return for over a year. It’s been an incredible year and as our focus shifts to navigating our way out of lockdown and our hopes for a post pandemic life, it’s hard not to be reflective. At Experian we have taken the opportunity to rethink how we work going forward. We have had a lot of feedback from our people and we know they want to continue to have a degree of flexibility, but they’re equally keen to maintain the collaborative and innovative culture we have cultivated over the years. The pandemic has accelerated innovation in ways of working and gives us an opportunity to reimagine where, when and how work gets done. Whether it is our data scientists working on brilliant new concepts, our product designers taking part in hackathons across several countries at the same time, or our creative teams working on advertising concepts for a purple cow; we have learned over the past year that flexible working is no barrier to creativity and innovation. When our offices re-open we will give people the opportunity to work in a way that works for everyone – this may be working remotely, in the office, or a mix of both, and flexibility over start and finish times.  In some cases, we may ask people to be office based. Our aim is to strike the right balance between what works for an individual and what works for the business. This balance can mean that we provide more flexibility to people during their workday. It is not just about remote working. It's our commitment to make a difference in our people's working lives. We're obsessed with finding new ways to use data to help transform lives and create a better tomorrow.  Our powerful combination of smart minds, deep data, and sophisticated technology enable us to do things that others can't. And we also want our working culture to make a world of difference to our colleagues. Our culture is what connects us across the world. The role of the office will serve an enhanced purpose and we plan to maximise collaborative spaces and ensure people have the space and create time to connect with their teams – even if it’s on a more ad hoc basis. This is important to us and we make no apology for occasionally insisting on team meetings in the office to make sure we preserve our special culture. Looking back and learning from lockdown has been essential to form our new flexible working plan. It has been clear that colleagues have been experiencing the situation differently. Many of our colleagues have really enjoyed the freedom of working from home, spending more time with their families in some cases, and working at a rhythm that suits them – allowing them to time manage their days to fit in things like more regular exercise, for example. And many have really valued the time they’ve got back from cutting down on all the travel in and out of the office. For others, remote working has at times tested their mental wellbeing. Many of us live alone or have stressful home lives to manage which means that going into a dedicated place of work can be a blessing, maybe even a necessity, or simply a preference. It’s also been a time when businesses have had to embrace the technology of connectivity more than ever before. This has actually brought more of our people together – albeit virtually. Video calls are now a well-established part of our lives. It has been great to get more facetime with colleagues around the world – technology can deliver that for us, but it’s taken a pandemic for us to really embrace it. It’s not been a one-size fits all experience. What this crisis has reminded us, beyond everything else, is that we are all individuals living different lives. As an employer, if we can take one thing from this experience and build on it, it’s that our people will benefit from being offered different working arrangements to suit individual circumstances. We want to give colleagues the option of creating a working environment which suits their situation. So that they can do the best job possible and deliver great results, yes, but also so that they can live fulfilled and balanced lives. It has been a very challenging time, but we can deliver positive outcomes. We need to embrace this moment and build a future of work that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

During a year of the pivot, Experian North America remained focused on our purpose: Creating a Better Tomorrow. It’s not just a marketing tag line. It’s the lens through which we care for our employees, and how they in turn fuel innovations to serve our communities when they need help the most. That’s why this year’s 31 ranking in the Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For" is so incredibly meaningful. For this year’s national award, two elements were considered: confidential employee feedback and the programs companies created to support people and communities in response to COVID-19. The employee surveys were distributed last summer, in the thick of pandemic restrictions and lockdowns. All around, we saw improvement: 50 percent of employees responded to the surveys (compared to 43 percent the year before), and 92 percent of employees attest that Experian is a Great Company to Work For (compared to 86 percent the year before). We’ve worked hard to build an employee culture over the past several years that continuously strives for inclusion and equity. This foundation became instrumental to how we navigated the past twelve months. Our employee resource groups took the lead to support our colleagues with the creation of a dynamic mental health and well-being guide, producing programs that brought awareness and support during social unrest and the rise in racism, and arranging annual celebrations to provide a touch of “normalcy.” Through a year that also included natural disasters such as the arctic blast, wildfires, storms and flooding, we have been there for each other. From free credit reports for consumers and small businesses, to products and services that enable governments, healthcare providers and nonprofits to prepare for and serve populations in crisis, Experian North America’s workforce leveraged diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences to help vulnerable populations in crisis from COVID-19. Even through lockdowns and restrictions, employees logged 18,000 volunteer hours to increase financial inclusivity, support frontline healthcare workers, honor the nation’s military and veterans, and fight hunger. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation gave Experian North America a perfect score in its Corporate Equality Index for the third year in a row, and the company earned its recertification as a Great Place to Work. It has been named one of the top 10 Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance, and a Comparably Top 50 company for Best Outlook 2021. Experian Costa Rica, part of our North America region, also earned Great Place to Work honors for the third year in a row. Our purpose runs deep. We put our people at the heart of how we run our business and it guides how we serve our consumers, clients and each other. We will continue this momentum of the 2021 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For by helping to drive financial inclusion and equity, growing our business through innovation, and creating opportunities for our coworkers to thrive and build meaningful careers.  

We recognize that COVID-19 has challenged Americans across the country, and nearly a year later, people are still struggling to recover. Among the more pressing issues for people has been navigating the financial landscape and hardships brought on by illness and high unemployment rates. At Experian, we empathize with consumers and are committed to helping them manage their financial lives. As part of this commitment, Experian, along with the other U.S. credit reporting agencies, is continuing to offer free weekly credit reports to all Americans for an additional year via AnnualCreditReport.com. At Experian, we view ourselves as the consumers’ bureau, and aim to help people  better position themselves as they recover from COVID-related hardships. We’re proud of our ongoing efforts to assist consumers, particularly during these difficult times. Financial and credit information is constantly updated, and we believe providing consumers with increased access to their credit reports will help them improve their financial health, monitor for lender updates and ensure there is no fraudulent or unfamiliar activity on their credit profiles. We are committed to helping facilitate access to fair and affordable access to credit for all consumers. Our goal is not only to help consumers build credit, but also to effectively manage it. Beyond our continued offering of free credit reports, consumers can access resources and educational materials to help learn about credit and other important personal finance topics. In fact, we recently launched our United for Financial Health project to empower vulnerable populations to improve their financial health through education and action. We’re continually exploring new ways to use our data and resources to empower consumers and to improve their financial health and recover from COVID-19; extending access to free weekly credit reports is just another step in that process.

Given the many challenges presented over the last 12 months, it’s extremely satisfying to have retained our status and I  couldn’t be prouder of this achievement. Being certified as a Top Employer showcases our dedication to a better world of work, which has been exhibited through our excellent HR policies and people practices. It’s been a year like no other, and the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has been a real test of our business resilience.  Hugely challenging for many individuals.  I’m really proud of the support we have put in place, helping our people to reach their full potential and remaining true to our values and purpose. We have been determined to ensure that the diverse needs within our workforce are accommodated. Our ability to exercise progressive policies, such as greater flexibility and enhanced wellbeing offerings, has been essential for our people to adapt to a very different way of working successfully.  We’ve provided a wide range of resources, including employee assistance programmes, mindfulness training and collaborative technology tooling, to  ensure that our people have the relevant support to stay mentally well. But it is our people that have made this recognition possible. Despite our new working environments, they have been instrumental in ensuring our culture continues to thrive. I have heard so many great examples of how teams stay connected and support each other – from video walks and online games to competitions and virtual cocktail hours. This award demonstrates that we are clearly on the right path, but we won’t stop here. We’re always looking for new ways to do things and to improve as a business. By listening to our people and actively encouraging new ideas, we can continue to develop Experian as a great place to work. To find out more about the Top Employer certification, click here.

We’re currently living in a period of uncertainty in the UK and it can be quite difficult for people to understand how best to set up their finances for any economic turbulence ahead. We are all looking for the financial knowledge, confidence and resilience that can help us absorb any unforeseen circumstances. However, for some people, it’s not that easy.  Many simply don’t have the literacy skills to be confident in managing their finances. Being able to read and make sense of, for example, a credit report, bank statement or letter from a bank is an essential part of this. But a lack of understanding could lead to financial difficulties and an inability to find the support to improve your situation. Experian’s ‘United for Financial Health’ programme was born out of the company’s desire to empower vulnerable people so they can improve their financial health through education and action – particularly those affected the most by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is why we’re excited to partner with National Literacy Trust, to help deliver a campaign called ‘Words that Count’. The campaign focuses on providing young people (16-24) in Manchester with skills and confidence in words, to improve their financial health. The campaign will enable young people to be more comfortable at making good financial decisions. Improving money confidence through literacy skills can also lead to better savings habits – putting them in a stronger position to meet their long-term financial goals like getting a car, a mobile phone contract or even a mortgage. Importantly, improving literacy can help those who are currently struggling as a result of the pandemic. Experian is immensely proud to support ‘Words that Count’. Young people deserve the opportunity to succeed and avoid the long-term problems associated with financial difficulty, such as unmanageable debt and poor mental health. This campaign can help give them a ‘literacy leg-up’, and we hope it will provide a successful template to help disadvantaged communities throughout the UK.