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With CHRO Kevin Silva at the helm, Voya Financial recently underwent a complete and total transformation that includes four key elements: the acceleration of our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals; an intentional focus on “employee experience” as we embraced remote working; a deliberate focus on talent development and succession; and significant M&A activity, as we redefined who we are, our company purpose and where we want to go.
To advance Voya’s commitment to DEI, Silva oversaw the formation of a DEI Task Force consisting of 50 leaders (more than 50% women and 60% people of color) from across the company. The task force focused on the African American/Black community and designed 20+ initiatives to advance DEI for our colleagues, clients and communities. Those initiatives included the hiring of a Supplier Diversity leader; the creation of “Ambassadors” dedicated to recruitment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities; the creation of “Talent Accelerator” – a talent development program to improve Black representation at the AVP level and above; cultural competence training for leaders; and annual scholarships for teachers attending HBCUs.
The second element Kevin Silva led was Voya’s commitment to remote and hybrid working. Silva is a firm believer in capturing employee feedback and leveraging that feedback to drive change. With the majority of employees in favor of hybrid work – and with productivity at an all-time high – Voya embraced flexibility and today, 95% of employees are remote or hybrid. That said, remote work can have its challenges and Silva spearheaded key initiatives to enhance employee health and well-being and ensure a meaningful employee experience. These initiatives included the expansion of Voya’s Employee Assistance Program and the introduction of new mental health benefits. Additionally, Silva rolled out a new communications framework that included quarterly manager town halls dedicated to “leading effectively in a hybrid world” and all-employee town halls to facilitate collaboration, knowledge-sharing and team building. When employees were surveyed, employee engagement and satisfaction was in the top decile as recorded by McKinsey.
The third element has been Silva’s focus on talent regeneration and succession within our Board of Directors and within our executive and senior teams. He developed very thoughtful succession plans that enabled a planned CEO succession, tapping one of our women officers to take the helm in January 2023. We have replenished our executive team through succession planning and established a diverse Enterprise Leadership Team of 60 leaders.
Finally, Silva led an enterprise-wide effort to establish Voya’s Purpose statement, which is – Together we fight for everyone’s opportunity for a better financial future. The purpose work coincided with the evolution of Voya’s strategy and significant M&A activity as we established the blueprint for the company’s future success. With an emphasis on building a platform for growth, Voya acquired new businesses within the last year and Silva’s team led the integration of those employees into our company and our culture.
The significant transformation Kevin Silva has led has advanced our company strategy and strengthened our performance-driven culture. Our turnover rate is much lower than the industry average and our employee engagement rate is much higher than the industry average.
We’ve been humbled to have been recognized with many accolades that reinforce our commitment to our people and validate the success of the transformation. Recent examples include being named an Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Company; named to the Great Place to Work® and Fortune Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance™ 2022 list; Human Rights Campaign – Best Places to work for LGBT – 100%; Disability Equality Index – 100%; Bloomberg Gender Equality Index listing; S&P Global “The Sustainability Yearbook”; Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Newsweek’s “America’s Greatest Workplaces 2023 for Diversity.”
Nomination Title: Kevin Silva, CHRO
