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Workplace policy lessons from EY

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25th Mar 2015
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EY is consistently on the receiving end of awards for being a 'great place to work' - most recently, it was ranked the highest accounting firm on the Sunday Times' '25 Best Big Companies to Work for in the UK' list. 

And last year, the firm was selected for the 16th year in a row as number one on Fortune 100's 100 Best Companies to Work For' list. 

AccountingWEB was curious as to why it was receiving so many awards and spoke to EY about what it thought it was doing to make its workplace a good one for its staff. 

Of course, you can't talk about workplace policies nowadays without talking about culture. 

Steve Varley, UK chairman and UK and Ireland managing partner, said he thought the firm had embedded an "inclusive and valued based culture", which is reflected in some of the initiatives it undertakes. He talks about looking after the 13,000 staff EY has and supporting their and their communities' wellbeing - something, he says, the firm stands for in addition to its financial success. 

So, what does EY focus on?

Mental health awareness

Mental health has long been discussed on AccountingWEB as something that is of great importance to the profession. Many of our members have suffered with depression at some point in their lives; indeed the annual CABA survey shows that poor mental health is one of their most sought after areas in terms of help from accountants. It's an area that EY puts a lot of onus on. 

The Big Four firm was recently recognised for helping to improve mental health awareness in the workplace, winning a Mental Health First Aid England Award 2015.

Around 235 employees attended Mental Health First aid training at EY in 2014, as one of the first points of contact for staff facing mental health challenges or seeking advice.

The firm has also formed a mental health buddy scheme to provide an informal support network to anyone affected by a mental health condition and worked with its providers to develop a joined up psychological care pathway.

EY also signed up to eight pledges in the Department of Health’s ‘Public Health Responsibility Deal’ last year.

Be you large, medium or small, there are still things you can do to ensure all involved in your firm maintain good mental health. The first is breaking the stigma. 

Steve Wilkinson, EY’s UK & Ireland managing partner for client service said: “Mental ill health affects one-in-six of the British workforce, yet there is a reluctance to talk about it. We are tackling the stigma of mental health, which is often viewed as the last workplace taboo.

“In the same way that anyone can get a cold or flu, anyone can be affected by a mental health issue. We wanted mental and physical health to hold equal weight in our well-being programme – Health EY.”

Equality in the workplace

Liz Bingham, EY’s managing Partner for talent in the UK and Ireland was recently awarded an OBE for services to equality in the workplace.

She says that companies have a responsibility to help to "stoke the flames of change" by creating the right environment, where difference is celebrated and employees flourish in the comfort of being themselves.

To accelerate change, EY established their Career Watch programme. This chooses 250 high potential women and BME staff to be sponsored by 190 partners.

The firm also has internal networks that help individuals to connect, support each other, and raise awareness about issues they are facing: EY Disability Working Group, EY Black Network, EY Parents Network, and Unity - EY’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allies network.

Celebrating differences and providing equal opportunities when employing are some of the elements you can take from this to employ in your own firm. In addition, maintaining a keen interest in the career development of your staff, from the bottom up, may do more to ensure the right level of equality in your firm.

Flexible working 

The firm’s flexible working programme recently made it to the UK’s top ten of the 2014 Working Families bench mark. Their programme, the firm says, offers employees greater choice over how, when and where they work.

Over the last couple of years EY has undergone a change programme to allow flexible working to happen. 

Lynn Rattigan, EY’s deputy chief operating officer, said the firm has seen that flexible working makes its staff happier, more engaged and in turn has higher levels of client service. 

But she does recognise there is a cultural challenge for many businesses around flexible working and says: "reduced hours don't need to mean less commitment".

"Organisations need to stop noticing work hours, measuring productivity in presenteeism, and instead focus on outputs. This requires a high-trust workplace environment, leadership from the top and individual accountability.”

In fact, there are some smaller practices already harnessing technology to allow its staff to work from anywhere, when they want. This includes Pillow May, who ranked highly in our Practice Excellence Awards last year. 

Working parents

EY runs a maternity coaching scheme for new parents and their line managers in the UK – over 2,300 people have completed the training.

The EY Parents' network (EYPN) says that it aims to retain talented people by offering support to working parents. Note here, also, that EY speaks about 'parents' and does not direct this toward 'mothers'.

In the firm, support is offered to parents returning to the business following a period of paternity or maternity leave, including a buddy scheme. The network sponsors Lunch Time Seminars hosted by an external or internal speaker about issues affecting all parents.

Perhaps there is a lesson here to think about your process when bringing new parents back to work: Considering fathers, in addition to mothers, in terms of parenthood and work-life balance.

Are you an EY past or present employee? Did you find it an enjoyable place to work - why/why not?

Replies (4)

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By alistairthurlow
25th Mar 2015 11:48

Sunday Times List

The reason they appeared on the lists is because they registered and according to Sunday Times only 31 big companies registered in the first place.

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By vstrad
25th Mar 2015 19:36

Fair enough, Alistair...

... but my son-in-law works for EY (on the consultancy side of the business) and certainly finds them a better employer than the other companies he has worked for, including others in the Big Four.

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By alistairthurlow
25th Mar 2015 20:11

I was just annoyed about the misleading
first paragraph. Yes EY are better than other accountants in survey but they came 14th. Better employers were McDonalds and Iceland with the top company being TGI Fridays. Not quite sure what that means though!

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
26th Mar 2015 16:00

.

@alastair I imagine it means they placed a lot of advertising.  

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