UK&I – United Kingdom & Ireland
Here is what Experian employees are doing in the United Kingdom and Ireland …
We’re delighted to have been named as one of Britain’s ‘Most Admired Companies’ (BMAC) in Management Today’s annual survey, coming 21st in a list of nearly 250 leading firms from a variety of sectors, and taking third place in the ‘Business Support Services’ sector. Our 17,000 colleagues around the world work hard every day to service and power opportunities for our customers and this award is testament to the commitment they bring to our business every day. The hard work doesn’t stop here. We continue to strive for the highest standards across our global organisation, and we remain committed to delivering the very best services that can empower millions of people to stay in control of their finances, and help businesses meet the needs of their customers. For further information on BMAC, the winners and the methodology, please see: https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/bmac
This blog is written by Lisa Fretwell, Managing Director of Data Services at Experian. It’s no secret that women are hugely under-represented in careers relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In fact, research suggests that only 13% of the overall UK workforce are women in STEM and, as a consequence, we find ourselves with fewer female role models to inspire confidence and ambition in the next generation. Positive female role models are fundamental if we are to transform some of the preconceptions that girls have about a career in STEM. And part of encouraging new generations into our industry means recognising and celebrating the achievements of those women blazing a trail here and now. That’s why we are delighted to be sponsors of today’s Women in Data (UK) conference for the third successive year. This unique event helps inspire, educate and support women across the data industry. It’s a privilege to be part of the Women in Data community, to get to know more amazing women in our industry and to share their incredible stories. One of the highlights of the event is the annual ’20 Women in Data and Technology’ recognition, celebrating incredible role models who are motivating others to pursue their own career ambitions in the industry. We were particularly thrilled to learn that our very own Louise Maynard-Atem, has been included in this year’s highly prestigious list. Congratulations to Louise on a truly phenomenal and well-deserved achievement. Experian’s goal is to have a workforce that’s as rich in diversity as the people who use our services. That’s one of the many reasons we’re so excited by WiD’s mission. Together we hope to empower and encourage more women into the data industry, supporting the next generation of data scientists who can help shape the future.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Experian has won the Consensus Economics Forecast Accuracy Award 2018 for the UK. Our UK Economics Team was recognised for their high-quality research, their commitment to regular forecasts and their ability to identify most accurately the trends and levels of key indicators over the 24-month forecasting cycle. The Forecast Accuracy Award program recognises the achievements of a select group of expert country economic forecasters who have most accurately predicted the performance of GDP growth and Consumer Price Inflation for their targeted economies over a 24-month forecasting cycle. Experian were the most accurate UK forecaster out of pool of 36 organisations. Mohammed Chaudhri, Head of UK Macro Forecasting, said: “We’re thrilled to win this award. We spent a lot of time analysing the UK economy following the referendum vote in 2016 and, at the time, many forecasters were expecting an immediate recession. However, we felt that the UK economy would prove more resilient in the coming years. We are pleased that our forecast for 2018 was so close to the actual development.” The award underlines the wealth of knowledge across the UK Economics Team, with over 30 years of macro-economic forecasting experience to their name. The accuracy of our economic forecasts is a real benefit when understanding how the UK economy will impact businesses in the future. By embedding our forecasts into the decision-making process organisations can embrace the opportunities presented by an ever-changing economics landscape. I’d like to congratulate Mohammed and his team on a well-deserved award win, along with all the other winners from across the globe. To find out more, click here.
The following is written by Colin Grieves, Managing Director of Targeting, at Experian. There are many reasons why an advert might catch your attention - maybe it’s because of a celebrity endorsement, clever catchphrase, or a witty one-liner that catches you off guard when you’re waiting for your programme to return after the break. If there has been an advert that has particularly stuck in your mind, those behind the marketing at organisations will tell you it’s no accident. Experian works with a range of organisations to help them understand which people are likely to be most interested in. So, how can you find out what information marketers use to understand you? Experian launched the Consumer Information Portal, or CIP for short, back in April 2018 to help people see what data we have access to, but also to give you the chance to let us know if you want to stop your data being used for marketing. The CIP also explains why our work in marketing can be a good thing for consumers and society as a whole. We’ve recently made improvements to the website to give you an even greater insight. You can now visit our website and promptly check whether your personal data is present on specific marketing channels, what sectors it’s used by, and where we obtained the data from. For the first time, you can also see with which marketing profile your postcode is associated here. This gives you a real flavour of how marketers may view you and the type of people most likely to live in your neighbourhood, to make sure the messages you receive are as relevant as possible. We’re planning to keep adding more new features and information to the CIP, as we keep our promise to deliver transparent and responsible marketing. Drawing on expertise across our business to improve your experience when you use the CIP, as well as looking at new, clearer ways to explain how we work with data in our marketing services. Watch this space for further updates.
The following is written by Alison Sharp, HR Director, UK&I and EMEA, at Experian. We are thrilled to announce that Experian has been officially certified as a ‘Top Employer’ by the Top Employers Institute in the UK and Spain. The annual research programme recognises leading employers around the world. Awarding only those that provide the kind of conditions where their employees can develop, both professionally and personally, nurturing and developing talent throughout all levels of the organisation. This recognition is not only testament to the incredible work undertaken throughout the business, but also builds on ‘Top Employer’ status achieved in Experian South Africa and Bulgaria - awarded over the last couple of months. So, what makes Experian such a great place to work? An inspiring working environment, unlimited development opportunities and rewards that recognises your contribution and commitment are just a few. But above all else, it’s our people. And it’s our people who have made this recognition possible. By listening to them and encouraging new ideas, they have continued to help us develop our working culture and pushed the boundaries to create the best possible working environment. A key part of this is embracing diversity at all levels. Different approaches, different solutions and different views helps create an inclusive environment that people are proud to work in. We want everyone to bring their whole-self to work, creating a place where everyone has the freedom to explore and share interests, no matter what their individual story is, without fear of judgement. The more inclined we are to bring our rich outside world into our work, the more we will expose others to new perspectives and different thinking, which in turn makes Experian a great place to be. Today, we will celebrate our success, but the hard work doesn’t stop here. We have set ourselves the challenge to not only keep our Top Employer status next year, but also improve our overall performance against the institute’s tough certification criteria, continuing our development of Experian as an outstanding place to work. We asked our people what makes Experian a great place to work.
In an article published by Bloomberg this week, Brian Cassin, Experian CEO, discusses the transformation of the business from a credit bureau to an innovative, global information services firm. The story highlights some of the remarkable work Experian does with high-profile clients including Coca-Cola and Fannie Mae, using data to inform marketing and strategy decisions. The article also references recent product innovations including Ascend, which offers analytics on demand, and PowerCurve, our market-leading decision analytics platform. Worth mentioning is that Experian’s strong financial performance also comes through in the article, which notes that the company’s stock price has doubled since 2015 while the FTSE 100 index has stagnated. Check out the full article.
Data science is transforming the way the world works. And yet it’s no secret that there aren’t enough women pursuing a career in STEM. At Experian, we’d love to see that change. It’s better for everyone when industries are diverse; it makes us all stronger, more creative and more effective. Part of encouraging new generations into our industry means recognising and celebrating the achievements of the female role models working in data today. That’s why we’re thrilled to sponsor this year’s Women in Data (WiD) conference, an event designed to help inspire, educate and support women in the industry. Women like Experian’s Sarah Robertson, who recently shared her story with leading women’s publication, We Are The City, and who will be sitting on our panel session at the event. We want to have a workforce that’s as rich in diversity as the people who use our services. That’s one of the many reasons we’re so excited by WiD’s mission. Together we hope to empower and encourage women into the data science industry, supporting the next generation of data scientists who can help shape the future. You can find out more about the WiD community on our recent podcast.
Every day we work with companies doing amazing things with their data. We are therefore delighted to be sponsoring the very first Experian ‘Data Excellence’ award at this year’s Lloyds Bank National Business Awards. It gives us the chance to celebrate organisations for their innovative thinking and excellent use of data - an area we at Experian are very passionate about. The quality of entries for this category was high, showcasing some real-life examples of how data-driven solutions can not only deliver better outcomes for customers, but also embrace the opportunities presented by an ever-changing data landscape. However, there could only be one winner. So, we are pleased to announce that Cleveland Police are the deserving recipient of the inaugural award for their ‘Golden Nominal’ project – an initiative which demonstrates how the power of better data can have a positive impact on policing. The project responds to the huge challenge that having vast, unquantifiable number of duplicate records was posing on delivering an efficient and appropriate response to the community. And not only has it far surpassed targets in terms of reducing duplicates, most importantly it’s provided opportunities to serve the community better and identify those most vulnerable far more quickly. Such was its innovative nature, the project was recognised at a national level by the Home Office, who provided co-funding from its Innovation Fund – a fantastic result for them. The award was presented by Experian’s Chief Data Officer, Jonathan Westley, to Maria Hopper from Cleveland Police at the awards ceremony in London. She said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be named as winners of the ‘Data Excellence’ award. Our data initiative allowed us to solve a challenge that was hindering our ability to respond quickly and accurately to those who need it most in our community. For us, winning this award is fantastic recognition of the critical role that data plays in delivering positive policing and keeping people safe.” To hear more from Maria, you can watch this short video. We would like to congratulate Cleveland Police on a well-deserved award win, along with all the other winners on the night. To find out more, you can visit the National Business Awards website.
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.