After analysing the ANZ diversity policy, I have identified two key business objectives they are trying to pursue. The first being the ageing population within Australia and the second being an international expansion into Asian economies.
Ageing Population:
Statistics show that Australia has an increasing population of seniors from the age of 50 and over. It is estimated to increase to 57% of the customer population by 2021, making it a large and therefore important market segment for the business overall. With this in mind, ANZ have implemented strategies within their diversity policy that will enable them to better understand the ageing demographic and attend to their specific financial needs.
By integrating mature age workers within their culture, ANZ are able to retain certain skills and experiences from older employees that the younger employees may not yet have. This provides ANZ with a great advantage by being able to effectively communicate with senior customers and increasing their overall customer base. Furthermore, they have implemented the Career Extension Policy that enables senior employees to keep working on a Part-Time basis, focussing on their senior customer base. To coincide with this policy they have developed a Retirement Banking Specialist Program that provides extensive training for these employees about the 55+ customer demographic and their specific needs.
International Expansion (The Asian Century)
ANZ’s approach to cultural and ethnic diversity can be directly linked to their segmented markets throughout Australia, New Zealand & Asia – with the Asian economies being the primary focus of attention. The need to expand into the Asian market is a big step for Australian banks, such as ANZ, as reports suggest that the overall Asian output has doubled in just under 60 years. Reports also suggest that this is set to continue well into the future, presenting huge opportunities for Australian business.
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