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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.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Orange County Register has named Experian as one of the Top Workplaces, with the company securing the #1 ranking for the second time in three years. The award, which is based on employee feedback in a survey of hundreds of leading companies in Orange County, recognizes our company’s culture of innovation and inclusion, and our commitment to employees and communities during the pandemic. For more than 40 years, Orange County has been at the heart of our North America operations, and as we persevere through these challenging times, we are especially honored to be recognized for our dedication to maintaining a healthy, collaborative work environment and achieving higher performance while giving back. This award demonstrates the resilience, talent and compassion of all the people who work here at Experian. Since the start of the pandemic, we have further expanded our dedication to social good by creating new opportunities to support employees and the broader community. Because we are founded on a culture of innovating through bringing together technology and data, we were able to quickly respond to COVID-19 and honor our commitment to using data for good. Maintaining company culture All our decisions are driven by our desire to lead with empathy, and ensuring our employees feel valued and protected, while simultaneously mobilizing our resources to positively impact society, creating greater levels of financial and social inclusion. Although we had technology in place to easily initiate working remotely, we supported the transition to remote working by launching initiatives dedicated to mental and physical well-being, including a COVID-19 Resource Center, enhanced sick-leave policies, increased opportunities to ensure continuity of professional development, as well as an ASPIRE to be Well guide, in partnership with our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Giving back Throughout the pandemic, our employees have felt compelled to help clients who were facing unprecedented and unforeseen challenges. Different groups and employees of all levels began working together to develop new products and services to help clients, customers and communities persevere. This included free credit reports for small business, adding video streaming service payments to Experian Boost, hosting #CreditChat on social media, the Experian CORE heatmap, COVID-19 U.S. Business Risk Index , Experian® Health Payer Policy Alerts and updated fraud protections through the Business Resources Website. As part of our United for Financial Health initiative, we also launched two new partnerships with non-profit organizations to empower vulnerable consumers and those marginalized by the pandemic. In collaboration with Operation HOPE, we are helping vulnerable communities improve financial health with its data, analytics, products and services. Most recently, we partnered with NAACP Empowerment Programs to offer Home Preservation Grants to African Americans at risk of losing their homes. Although COVID-19 has been a source of stress and anxiety for businesses and individuals alike, we remain committed to helping employees reach their full potential and demonstrating that values and purpose do not change in a crisis. We are honored that the Orange County Register is recognizing our tireless efforts to make a difference in the communities in which we live and work.

For the past several years, Experian has been on a journey to help drive financial inclusion for millions of people around the world. This has required significant focus on how we operate, who we partner with, and the products and solutions we offer. Four years ago, when we decided to partner with and invest in Finicity, a leading financial data aggregator based in Salt Lake City, we did so on our strong belief in consumer-permissioned data and our shared vision with their leadership team. At the time, we knew Finicity’s commitment to empower consumers and drive the digital revolution fit perfectly with our priorities. Over the years, this has proven to be true time and time again as we’ve leveraged Finicity’s technology capabilities to create enormous opportunity for our clients and improve financial access for consumers. One example is our partnership on Experian Boost. With the support of Finicity’s infrastructure, more than 4.9 million consumers have connected to Experian Boost to contribute their on-time payments for their telecommunications, utility, streaming service and cell phones directly to their Experian credit reports. Through Experian Boost, and access to real-time consumer-permissioned data, we are increasing financial inclusion by helping lenders identify more consumers who can pay responsibly. In an equally powerful testament to the power of consumer-permissioned data, our partnership with Finicity is helping streamline the homebuying experience for consumers and lenders. As a distribution partner of Finicity’s Verification Solutions, we are delivering Verification of Assets (VOA), Verification of Income (VOI) and Verification of Income and Employment (VOIE) to the mortgage market. This innovative digitization of data and analytics is streamlining experiences for borrowers and is a critically important step in modernizing the mortgage process. Additionally, we have clients successfully utilizing Finicity’s Verification Solutions in automotive underwriting, personal lending, tenant screening and other sectors. Earlier this week, Mastercard closed its acquisition of Finicity. This move, along with the overall trajectory of market demand, is testament to the fact that we clearly invested in the right capability, the right team and the right vision at the right time. But our journey together isn’t over, it has just been reinforced and will continue with Finicity even under new ownership. Our commitment to working with Finicity does not change with this news, it is only enhanced. Our drive to accelerate digital lending, empower consumers and drive more consumer-permissioned data solutions is higher than ever. We will continue to partner with Finicity, now part of the Mastercard family, as a central component of our strategy. We look forward to a continued strong relationship with this new, combined entity as we continue to bring innovative solutions for consumers and businesses to the table.

We know small businesses are critical to the vibrancy of our economy and communities. Watching how hard the COVID-19 pandemic has affected them and their founders has been troubling. Here at Experian, we created new tools to help small businesses navigate this uncertain time. But we want to do more, and help businesses survive and thrive even in “normal” times.  That’s why I’m especially excited about our newest partnership with Black Girl Ventures (BGV).  This is part of our United for Financial Health program, which aims to empower vulnerable consumers to improve their financial health and protect them from fraud and identity theft. Through this partnership,we will provide resources, tools and services to Black and Brown women entrepreneurs to enable them and their small businesses to grow and prosper. We know that long-standing inequities have created barriers for women, especially women of color. Our partnership will provide financial resources to help scale its BGV Style Pitch Competition and Amplify BGV Programs and we are a proud sponsor of BGV’s new weekly podcast, “From Hustling to Handling, How to Stay in Business.” Together, we will curate entrepreneurial education content to assist a broader audience with knowledge and best practices related to financial literacy and wealth management.  The negative financial impact on these women and their businesses has had a reverberating effect across communities of color. Our United for Financial Health program is one of the many ways we are staying true to our mission to support all consumers and clients through their financial health journey, in normal and extraordinary times. This partnership with BGV will fuel the economic recovery by reaching millions of Black and Brown women entrepreneurs and, in turn, supporting the communities they serve. 

People’s engagement with financial information and their understanding of how organisations use it to make decisions about the products and services they can access has been growing for many years.    Experian has played a role in this journey. We were the first to allow people to view their credit report at any time and see their Experian Credit Score with the launch of CreditExpert in September 2003. It has allowed people to view their own information through a lender’s eyes, so they can understand how to improve their situation.   We’re excited to announce the next huge leap forward – the launch of Experian Boost in the UK.    Now for the very first time, people can instantly increase their credit score to help them access more financial products and services at better rates.  Experian Boost is a free service which allows people to use a secure Open Banking platform to share their everyday transactions – from council tax to digital entertainment subscriptions, such as Netflix and Spotify. These payments have never been factored into a credit score before, so adding them should broaden access to financial services.  Our analysis shows that more than 50% of people will see their credit score increase from using Experian Boost. But, crucially, the service will not make people’s score go down when they sign up to Boost.   People are also in total control of their data. If they wish, they can withdraw their information with a few clicks, and they are still free to re-join at any time. But by keeping Boost activated on their Experian account they can build a stronger payment history which could help them get their credit card, loan or mortgage they want.  We’re confident this is going to be a significant moment in how people represent their financial profile to organisations. Five million people have signed up for Boost in the US since it launched last year, with three million of those seeing their score increase.  At Experian, we strive to put people in control of their financial data and the launch of Boost is entirely in line with this goal.   Now it’s over to you – give your credit score a Boost.