Apr. 2020 | News | CSR

At the moment, when the whole world is in the grip of a health crisis expected to have numerous follow-on effects for the economy, Experian is focused on taking care of clients and customers – and our communities. 

Experian NL: A company culture of community support 

Reaching out to directly help the community is a strong part of the company culture at Experian in The Hague. “Often we receive requests from our employees, who have a specific charity or other initiative that can use our help,” says Veronica Flyckt, Head of Analytics and Site Manager for Experian Netherlands.

That is what happened recently when, motivated by the knowledge that COVID-19 could have immediate impact for many layers of Dutch society, employee requests came to help two different communities of service. One is the Voedselbank (Food Bank) of the Netherlands, which provides essential food for those who are struggling to make ends meet. The other is for the health care workers of Amsterdam University Medical Centre (AUMC): an initiative to create food packages that members of the ICU can pick up at the end of their shift, so there is no need for them to have to shop after a long day of saving lives. Each initiative received €1000 from Experian The Netherlands.

Making life easier for life-saving health care workers

In the case of the UAMC, one of Europe’s most prominent research hospitals, staff were already used to working long hours. COVID-19 exponentially increased the pressure. “Not only has the workload gone up, but the possible exposure to the coronavirus is putting hospital staff and their families at risk,” says Jennifer Crama, Data Protection Officer at Experian The Netherlands. Along with Facilities Manager Jan van Mourik, she delivered a load of food items and other hard-to-find essentials like hand cream to the UAMC.

“We were happy the hospital responded positively to our CSR initiative when we offered it,” says Jennifer. “I had heard from hospital staff that they couldn’t buy lunches or snacks after their shifts – the shelves in grocery stores were empty due to panic buying. To help mitigate this, the UAMC is making goodie bags for their IC staff, which is where our donation has gone. We really want to show our appreciation, giving back to these amazing people in a time when they have trouble getting hold of essentials.”

CSR in action

“Of course a lot of our collective energy as an organisation is going into helping our customers sustain and adapt their businesses during these challenging times,” says Veronica, “but we recognise that at their core, all of our activities are about helping people. This is corporate social responsibility, CSR, in action.”

Business continuity is crucial during COVID. Read about Experian’s 10 Steps for business resilience and continuity in an uncertain world.