BIBA chief says its time to get off the fence and give something back by adding your voice to discussions shaping the industry
With the annual party conference season well underway, one particular soundbite to emerge from the bluster has struck a chord with me.
It was during Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s speech to the Labour Party conference on Monday. Brown exhorted his audience to be “givers as well as getters”, for it was only through putting something back into society that a difference could be made.
Corporate social responsibility is big business and quite rightly is high up on the board agenda. Indeed, I’m writing this blog on the eve of The Prince’s Trust insurance leadership group gala dinner. Members of the insurance leadership group have pledged almost £3 million to help the trust deliver projects that help disadvantaged young people to gain skills and get their lives working. So the message has got through.
It’s been a continued frustration of mine at BIBA at the number of firms in the industry that have yet to join as members of the association (or any trade organisation, come to think of it).
BIBA has gained more than 200 new members this year which is fantastic. We hope to welcome more. They’ve realised the benefits of membership, of coming together and speaking with one strong voice to government, the regulators, media, the industry, consumers and other stakeholders about issues affecting our business. For many potential new joiners the strength of BIBA’s representation is one of the first things that they enquire about – as do the politicians and other stakeholders we talk to.
But it’s not only corporate UK that has to take responsibility, the individual must too.
It’s those people who fail to get involved that concern me. Are they engaging with these stakeholders in their own right? I suspect not. As I see it, they are effectively a voice lost, a person disenfranchised from their industry.
So let me launch my own manifesto – the ‘let’s all get involved’ policy. Just pick up the phone, to whatever cause has a bearing on your life be it historic monuments, orphaned children or heaven forbid the issues affecting your insurance industry and offer assistance. You’ll be helping bring about a change for the better and who knows? You may even enjoy yourself.
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