When TelstraSuper formed its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy in 2016, it focused on building awareness. Now, the superfund has funnelled its program into making a genuine impact in and beyond the workforce. 

Today’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) landscape is rapidly evolving, as the world grapples with geopolitical tensions, economic volatility and, amid all of this, rising uncertainty. 

This is introducing a range of complexity for how organisations cultivate inclusive workplaces; with challenges from polarisation to persistent economic gaps for women and other underrepresented groups. 

In a competitive talent market, employees are also increasingly factoring in DEI into their decisions around where to work. For example, three-quarters of Generation Z and Millennial employees say that an organisation’s societal impact and community engagement influences their choice of employer, according to research from Deloitte. 

One organisation that has made headway in its DEI approach to meet these shifting complexities is TelstraSuper, a finalist for Most Inclusive Workplace at the 2024 AHRI Awards.  

Over the past few years, the superannuation fund has progressed from establishing a business case, to normalising diversity and inclusion as an integral aspect of everyday work.

“When I came into the role [in 2021], the foundational work had been undertaken. That had focused on building the understanding and appreciation of why DEI is important for an organisation,” says Krithika Hansen, Chief People Officer of TelstraSuper, and a speaker at AHRI’s upcoming webinar Building Inclusive Workplaces: Systemic Enablers for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on 21 November.

These levers encompassed implementing governance and accountability frameworks, and driving awareness of inclusive behaviours across the workforce.

While DEI can risk floundering as an offshoot to the business, TelstraSuper’s initial strategy was fully integrated into its organisational strategy and employee value proposition (EVP), ‘Grow and Thrive’.

“[We like to ask], ‘How do you grow where you are?’ This doesn’t necessarily mean a promotion because sometimes your next role is not necessarily in your current organisation,” says Hansen. “We wanted our EVP to have a future focus. It is not just about the work you do today, but also how it can actually benefit you in the future.”

Since undertaking that work, TelstraSuper has strengthened its original aim of building an inclusive and respectful workplace and is now targeting its initiatives more systematically in the next strategic iteration.

The organisation’s new roadmap for 2024-2026 centres around four pillars:

• Gender equality
• First Nations inclusion
• Cultural diversity
• LGBTQ+ inclusion

“We’ve refreshed our strategy. Now, it’s very much about starting from the top,” says Hansen. “Our people, leaders and executives recognise we need differences. A lack of difference and diversity of thought won’t enable us to be best in class in [most] areas. We want to create things that go beyond the individual at the work or workforce level.”

Making a stand for gender equality

Since the first iteration of its DEI strategy in 2016, TelstraSuper has made significant gains in gender representation, with targeted efforts to close the gap at leadership levels.

Across all executive and senior management roles, the organisation has achieved a composition of 47 per cent women and 53 per cent men, with 30 women promoted to senior roles in 2024, compared to 19 in 2020 – a significant boost in an organisation of just 340 employees. 

While gender balance is still a key metric throughout Telstrasuper’s recruitment and other HR processes, it has now pivoted to addressing systemic barriers, such as pay equity.

A policy that has been introduced to enable this is guaranteeing superannuation at the full-time rate for up to two years for employees returning part-time from parental leave. 

“If we think about thriving for the long-term, we know that women tend to retire with less super than men, and often it’s because they’ve taken time out of the workforce to raise children, care for ageing parents, or they’ve reduced their hours to assist with caring responsibilities,” says Hansen. 

“We wanted to create a change in the system to say, ‘We don’t want to disadvantage our people because they’re choosing to take care of others’. This is our way of contributing and enabling a more equitable super system.”

TelstraSuper’s offering of flexible parental leave programs has led to impressive employee engagement, with more male employees taking parental leave than their female employees, at a 65:35 ratio over a three-year period. 

“It backs up what we advocate for as an organisation and shows that we’ve created a safe space where men feel comfortable discussing part-time work with their managers, rather than [caring responsibilities] always defaulting to the woman.”

Read HRM’s article ‘Tackling flexism against men at work’.

Hansen cites the organisation’s strong leadership buy-in as critical to the success of its policies, which has earned TelstraSuper a citation as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for the fourth time running this year.

“We have been working on reducing the pay gap – and while it’s already lower than the industry average [of 26.1 per cent in the financial and insurance services industry] – it has been a priority for us to further reduce it by at least one to two percentage points year on year. We’ve got support from the board, which is terrific.” 

Demonstrating a commitment to First Nations reconciliation

Another evolving focus area for TelstraSuper has been working to cultivate a diverse and inclusive culture for First Nations peoples.

“We’ve got about 85,000 members, so there’s diversity in our member pool. We wanted to think about how we recognise that diversity internally, as well as externally. How do we connect and learn more about [our First Nations communities]?” says Hansen.

“It’s not only for us as an organisation, our brand and reputation, but the reality is, we’ve got our people on the phones talking to members of all cultural backgrounds. How do you have those conversations and understand what’s going on for them?”

“A lack of difference and diversity of thought won’t enable us to be best in class in [most] areas. We want to create things that go beyond the individual at the work or workforce level.” – Krithika Hansen, Chief People Officer, TelstraSuper

While TelstraSuper has previously engaged in ongoing partnerships with First Nations-lead organisations, such as First Nations Foundation, the superannuation fund formally delivered its first Reconciliation Action Plan (at the Reflect level) (RAP) this year. 

“[The Reflect RAP] has been about formally defining our reconciliation goals, building awareness, having a level of consciousness, and reflecting on how we can learn more about the First Nations community,” says Hansen. 

A RAP Working Group was formed, comprising employees from various parts of the business. The organisation also sought external input from a Yorta Yorta woman and owner of an Indigenous cultural consultancy, as well as a First Nations board member. 

“The RAP group first asked employees what reconciliation meant to them personally, as well as what they thought it should mean to TelstraSuper,” said Hansen.  

“We knew we had a large level of support internally to champion the RAP, but we were surprised by the level of honesty our people shared in the survey – it was clear they wanted us to have a strong role in helping them understand more about First Nations culture.”

One initiative TelstraSuper has implemented in carrying out its Reflect RAP has been delivering unconscious bias training company-wide, to educate employees around Indigenous cultures, histories and knowledge.

“We know that First Nations peoples face unique challenges in accessing the super system, from identification issues and remote locations to different kinship structures, so we’re playing an active role in understanding what we can do to help break down these barriers and enable a better member experience.”

Diversity and inclusion has historically been integral to TelstraSuper’s organisational culture and values, and Hansen says her team is so “thrilled” that they’ve been nominated for an AHRI award for their DEI program.

“We’ve focused on bringing diversity in our talent and the way people work, embracing different skill sets and ways of thinking. I’m not saying… there are no challenges, [but] I think there is a value set and buy-in from the top that has enabled us to keep going. We’ve worked really hard to create something that our people enjoy coming to.”

Hear more from Krithika Hansen and other DEI thought leaders on creating lasting positive impact across your organisation at AHRI’s webinar Building Inclusive Workplaces: Systemic Enablers for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on 21 November during DEI Week.