Description:

The Travelers Companies, Inc. is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home, and business. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has approximately 30,000 employees and operations in the United States and selected international markets. Taking care of our customers, our communities, and each other: That ’s the Travelers Promise. For several years, Travelers has understood the importance of hiring diverse candidates, including those that identify as being neurodivergent. A small internal team has worked tirelessly to raise awareness, identify partners, and shepherd grassroots opportunities. Through these efforts we have been named Lifeworks’ 2018 Employer Partner of the Year, became a member of the Autism @ Work Employer Roundtable, and serve as a “Spectrum Friendly” employer partner to Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Spectrum Support Program. In addition, Travelers has earned a top score on the Disability Equality Index® (DEI) for the third consecutive year, maintaining our distinction as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. One specific inclusive hiring effort we are proud of to date is the recent launch of a neurodivergent technology internship program. During the summer of 2021, we are welcoming our first cohort of four neurodivergent candidates as part of our Technology Leadership Development Program (TLDP) internship. To successfully launch this program, we partnered with Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Spectrum Support Program and numerous functions within Travelers. To get to this point, there were numerous questions that needed answers, actions items to be completed, and challenges to be faced, all of which we learned from. We would be grateful to have the opportunity to share our first-hand experience and key takeaways from launching our program with other employers considering a similar initiative. We would meet this objective by offering a panel discussion with a member from our talent acquisition team, a member of our business insurance technology team, and, most importantly for NACE members, our partner at RIT. During this panel discussion, we will cover the full lifecycle of launching a program such as including building a business case, obtaining executive sponsorship, partnering with local schools/programs, and developing an inclusive recruitment and onboarding process. Our goal is to improve the lives of those who identify as having a disability through providing meaningful employment. We can move closer toward that goal by informing those around us.

Audience:

Career Services

Level:

Emerging

Track:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Type:

Panel Session

Main Speaker:

Laurie Ackles, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

Additional Speakers:

Rebecca Harris, Travelers
Jim McMahon, Travelers
Lauren Riley, Travelers