Aventiv D.E.I. Report: 2020/2021

Inaugural DEI Report:

Introduction: Our Commitments

In 2020, Aventiv Technologies committed to a transformational agenda — to scrutinize our business practices, find new ways to keep families connected, and bring down the costs of our communications products. At the same time, we embarked on a process to define diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) priorities. We believe in inclusivity where all voices are heard and valued; and where different perspectives and backgrounds are treasured. In short, we believe DEI yields better experiences for our people, and better outcomes for customers and consumers.

We’re excited about the transformative change we’ve been driving, beginning with attracting people from across the U.S. with diverse perspectives, experiences, and cultures. We’ve been using our momentum to build energy around a culture of inclusivity. We also know our commitments deserve transparency — which is why we’re publishing this first-ever DEI report outlining Aventiv’s progress and successes along with future opportunities on this important journey.

A letter from CEO Dave Abel A letter from DEI Leader Monica Miller

While living in South Africa, I learned about the Zulu tribal greeting “Sawubona.” It means literally “I see you” — but more deeply it’s a sign of respect and value. It’s a way to acknowledge that another person is truly visible to you in all their nuance and that you accept them as they are with all of their virtues and flaws. I’m committed to these principles.

For me it’s a good reminder as we focus on Aventiv’s transformation — at the core of our company we want to see and empower all our colleagues, customers, consumers, and other partners. To see them all.

DEI is foundational to our business and our culture — it’s reflected in our mission, vision, and values. You’ll feel that when you interact with us. And hopefully you’ll see it with this report of our progress.

I am proud of the early successes in our journey to a stronger culture steeped in our values and DEI principles. We are committed to continuing this important endeavor for lasting change.

Aventiv is committed to all stakeholders — our associates, customers, consumers, and shareholders.

Since accepting this role as Aventiv’s first DEI leader, I’ve been supported, encouraged to think big, and set major goals to help drive Aventiv’s transformation. One of those goals was creating this report to show our progress across core DEI initiatives, and where we have opportunity to invest towards more in the future.

Change is never easy. Our achievements are evident as we approach our goals with consistency and accountability. I’m proud of our transparency and invite you to learn more about the Aventiv journey.

DEI Leader

Dave Abel

Monica Miller Aventiv CEO

Transformation starts at the top, and comes from within.

Our Journey

Transformation comes from within. In 2020, our leadership started this process by learning from associates and their lived experiences. We evaluated all the policies, programs, and practices that impact our people to help eliminate bias and build inclusivity. It was through this assessment that we laid the foundation for our DEI Framework — which produced a DEI mission and strategy, supported by five pillars.

— Cindy Pechal, Chief Human Resources Officer, Aventiv

The Mission

We will foster an inclusive culture where every person is encouraged to reach their full potential and individual differences are valued and respected.

Our Goal Build an inclusive, high-performing culture with sustainable increased diversity representation.

Aventiv’s tactical plan for DEI is focused on three specific areas:

Internal Culture

ƒ Inform and educate

ƒ Increase diverse representation

ƒ Empower courageous engagement

ƒ Create better opportunities for promotion

External Suppliers

ƒ Extend opportunities for under-represented populations, women, and disabled veteran suppliers

ƒ Establish new procurement priorities

Local Community

ƒ Expand volunteer and mentoring opportunities

ƒ Invest strategically via a corporate giving strategy

Our Accomplishments

With a framework, defined actions were developed to ensure transparency and clear progress. Key highlights of our DEI accomplishments in 2020 and 2021:

ƒ Hired first DEI Leader, Monica Miller

ƒ Established first talent dashboard to increase leadership visibility

ƒ Launched Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for women, veterans, LGBTQ+

ƒ Organized first Pride Month celebration

ƒ Launched new approach to Talent Acquisition

ƒ Standardized compensation & promotion process with transparency

ƒ Created roles for a Diversity Campus Specialist and Learning & Development Specialist

ƒ Launched NewLens Leadership Development Program

ƒ Added a floating holiday to recognize religious observances

ƒ Added a new policy which provided up to four hours paid time off to vote

ƒ Created new inclusive benefits, including paid parental leave for adoptions and domestic partner eligibility for health benefits

ƒ Hired first Supplier Diversity Manager, Mershelle Davis (a retired Army Captain)

ƒ Launched DEI Advisory Council

ƒ Launched first diversity campaign giving associates a way to voluntarily disclose demographic information, allowing us to better understand our diverse workforce and inform our DEI strategy

“The NewLens coaching program was a tremendous value for me to build my strengths through engaging, relevant, and easily digestible content. Each lesson taught specific skills, encouraged reflection, and focused on taking action. More importantly, this program is empowering Aventiv employees to enhance their current performance and productivity while developing critical leadership skills that can prepare them for career advancement.”

— Dina Ray, Lead Product Manager, NewLens Leadership Development

Our Recruiting

Recruiting is a key component of Aventiv’s DEI strategy. After reviewing our policies, we built a talent attraction model to create more diverse pipelines.

Aventiv addressed two key areas in recruiting and compensation to drive our mission:

ƒ Implemented a merit process which offered pay for performance and analysis with review of any disparate impact in 2021

ƒ Standardized the company’s entire job ladder architecture with salary band compensation

“Increasing representation across all levels of Aventiv continues to be a high priority for us. While there is still progress to be made with the hiring and purposeful retention of female and under-represented populations, we recognize that to perform at our best, it’s critical for us to have employees with these diverse lived experiences that can better help us transform the lives of the communities we serve.”

— Monica Miller, Senior Director DEI, Aventiv

“Aventiv has made a coordinated effort to drive equity by addressing potential bias in policies and hiring practices, to create a more inclusive culture with opportunities to strengthen a diversified workforce.”

— Cindy Pechal, Chief Human Resources Officer, Aventiv

Fair Chance Hiring

Aventiv embarked on its commitment to become a Fair Chance employer by taking the following steps:

ƒ Banning the box: Consideration of criminal history is excluded from the candidacy process, and we have eliminated questions regarding criminal records and convictions from our application forms.

ƒ Fair wages: Equal employment deserves equal pay. Aventiv pays a fair wage for work performed, and will not decrease or distinguish wages due to incarceration status.

ƒ Investment and innovation: All individuals are worthy of investment and innovation, including the opportunity to attain education credentials, acquire skills needed for long-term employment, and build relevant work experience.

ƒ Opening a stronger talent pipeline through new partnerships.

Aventiv embarked on partnerships with two organizations that aligned with our priorities:

Aventiv outsourced recruiting to Korn Ferry in an effort to widen its talent funnel. That resulted in a candidate pool with increased access to under- represented populations and expanded our slates of diverse qualified candidates.

Aventiv welcomed the opportunity to partner with Televerde to provide inbound call center services. Our partnership provides top pay and job opportunities for currently incarcerated women. The program launched with 45 women and tripled in size to 120 by the end of 2021.

Our Workforce

With our commitments to transformation, Aventiv made diversifying our talent pool a priority. Through our new strategies, we have made progress focusing on our own talent by encouraging openness and diversity.

Importantly, Aventiv has pledged to increase diversity more year over year, especially in promotions.

Gender at Aventiv

42.1% WOMEN IN THE

increased 1.5%

28% INCREASE were women, up 30% from 2020

52% OF PROMOTIONS

of women at the executive level

Percentage of Racial/Ethnic Groups in Workforce

of 2021 hires were from underrepresented populations, which aligns with the national average

5.4% INCREASE

35% in hiring from under-represented populations versus 2020

Total Workforce Executive Senior Leaders Managers Non-Managers

Diverse employee promotions up 24% over 2020

2021 Race/Ethnicity Representation of Aventiv Workforce

18.8% Black

10% Hispanic

9.2% Asian

3.1% 2 or more races

Our Culture

In 2020 Aventiv began to survey associates on a quarterly basis to get a sense of how they felt about their work, the company, and what they value to understand opportunities to improve our culture. With the support of global research firm Gallup, these quarterly “pulse surveys” set a benchmark to measure employee engagement that guides our DEI efforts and enhancements to programs and benefits, while also gaining employees’ honest insights into their satisfaction at work. The survey’s aim was to assess three key areas:

Employees’

Employees’

Employees’

comfort being themselves in the workplace

perceptions of fairness and equity in the workplace

perceptions of how Aventiv values diversity of thought in the workplace

After measuring our progress, there were some notable findings that stood out to us:

Survey Comments from Aventiv’s Employees:

“I like the new wind blowing through the company. It gives me hope and offers a perspective for a future I’d like to be part of.”

Overall satisfaction Can be themselves Fairness & equality Diversity of thought Teamwork between departments

ƒ Overall satisfaction increased .12 points, from 3.83 to 3.95

ƒ Can be themselves at work increased .10 points, from 4.06 to 4.16

ƒ Fairness & equality increased .14 points from 4.07 to 4.21

ƒ Diversity of thought increased .10 points from 3.81 to 3.91

ƒ Teamwork between departments increased .22 points from 3.12 to 3.34

“This company is very caring. The best thing about working here is the flexibility for different personal lifestyles as well as the peers and diversity.”

“Management does a great job of allowing us time to work and assigns meetings at times that are easily accessible, especially given that so many of us work remotely.”

Our Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups (ERG) had never existed before at Aventiv, so launching them was a major priority. We started three ERGs in 2021 and plan on making future progress by growing these and adding new ones as well. The goal is to keep promoting them and engaging our community to interact with them so our associates can feel inspired and motivated.

ƒ

Women in Technology (WiT)

ƒ

Aventiv PRIDE

ƒ

Aventiv Veterans in Action (AViA)

“Many of our events have brought tears to my eyes and have touched my heart. Hearing from previously incarcerated women working at Televerde and Microsoft shows the determination and true grit it takes to keep pushing boundaries and paving the way for others to make a real difference in the world. ”

—

Melanie Sankaran, Aventiv Chief Information Officer and WiT (Women in Technology) executive sponsor

The Road Ahead

Our framework for change remains strong, and we look towards the future with a sense of urgency and optimism. The accomplishments so far are truly just the start of our journey, one that will continue to expand and grow each year.

For 2022 and 2023, Aventiv’s DEI roadmap prioritizes transformational goals for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce with the following planned actions:

ƒ Launch a DEI training series on building inclusion in the workplace

ƒ Build a University Relations program centered on a diverse talent pool

ƒ Grow Fair Chance hires from 6% in 2021 to 10% in 2022

ƒ Enhance focus on supplier diversity opportunities

ƒ Form new ERGs and strengthen participation in all ERGs

— Monica Miller, Senior Director DEI, Aventiv

“Your engagement with this report means a great deal to the Aventiv family. We all see this transformation as a journey — and one that will never end. Even though we are moving forward and making progress, we know we can continue to improve and do better in the future. Our commitment to accountability will now be embedded in these efforts — and you can expect a second DEI report reflecting on all our 2022 progress.”