How Argo Used Remote Peer Mentoring to Strengthen DEI

A Bit about Argo Group

Argo Group is an underwriter of specialty insurance products.

Christina Parr, VP, Head of Leadership and Organizational Development, and Dave Snowden, SVP, Group Communications, have been overseeing the management, set up, and communications surrounding the company’s culture and diversity and inclusion efforts.

Year over year, they have seen requests grow from Argo’s eight Employee Resource Groups for mentorship programs and learning resources to help enable genuine connection and conversation. 

With an existing Diversity & Inclusion committee in place, the Argo team was ready to find a way to integrate a peer-mentoring model into their existing DEI efforts and ERGs rooted in the company values of collaboration and respect.

The Challenges

Doing this remotely and at scale presented an interesting set of challenges for Argo in their search for a solution.

Challenge #1: Helping learners connect in remote environments.

Disrupting the remote culture with in-person training wasn’t practical given the wide range of locations and frequency of meetings.

Given Argo’s flexible work environment, Argo needed a platform that could provide opportunities for authentic engagement and the flexibility of remote training.

The eLearning solutions they were aware of did not provide the connectivity and two-way conversations they sought in their new program.

Challenge #2: Bridging effective communication across the organization and between ERGs.

While they do have advocates across many different resource groups, this effort provided a bridge communications across all ERGs to ensure a better, more widespread ecosystem of shared values and culture.

Christina discussed the requests they were receiving from various ERGs, saying, “What we kept hearing was, ‘we want a way to have good conversations that go beyond the surface, but we don’t quite know how to do that.”

Challenge #3: Scaling small group learning across the organization

Argo wasn’t sure how to integrate their mentor program in a way that met the needs of different groups, while not requiring an overabundance of effort or dollars to implement and manage.

A remote, geographically dispersed employee base paired with the typical cost of small-group learning programs made it difficult to find a solution they could offer across the organization that would be more than the conventional, standardized approach to digital learning.

The Solution

The D&I committee proposed a partnership with ion because of the accessibility of a library of expert-level learning material, as well as the format of the Inclusion 360° program.

While most remote D&I programs are built with conventional learning methods, ion’s practical but remote offering allowed Argo’s team to provide meaningful education with the time needed, but not often afforded, to let learnings sink in.

Argo and ion implemented the training for 100 employees over the course of four months, giving it room to grow and simmer within the culture, as opposed to a single educational session.

In teams of four, they covered six modules, and met after each module for a live synchronous peer-mentoring session. This allowed them to foster an open environment for people to get to know each other and discuss difficult topics, all while feeling comfortable and connected.

With regular sessions to look forward to, D&I became a lived experience at Argo instead of just a mandate or a policy.

The Outcome

For Argo

After implementing Inclusion 360°, Argo has seen a positive impact in the way employees and leadership are engaging in their work and living out company values of inclusion, respect, and collaboration.

Engagement was one of the focal point metrics that Argo was keen on increasing. After participating in the Inclusion 360° program, 90% of survey respondents said they feel engaged at work (representing an increase of 29%).

Of those surveyed, there was also a measured increase in company trust, as well as an increase in the commitment of employees to remain at the company the following year.

For Learners

Small-group learning had a significant positive impact on learners—they felt that the setting helped them better understand and apply the skills being taught. 

The connections formed in these peer-learning settings have extended well beyond the program itself, leaving a lasting impact on the Argo culture.

One participant even believed that the lasting impact helped them meet their significant other, stating, “Because of this program and how it has taught me to open my eyes to the biases I have about other people, I have met my future husband!”

The Argo team also felt more comfortable and connected to their company peers after the program.

81% now feel they have a strong network of peers within their organization (up by 11%), 77% feel connected to colleagues (up by 19%), and 90% trust their peers (up 6%).

When it comes to implementing their learnings, 87% of learners now feel they are able to have discussions on difficult or uncomfortable topics with the people they work with, 77% now address non-inclusive and offensive behavior, and 36% described more inclusive behavior as a noticeable change at the company.

“The proof in the program is there is still demand to learn more after it’s completed,” said Dave. Many of the participants have already signed up for the emotional intelligence course offering the company is planning to roll out in the future.

Furthermore, 91% of participants surveyed said they would recommend ion’s programs to be expanded to all of their Argo colleagues.