Prioritising ethics education for all employees

In February 2022, If launched a new mandatory education programme for all employees. The goal is to give all employees an understanding of what responsible corporate culture and business practices mean, and of what is expected from every individual at If.

The new mandatory programme is called One Responsible If, and the theme is responsible corporate culture and business practices. The One Responsible If programme includes courses in Ethics, Sustainability, Physical and IT security, Privacy, Reporting incidents and suspicions, Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, and Conflict of interest.

– Responsible business practices are fundamental to If´s business, states Victor Kihlström, Head of Legal Operations at If, explaining:

–  We have a long-term commitment in If to be the most caring insurance company in the market. Caring does not mean that we only care for ourselves and our customers, but that we understand our role in society. People and businesses come to us with things they care about, and then place the trust to care for those things in our hands. If we are to be perceived as one caring company, we all need to look at our responsibilities in the same way. To reach this goal, we have created the One Responsible If training programme.

Responsible business practices are fundamental to If´s business.

Victor Kihlström Head of Legal Operations

All employees will need to complete the programme annually, and new employees will receive an invitation to begin the programme during the very first days of their employment. To ensure that the programme is well received and understandable for all employees, it is available in the Nordic and Baltic languages and in English.

–  The One Responsible If training will be reviewed and updated annually to make sure that we have relevant, interesting courses in the context of a changing world and regulatory environment. The programme is complemented by various other forms of training, depending on the position and work tasks of the employees.

The programme can be thought of as a higher-level framework to make sure that all employees have the same foundation for the most important topics, such as ethics and sustainability, says Hannele Sääksvuori, Compliance Officer at If.

Hannele Sääksvuori photo. — Hannele Sääksvuori, Compliance Officer at If

Good governance and responsible business practices

If has chosen a long-term commitment to be the most caring insurance company in the market. The definition of care is not only caring for the company, its employees and its customers, but also understanding If’s role in society.

– Our corporate responsibility concerns the impact our organisation has on society, the environment and the economy. In this programme, all employees in the If Group will learn about our most important ethical and practical guidelines, and what is needed from each and all of us to succeed together, as One Responsible If, says Victor Kihlström.

If has estimated that all employees will spend approximately 2.5 hours each on the programme.