Community Impact
Ways Experian employees are helping their communities
As part of Experian’s commitment to the value of Employee Resource Groups (ERG), we recently hosted the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) ERG Leadership Symposium, ERGs Driving Change at our Costa Mesa headquarters. ERGs are a proven strategy for organizations to advance a diverse and inclusive company culture. At Experian, we believe the culture of inclusion also cultivates and advances innovation with the added diversity perspective that strengthens the community of professionals and ideas within the company. We were proud to host the 13th ERG one-day training program that was organized by the NAAAP to help companies and employees advance their ERG experience and learn how ERGs are change agents to enhance productivity and grow professional networks in the corporate setting. Speakers represented companies leading their industry, such as Bank of the West, Macy’s, Anheuser-Busch, Google, Facebook, UPS, Northrop Grumman, Boston Scientific, and many more, including Experian. The symposium this year featured numerous ERG thought leaders sharing their insights across a variety of sessions and panels, including; Best Practices in Demonstrating Value, Creating Connections through ERG Leadership, What’s Next Action Plans for Your ERG, among others. Caption: Hiq Lee, President, Business Information Services for Experian, shared insights as a panelist for The Crucial Executive Role in Driving Change session. She was joined by Judy Ting, SVP, Pacific Rim Region Manager, Bank of the West, and DeAnne Aussem, Managing Director & Founder of U.S. Leadership Coaching Center of Excellence, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC. The panel was moderated by Farzana Nayani, NAAAP ERG Architect. All speakers provided valuable takeaways for the professionals in attendance to motivate their organizations to positively impact their company with the diversity amongst its workforce and implement strategies to leverage the power of inclusion. Specifically, the hundred-plus attendees learned more about how Employee Resource Groups and Business Resource Groups are change agents for diversity, inclusion, engagement, productivity, and connection-building within organizational settings. Justin Hastings, Chief Human Resources Officer for Experian North America, welcomed the ERG Leadership Symposium attendees with his introductory remarks, as he shared Experian’s perspective on inclusion leading to innovation. Therefore, we asked him some questions to share his insights with us on Experian’s ERGs. 1. How is Experian creating a better tomorrow? Hastings: The consumer is at the heart of everything we do. Our product innovation is geared towards giving consumers more control over how their data can enrich their lives. Experian Boost is a perfect example of this coming to life. Inclusion underpins our ability to innovate. The more we encourage a culture where everyone’s creativity is valued, the more we are able to innovate for consumers. Our ERGs play an important role in promoting diversity, and creating an environment where all our Experian people can bring their whole selves to work and be creative. 2. What role does The Power of YOU have in Employee Resource Groups? Hastings: We created a workplace environment where everyone is comfortable bringing their whole self to work, regardless of differences or backgrounds. We call this The Power of YOU, which creates an environment for employees to be their true selves. We advance our company culture by not only respecting the differences amongst Experian colleagues, but actively celebrating them with and through our ERGs. 3. What impact does the Employee Resource Groups have on Experian? Hastings: At Experian, inclusion is vital to the success of the company. Our ERGs provide us with a platform to be a more innovative business. Our ERGs now have around 1,000 employees actively involved across the eight current groups. They have helped create greater understanding of different cultures that are represented in our company, and they have also underpinned our recruiting efforts across diverse talent pools. This has helped us to keep evolving our employee base to be increasingly representative of the communities in which we operate, and the consumers we ultimately serve. Learn more about Experian’s Employee Resource Groups by visiting: https://www.experian.com/corporate/power-of-you.html Learn more about the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) by visiting: https://www.naaap.org/ All photos taken by Nhan T. Nguyen.
The following is written by Jan Barratt, Experian. We owe everything to the millions who lost their lives in the Great War, fighting for our freedom. Without their sacrifice, the world we know would be a very different place. This November marks a whole century since the guns finally fell silent on WW1. It’s only fitting we use this landmark anniversary to remember and celebrate everything they did for us. The Games of Remembrance 2018 is an opportunity to do exactly that. Inspired by a generation’s love of football and its ability to unify, The Games of Remembrance harnesses the power of the beautiful game to remind us all of the immense bravery and sacrifice of millions. We’re proud to sponsor the Games and to play a small part in helping those memories live on and to commemorate the people who lost their lives in the conflict. Furthermore, we’re thrilled that this year’s celebration comes to Nottingham, a place where Sir John Peace, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, and the late Eric Barnes built up Experian from its roots almost 50 years ago. Today, we employ more than 2,000 people across the East Midlands region. We’re proud to be sponsoring the Games of Remembrance, and we are proud to be part of the Nottingham community. We remember.
As any new employee knows, it takes time to adapt to a new company and set of coworkers. I recently joined Experian’s team of 56 employees in the Netherlands office after hearing about the company’s inspiring work in the community. I was eager to get to know each colleague outside of our daily tasks so I could learn what type of CSR projects could work for our office. Luckily, I arrived just in time to participate in a new volunteer partnership with Stichting Present. Stichting Present is an organization that facilitates volunteering programs to support those facing poverty, poor health and social isolation. This new partnership gave my coworkers and I the opportunity to volunteer in the community. During last year’s holiday season, the Experian team collected personal hygiene items such as shampoo and body wash to donate to homeless individuals or those with mental health issues. This past spring, we spent two full days doing renovations for Stichting Leren Doen, a program that teaches at-risk students how to fix and sell bicycles. The students’ program was, by coincidence, moving into Experian’s old office building, so my coworkers and I helped give the place a makeover – we put in new floors, painted the walls, stairs and desks, installed new computers and completed some electricity work. Working together as a team helped us connect on a deeper level as we served those in need. These experiences have given me the opportunity to get to know and appreciate my colleagues better. For example, during the project, I learned that two of my colleagues had bonded with a young woman with autism who was the only female student of Stichting Leren Doen. Although the young woman was reserved at first, she eventually opened up and mentioned that she walked three hours to and from school every day. My colleagues were surprised by this admission and informed the director of the program. Since Stichting Leren Doen is a bike repair education program, the director presented her with a new bike to help shorten her commute. Her face lit up – she loved it. I cannot imagine a more fitting welcome to Experian. Opportunities like these are exactly why I joined the firm and why I am excited for the opportunities ahead. Giving back to the community is a big passion of mine, and I cannot wait to spend more time volunteering and getting to know my colleagues. Naomi Hardeveld HR Business Partner, Netherlands
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Inclusion Commission has previously expressed concern that 31 percent of the adult population has experienced one or more signs of financial distress, such as regularly accruing overdraft charges and using credit to pay for essentials each month. While the Bank of England has warned U.K. households about the risk and effects of their alarming, yet growing, dependence on loans and credit cards, knowing how to manage debt successfully is a vital skill many lack. While most individuals do comfortably manage their debt repayments, many unexpectedly face tough times, especially following disruptive life events that complicate financial management. Since joining Experian from university in 1992, I have been involved in a number of developments and initiatives to help people better manage their money, particularly during difficult times. Years ago, I oversaw the launch of our first telephone helpdesk for the UK public, and today I still answer questions online and occasionally on the radio from individuals worried about their credit scores and loan payments. After years of one-on-one interactions, my team and I have discovered that the key to growing our capacity to serve the community is through partnerships. To provide more effective support for U.K. consumers, Experian began to partner with debt advice charities that give free and professional guidance to people, including about credit score issues. Experian’s role is to make sure debt advisors understand the nuances of credit reporting and credit scoring when talking to and helping their clients. We provide this support in a number of ways. In the last year alone, we have trained more than 600 debt advisors through workshops and seminars, and provided free credit reports to more than 60,000 individuals through debt counselling outlets. Additionally, we have used our insight and data consultancy services to help a number of charities better understand, engage with and support their clients, for example, by identifying their clients’ preferred communications channels. This has included the Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline, and StepChange Debt Charity, a leading UK debt counselling provider. Our partnerships within the debt advice sector have not only enabled us to support, educate and empower more consumers to reach their financial goals, but also helped Experian better understand consumers’ greatest fears and misconceptions when it comes to finances. I have enjoyed representing Experian for the past 25 years including working with a number of great organizations and really passionate individuals – so much so that I jumped at the opportunity to join the board of a new debt advice charity, The Debt Counsellors Charitable Trust, a couple of years ago which was very much focused on helping the most vulnerable people. The relationships I’ve developed with these intelligent, ambitious debt advice advisors and charities has really inspired and humbled me. They work tirelessly every day to ensure households in the U.K. can reach their financial milestones – including, importantly, when things go wrong – and I am grateful to be a part of this important network. James Jones: Head of Consumer Affairs, U.K.
I feel that part of Experian’s responsibility as a global information services company is to build and bolster community involvement initiatives that help others. I’m currently a manager of our Fraud Resolution Team and Credit Educator Department in Allen, Texas, but I also have the honor of managing all outreach programs for our branch, bringing together Experian employees to give back to the community. Taking on a volunteer project on top of regular work can be daunting. As the point person for my office’s volunteerism, I’m in charge of communications about upcoming events and drumming up interest and excitement among employees, be it through flyers, silly videos, emails or even free t-shirts. I know a lot of my fellow employees, but I don’t know everyone, so spreading the word isn’t always easy. Despite these challenges, I continue doing this important work because I care about the impact Experian makes in its local communities. My first volunteer experience with Experian was working alongside Stop Hunger Now – an international hunger relief nonprofit – several years ago. I was amazed at the impact we had. Shortly thereafter, I also participated in a canned food drive, rallying Experian employees to visit the Texas Food Bank. After these two chaotic, inspirational, behind-the-scenes experiences, my interest was permanently piqued in on-site volunteer days within the Allen community. Since then, I’ve organized volunteer days with many other nonprofit programs. The amount of organization and work that goes into each volunteer day is much more than you might think. For every Stop Hunger Now event, we package 10,000 meals for those in need, which requires about 100 volunteers dedicating their time. When we worked with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization devoted to building homes for those who need them, our first two scheduled events were rained out – and it never rains in Texas! I was worried that no one would show up the third time, when we had to reschedule for 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Luckily, every single volunteer spot was filled. We got to meet the family we were building a house for, and we all signed a piece of wood from the house for them. Their gratitude made all the frustration and extra work worth it. It takes a village to get some of these events off the ground, but I have a strong support structure at Experian. And learning to empathize with people through volunteering helps me in my day-to-day work. People who are dealing with fraud can be very emotional, and fraud is unexpected by nature. My volunteering experience has equipped me with the skills needed to empathize with others better and think on my feet.
Patients ideally should know what they’re going to owe when they show up for an appointment – the last thing they need is a big financial surprise to add to the stress of their visit. Similarly, doctors, nurses, hospitals and all healthcare providers help people to stay healthy day in and day out. Providers should be able to go to sleep at night knowing that they’ll be fairly compensated for the work that they do. However, making that happen isn’t easy. Behind the scenes, contracts, benefits and eligibility between medical groups, hospitals and insurance payers are fairly nuanced and complex. Clients benefit when it comes to how much a patient owes a hospital or medical group after treatment, rough estimates aren’t ideal – perfection is difficult/ create problems and issues. Billing must have pinpoint accuracy and add nuance based on unique contract terms that all medical groups and hospitals sign with their employers and payers. The details can actually be quite difficult to keep straight, and there is an extensive amount of variation in each contract’s rules. Experian Health works to make payment transparency the norm, so that patients know what to expect and healthcare providers are paid fairly, accurately and in a timely fashion. I began working for Experian in 2004 but my interest in product development and research eventually led me to Experian Health. My team of more than 100 Experian employees painstakingly reviews contracts, patient eligibility, benefits information and historical claims to generate an accurate fee estimate for each patient’s medical visit. Nuance/aiding are helping to work toward this. We utilize up-to-date technology that organizes all the information we find in an extensive database and review the claims on behalf of both our medical group clients and patients. The biggest challenge for me and my team is anticipating both patients’ and hospitals’ future needs and innovation in the field. Any time healthcare policies are changed or reimbursement guidelines shift, it affects our clients and requires nimble thinking on our part. How do we ensure that our technology is as modern as possible and our team members stay current on the latest trends and news? I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue adapting in the future.
I’m the Managing Director of Serasa Experian, meaning I work with Experian’s Business Services Unit to identify how data can unlock new opportunities for businesses across Brazil. I worked in the banking industry for more than twenty years, but joined Experian two years ago because I was excited by the company’s innovative use of data to solve real-world problems. I regularly work with small businesses in Brazil and hear firsthand about the challenges they face. From client conversations and recent data analysis, my team discovered that companies across the country were having difficulty identifying trustworthy suppliers for their supply chain. In fact, a recent Experian survey found that eight percent of suppliers pose risks to their business partners due to labor, tax or environmental problems. Verified background information – such as financial history and risk of default – are surprisingly difficult to find, making it difficult and time-consuming for small businesses to find trustworthy supply chains. We knew there had to be a simpler way to match companies. That’s why we created Serasa Conecta, an online marketplace that connects verified suppliers with verified buyers. Using Seresa Conecta, a buyer of a clothing store, for example, can register a customized page and scroll through the pages of trusted retail suppliers who can partner with their business. Suppliers, on the other hand, can use the portal to identify new customers to help increase sales and build their reputation. On the backend of the marketplace, Experian analyzes each company’s background, and can help determine which companies could forge the best partnerships based on simple reports and balance sheet analyses. Whenever a buyer selects a supplier, Experian also runs a risk assessment of both parties to ensure it’s a good fit. When Serasa Conecta was launched, buyers and suppliers in Brazil were thrilled by the marketplace’s ability to both increase sales and verify safe companies quickly and easily. I take pride in knowing my team and I have made a positive impact on thousands of small businesses in the country. Although I have only been at Experian Serasa for two years, I am excited to see how data can continue to unlock opportunities, connecting communities and improving the lives of companies around the world.
My work with the non-profit side of Experian started more than a decade ago, when I was asked to provide some general oversight with a project. I was only meant to play a supporting role, but my passion for the work blossomed immediately. It also seemed fortuitous that my colleagues could jokingly call me “Tammy Non-Proffitt.” Non-profits are dedicated to furthering and advocating for their respective social causes, but they don’t always have the resources they need to drive their message home. Additionally, non-profits sometimes have trouble understanding who their actual donors are due to a lack of data insights. With the limited budgets non-profits have, it would be a shame to waste hard-earned dollars on a campaign that won’t resonate with the right people. Luckily, Experian utilizes data that helps non-profits target the audiences that care about their causes across multiple channels, driving donations that are crucial to the organization’s function, while raising awareness about their cause and furthering their efforts. Recently, I worked with the Raleigh, North Carolina-based non-profit Rise Against Hunger, an international organization that prevents hunger by providing food and aid to people who need it. When Rise Against Hunger was looking to promote several fundraising Facebook campaigns, our data allowed the organization to identify the right audiences for them to target. With this data, Rise Against Hunger can directly target people who are more likely to care – and donate – to their cause. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with The Orangewood Foundation, based in Santa Ana, California, which prepares former and current foster youth to reach their potential and learn about the basic life skills they need to succeed. Like Rise Against Hunger, Orangewood needed help segmenting their own current donor base for different promotions and campaigns, based on age, location and area of interest. Orangewood provides services to more than 1,500 youth every year, so making sure they are targeting the right people for donations is extremely important. Since I began working with Orangewood, I’ve had the chance to visit their campus and charter school, and was simply blown away by the quality of their staff and facilities. Data drives and informs decision-making, helping organizations like the non-profits I work with make smart choices about their communications outreach. In addition, my recent work has not only allowed me to help non-profit clients I care about, but also connected me with other Experian employees, showing how different teams can effectively collaborate to use data for good.
In the United States, many individuals struggle with managing their money. In fact, a recent study by Mintel found that only 19 percent of respondents would rate themselves highly on their financial knowledge. As the Director of Public Education at Experian, this finding, while concerning, is not surprising. Since joining Experian twenty years ago, my team and I have spoken with thousands of consumers across the country about personal finance. From bank presidents to blue-collar workers, the individuals I speak to all want the answer to one question – “how can I plan for my financial future, taking into consideration life’s ups and downs?” The Mintel survey found that 21 percent of Americans today are not at all confident about reaching their financial goals, but my team and I are working every day to change this. We are committed to working with various communities within the U.S. to help them better understand their finances. We provide training for young men and women in the Air Force about how to succeed financially while on active duty and when returning to civilian life as part of a program with the Hero’s at Home organization. In partnership with the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development, we also educate young adults at historically black colleges and universities, answering questions about building credit and managing money. Through the LifeSmarts Competition, we challenge high school students to compete on knowledge of personal finance. And through some of our other programs, we work with low-income women and immigrant populations to promote financial inclusion by helping them establish credit or understand loans. Through these experiences, we’ve met countless inspiring individuals from various backgrounds with compelling success stories. For example, a member of the Air Force once told us that, following one of our sessions, she was able to improve her credit and buy her first home. Stories like this are why I am so proud to be part of the only dedicated financial education team in the industry. I am excited to continue empowering people from all walks of life to reach their financial goals. Learn more about the Mintel research here.