The president of Lockton Retirement Services, Pam Popp, believes the firm’s commitment to inclusion empowers its employees to better serve client needs and realize their own full potential. Lockton Retirement Services is a unit of Kansas City, Missouri-based insurance brokerage Lockton Cos., for which Popp serves as chief inclusion officer. Having as many different perspectives as possible on her team is crucial, she said, and that’s reflected in her hiring practices. Since Popp joined in 2014, the number of ethnically diverse associates has tripled. The firm now has 5,500 retirement plan advisers, investment professionals and support staff, and 20% are ethnically diverse and 55% are women.
Lockton is a founding member of the Business Insurance Diversity & Inclusion Institute, which brings the insurance industry together to conduct diversity research. Lockton’s CEO also joined the CEO Action Network, in which 1,000 CEOs pledge to discuss diversity, commit to doing unconscious bias training and share stories of success and failure. The firm also is being more intentional about who is included in its programs designed to prepare individuals to move into leadership roles.
“What’s changed is the level of awareness, engagement and a clear push toward a more diverse and inclusive workplace,” Popp said.
Contact Popp at ppopp@lockton.com to learn more about Lockton’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
— Liz Skinner