We know that by having a better, more inclusive culture and a diverse group of colleagues, we can support our customers and each other in the best way possible.

Our culture embraces and celebrates colleague diversity, and we hire our colleagues based on their skills and attitude, not on their age, background or any other characteristics. 

Inclusion and Diversity Community

At Vanquis Banking Group our ambition is to build and sustain an inclusive culture and diverse workforce, which helps us to respond to our diverse customer base.

It's important for us to acknowledge the diverse range of colleagues that give our business its unique characters and cultures.

Our customers are an equally diverse mix of races, genders, sexualities and other protected characteristics, which means we can only provide the best service if our teams represent and understand these populations.

A diverse workforce alone isn’t enough. Inclusivity is all about appreciating and respecting difference, while making sure that these differences don’t act as barriers to participation, promotion or consideration.

All colleagues should have the right to be themselves, be proud members or allies of minority communities, while being treated as equals wherever they work across the Group.

Our business brings us into contact with people from many different communities, which makes it important for our workforce to reflect the diversity we see in our customer base.

Equality and diversity aren’t about box-ticking; it’s about recognising the basic right of all colleagues to be treated fairly, regardless of their differences, whether that’s in age, ethnicity, gender or any other characteristic. Diversity also brings with it significant strategic value: more perspectives, more skills, more experience. This belief underpins our recruitment, training, promotion and remuneration practices.

We are a member of the Business Forum on Disability, which allows us to access best practice advice and support on a range of business disability issues so we can improve our performance in this area.

At Vanquis Banking Group we actively celebrate and promote Neurodiversity celebration week and support and recognise the many talents and advantages of being Neurodivergent, whilst creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace culture for all our colleagues. 

We want our business to be as diverse and inclusive as we can make it. Employing people with different skills and backgrounds helps us understand our customers’ needs and gives us vital insights when developing the best products and services. But more than this, having a diverse workforce gives all of us more opportunity to learn, grow and meet people from different backgrounds, the value of which is something none of us should underestimate.

As part of our colleague engagement survey, we invite colleagues to disclose as much information about themselves as they feel comfortable sharing; information such as their ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability status, caring responsibilities and gender identity. We do this in order to gain the broadest possible understanding of who our colleagues are so we can educate ourselves as a Group, encouraging support and representation for colleagues from all communities and celebrating the characteristic that make us who we are.

We also use the data to set ourselves a benchmark to work against in the future, so we can measure how many colleagues feel comfortable disclosing personal information to us. Our aim is to develop EDI initiatives that will give even more colleagues the confidence to share this information with us freely in the future.

Supporting our colleagues

We provide an encouraging, supportive and inclusive workplace culture. Our colleagues are key to our long-term success, and their dedication and hard work are what give Vanquis Banking Group its unique character and culture, which enable us to deliver the best service to our customers.

We have around 1,500 colleagues based in Bradford, Chatham, London and Petersfield. Engagement, though, is a two‑way street, and the Banking Group carried out its colleague engagement survey to find out what colleagues thought and felt about working here.

Key outcomes of 2022 engagement survey The following questions point to continued high levels of commitment and discretionary effort from colleagues as demonstrated by high positive response
to questions such as:

84%

of colleagues understand our purpose and what we are trying to achieve

83%

of colleagues care about the future of Vanquis Banking Group 

90%

of colleagues feel their manager treats them fairly and with respect

83%

of colleagues care about the future of the group and their division

81%

of colleagues believe people help and support each other here

82%

of colleagues say they can be themselves at work

I’m proud and thrilled to sponsor such an important initiative. I’ve been with Vanquis Banking Group for just over a year now and have been impressed with the colleagues we have working throughout the business. I’m certain that we’ll further improve as a Group by maximising inclusion and diversity. It’s something I’m passionate about.

Gareth Cronin
North Star Programme Executive

Vanquis Banking Group Affinity Group's

 

LGBTQ+ Affinity 

The LGBTQ+ Affinity Group proactively supports Vanquis Banking Group's vision for equality and inclusion through a variety of activities. 

Read more about our LGBTQ+ Affinity Group

Ethnicity Affinity

The Ethnicity Affinity Group's purpose is to create and embed a workplace where ethnic diversity is celebrated, encouraged and championed to motivate colleagues.

Read more about our Ethnicity Affinity Group

Gender Balance Affinity

The Gender Balance Affinity Group works to make sure we have gender balance in everything we do that impacts our workforce. Their work is in line with our overall vision for gender equality and is at the heart of how we make sure that everyone feels able to thrive at work, whatever their background, identity or circumstance.

Read more about our Gender Balance Affinity Group

Disability Affinity

The Disability Affinity Group focuses on creating an inclusive and accessible workplace for all colleagues. Discussions regularly cover actions and initiatives designed to make sure everyone is supported and can effectively self-manage any ongoing disability and mental health-related wellbeing issues.

Read more about our Disability Affinity Group

Social Mobility Affinity

Our Social Mobility Affinity Group has been created to develop and embed a workplace where entry and progression opportunities are available to current and future colleagues, no matter their background, so they can get on in their careers. We also work with young people and adults in the communities we serve to help them reach their potential.

Read more about our Social Mobility Affinity Group