Flutter Entertainment

Michael Piker

Can you tell us about your background and experience in the DE&I and reward domains, and how it has prepared you for your current role at Flutter Entertainment?

Currently, I am working as a Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) and Reward Specialist for Flutter Entertainment, a Footsie 26 UK-listed company, where I oversee the organization’s global DE&I and reward strategies. Over the past one year and two months, I have embraced this unique combination of responsibilities with passion and dedication.

Throughout my career, I have worked in nine countries and held key leadership roles in six other large public companies worldwide. Additionally, I have worked at three major consulting firms, where I provided strategic insights to clients across industries.

I am also a recognized academic, teaching at universities and serving on the board of World at Work, a global non-profit organization. With 33 years of industry experience, I take pride in my wealth of knowledge and expertise, which enables me to make a positive impact in my current role and beyond.

How does your role as a Global DE&I and Reward Specialist intersect, and how do they contribute to achieving DE&I objectives?

I’ll be honest; I am new to the DE&I domain, and my expertise lies more in the reward domain. In the DE&I context, there are many focus areas, including gender, accessibility, LGBTQIA+ consensus, and multiculturalism. These are important pillars that drive the DE&I agenda, as they are legislatively, societally, and company practice-driven. Many public companies, including my own, have set aspirational targets for the percentage of leadership roles held by women, for example. In our case, we aim to hold 40 percent of our leadership roles for women by 2026, and we are currently at about 33.3 percent.

Accessibility is another critical area, which encompasses a wide range of issues such as neurodiversity challenges, disability, and building tech interactions that promote a positive experience for a diverse population. LGBTQIA+ consensus is also a key focus, and organizations can obtain certification for their adherence, ambition, and progress in this area. Finally, multiculturalism is of utmost importance, as many global firms operate in multiple markets and must strive to track progress, promote diversity, and retain a multicultural workforce.

“By prioritizing leadership advocacy, analytics, and the link between DE&I and ESG, we can create momentum and make lasting change.”

The DE&I agenda is important not only for gender equality but also in the context of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). DE&I agendas are typically integrated into the (ESG context, with stakeholders assessing progress in areas such as safer gambling, committees, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

My role as a Global DE&I and Reward Specialist is unique, as I have both roles. For example, in the UK and Ireland, gender pay gap legislation is an annual legal requirement, and my reward role examines the pay gap while ensuring that adherence interactions align with our DE&I intent. I also provide that our family-friendly benefits, including neonatal fertility benefits and paternity cover, attract and retain a diverse workforce. The systems and technology used to reward progress also significantly affect DE&I outcomes. While it is more common to see a head of DE&I or head of reward, combining the two roles can create synergies and help organizations achieve their DE&I objectives.

Can you explain how you approach DE&I strategy and how they contribute to creating lasting change?

I can start by outlining the three pillars of our strategy. The first is leadership advocacy, which is critical in both the reward and DE&I domains. We know that visible leadership support is necessary for companies to adopt and enact change, and it cannot just come from HR. My team and I are very focused on this, particularly considering we recently celebrated International Women’s Day. It is crucial to have male allies who lean in and support women in solving the challenges of gender diversity. As an example, I’m encouraging my male colleagues to attend events and be present to show support. Leadership advocacy, in that regard, is essential for turning systemic change into action.

The second pillar is analytics. In the DE&I reward space, using evidence to drive behaviour and outcomes is necessary to enact change. We are working closely with the analytics team to monitor different demographic groups, such as LGBTQIA+, multicultural accessibility, and gender, on a monthly and quarterly basis. We analyze the data rigorously to track progress against our action plan and communicate the results throughout the organization to influence stakeholders. This is critical to driving change.

The third fundamental aspect, as I highlighted in my previous response, pertains to the connection between DE&I and ESG. As a company, our positive impact plan is linked to our core strategy, and it is crucial that our brand and persona are aligned with our intent. This demonstrates our commitment to DE&I and shows our investors, stakeholders, and shareholders that we are fully committed to driving change. By prioritizing leadership advocacy, analytics, and the link between DE&I and ESG, we can create momentum and make lasting change.

What is your opinion on the potential impact of AI and chatbots in the employee benefits domain, and how can they be used to improve the focus of HRs on value-added activities?

As an educator at NYU and a writer in the reward space, I am well aware of the emergence of chatbots in various domains, including open AI’s ChatGPT. In the rewards space, chatbots have the potential to revolutionize tactical reward activities, such as job descriptions and job evaluation. Machine learning algorithms can be used to learn the rhythm of levelling roles, which can be a game changer for areas of rewards that are repetitive and laborious. While chatbots are still relatively new in this field, they can be helpful for tier zero and tier one queries, particularly for benefits, share plan questions, and ex-pat queries.

Chatbots can also provide insights for practitioners to help them in their work, but they will not disintermediate the industry any time soon. Rather, they can be a welcome change and a tool for instilling change in the reward profession. Chatbots can also help to shift the focus of reward practitioners to value-added design and delivery activities, where humans excel. While there is some resistance to using chatbots in academia and the workplace, I believe they can bring a much-needed bolt of energy to the rewards and employee benefits domain and encourage practitioners to think differently.