“This year, we are proud to celebrate 15 years as signatories of the UN’s Global Compact agreement. As a collective of agencies specialising in strategic communication and engagement, we understand the significance of operating sustainably and achieving carbon neutrality to bring together diverse audiences from around the world,” writes MCI CEO Sebastien Tondeur in our 2022 Sustainability Report.
“That bridge must be built with conscience, care, transparency, and respect. Being genuinely sustainable isn’t just about making the best possible choices while working with our clients. It’s about ensuring every action we take betters us as a group and enables others to have better opportunities for themselves. It means taking on new talents and investing the time in training existing ones. It means championing diversity from the ground up to create equal opportunity and give vital voices a chance to be heard.”
Over the next few months, we will be posting a series of articles about the commitments MCI has made in line with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This is the first.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)
We are committed to creating a safe and accepting environment in which all people can thrive. We are committed to fairness and equity in all aspects of our organisation.
Strategic objectives
- By the end of 2023, we aim to assess our DE&I approach and identify gaps for continued improvement.
- By the end of 2023, we aim to develop a more inclusive hiring programme and group guidelines.
- 80% of our talents feel like they belong in the company yearly.
- 100% of our talents are trained and have access to an anti- harassment reporting tool.
Key highlights 2022:
- 85% of our talents are proud to work for our company
- 75% of our talents feel like they belong at our company
- We reached an Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 19
- We launched our Culture Club to share about culture and diversity
We are building an organisation that goes beyond day-to-day business and bricks and mortar, creating a workplace that is profoundly human, and in which everyone belongs
As a human-centric business, our people are our most precious asset. We have long prioritised their wellbeing, ensuring that we support them in their career journeys and cultivate a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and valued.
Striving to be a responsible employer
At mci group, we want to create long-term relationships with our talents that facilitate personal success and fulfilment, both at work, and in their personal lives.
In 2022, 81% of our workforce had a permanent employment contract, 3% had fixed-term contracts, 11% were long-term freelancers, and 4% were interns /apprentices.
Our permanent employee turnover rate in 2022 was 17.4% (16.9% in 2021).
This rate looks likely to remain low, with 78% of our talents intending to stay with us for the next 12 months, as per our 2022 talent engagement survey.
So that we’re always providing the fairest and most equitable environment for our talents, our group sustainability team works closely with group human resources (HR) and agency HR to regularly review and align our operations with best practices in human rights and labour rights impacts and compliance with laws (i.e. International Labour Organisation).
We carefully monitor wage equality in the workplace at a country-specific level, ensuring our talents are paid fairly, and that we’re compliant with local laws and regulations.
Remuneration is aligned with local industry standards. And, whilst not all our agencies offer identical benefits, they typically include health and wellness programmes, health and/or accident insurance and/or retirement savings plans. Some talents are on a performance-based incentive plan, and our senior leaders may participate in a share-based incentive plan.
We support the rights of our people to join trade unions and to bargain collectively, although trade union membership is rare in our industry, especially in some of the regions in which we operate.
With every action we take, we hope to progress the fairness and inclusivity that have come to symbolise a career at mci group. As such, we will continue to take note of where we need to improve, and better our impact on our own operations and business relationships.
Thriving through diversity
The global nature of our group means that we’re lucky enough to work with talents from many continents, countries, and cultures.
Our talents originate from 69 countries and collectively speak over 50 languages. This diversity fosters an international mindset and understanding of society that enriches our group, enhances creativity and amplifies our ability to work cross-culturally as we accompany our clients into new markets.
Gender diversity at mci group
Note: All figures that follow exclude our affiliates and ventures.
Our diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI&B) commitment: We are committed to creating a safe and accepting environment where everyone can thrive. We are committed to fairness and equity in all aspects of our organisation.
Our DE&I guidelines, as outlined in our Code of business conduct, are designed to reinforce a culture of belonging by providing a working environment free from discrimination, where everyone is respected, heard and valued.
In 2020 we formed our DEI&B task force, and in 2022 The Culture Club section was created on our intranet: a place to learn about and be inspired by diversity & culture. We also created an open group on MS Teams, where our employees can interact, share personal stories, and spark inspiration.
In addition, we organise awareness campaigns and training on DE&I during our yearly Academies, local Learning Weeks, and as part of our onboarding programme.
Many of our offices have also created their local DEI&B groups or Diversity Squads, organising local campaigns on the topics that matter most to them, and our US offices have introduced the Affinity Groups programme, creating a space for a range of communities to come together within the workplace, including African American, Latino, Asian American, Women in the Workplace, Young Professionals, Military, LGBTQ+, Mental Health and Family groups.
We’re pleased to report that our 2022 talent engagement survey showed encouraging results
Despite the successes here, we are always looking to go above and beyond. Using the Women’s Empowerment Principles and the LGBTIQ+ Standards gap analysis tools, we want to assess our current programme to identify areas of improvement, help us set future goals and targets and, ultimately, become signatories.
To increase our outreach and attract diverse talent, we also plan to review our recruitment strategy and develop a set of guidelines for more diverse and inclusive hiring.
Listening to and communicating with our talents
We take the time to engage with and listen to our talents regularly through various initiatives to more deeply with their needs and strengthen their relationship with the group.
That’s why, in 2022, we upgraded our talent feedback survey tool to an external measurement platform, which provides us with more detailed employee insights and comprehensive analytics. Managers are also provided with tips and guidance on areas that could be improved.
As part of our talent experience strategy, we plan to run shorter “pulse-style” questionnaires to help us spot problems early, and act on them swiftly.
Our annual engagement survey took place in October 2022, with a total of 963 talents. That’s 69% of our full-time workforce, our highest- ever completion rate.
* Note: with our new engagement tool, the scale (1-5 vs 1-10) and methodology changed, which makes it harder to compare the results, but nonetheless the engagement result is consistent with our 2021 score (7.69).
Stories on diversity, equity and inclusion
Young Activists Summit 2022 (#YAS22): Together we thrive
We actively promote diversity within mci group. In December, #YAS22, a summit which promotes solidarity across social, racial and cultural groups, towards minorities, and encourages everyone to stand up for other people’s rights, was held at the United Nations in Geneva (Switzerland).
The Summit welcomed participants from 134 countries in honouring 6 young change-makers who have worked tirelessly for an inclusive and equal world. It was followed by live conversations with the activists on Instagram. This fourth edition of the Young Activists Summit reached an audience of over 8.2 million people on social media around the world.
Our teams at Dorier were proud to support the Summit by providing the lighting, projection, sound equipment, stage and technical assistance at discounted rates.
MCI Germany: Driving discussions around inclusion
As part of MCI Germany’s Learning Week under the motto of “be brave, be proud”, the teams discussed diversity and inclusion.
Our Berlin office hosted a session with German actor André Dietz, who gave insights into one of 2022’s most special TV projects. The show, which featured 13 people with Down Syndrome who worked for one month in a restaurant under the guidance of a chef, was aimed at showing how much its participants could achieve with the necessary support.
During the show, Dietz, whose daughter was born with the Angelman-Syndrome, accompanied the participants both in front of and behind the camera, delivering his support and insights.
Christina Bock, Operations Director at MCI Germany, who attended the session, commented: “Andre’s story made a huge impression on me. Nobody believed in the project, but by giving them trust and patience, the participants were able to create something they could be proud of.”
Breaking the Bias: International Women’s Day
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we joined the #breakthebias 2022 campaign and asked some of our talents from across the globe to tell us how they play their part in overcoming gender stereotypes.
The campaign brought talents together from across all our agencies to form one international force for solidarity, letting all our talents know that mci group is a space for them to feel equal, valued and encouraged to thrive.
NYWICI’s Matrix Awards: Using industry best practice to produce an inclusive event
Ashley Dowling, Director of Nonprofit Operations, MCI USA, brought her knowledge and experience as a deaf person and presenter at many deaf events to help a client create an event that would be inclusive for all.
For over 50 years, New York Women in Communications (NYWICI) has organised the city’s largest organisation of professional women in the communications industry. With MCI talents, honourees, presenters, vendors and interpreters, Ashley developed and executed the strategy to make the backstage space, equipment and awards process inclusive, and to manage the participants’ expectations.
Read more about our company's Sustainable Development Goals and our commitment to learning and development. You can also download the full 2022 Sustainability Report here.Download the 2022 Sustainability Report here.
Discover how to bridge the “relevancy gap” and make sustainability resonate by focusing on what matters to organisations, their employees and their customers: Making sustainability more relevant and actionable
The demand for sustainable products and services is growing. Read how (and why) MCI is helping deliver green marketing events, activations and congresses in The importance of green marketing and how MCI can help.
Erica Fawer - Group Director: Communication, Change & Engagement
