Life at EY

Heather, Advisory

I joined EY four years ago, obviously a huge company. As I came in as a disabled person – I have a physical disability, I have problems with my stamina and strength, I have fatigue problems – I wondered what it was going to be like. Obviously, with the Disability Discrimination Act, you're going to get the support you need, and I've had that at all my other companies, but, to be honest, at EY it was so much more effortless. I'd had to do so much less to get the same kind of support, so I haven't had to fight to get what I should be entitled to. Everything I needed has been provided, without question. Some of the things I've had… I've got a lightweight laptop so I don't have to carry such a heavy bag if I want to work out of the office. I do actually work from home one day a week as well, so it's lovely to be able to get that flexibility which not all employers, I think, would give. It's just made my working life so much easier.

I'm part of the Disability Working Group. The main focus of the Disability Working Group is on education. We've run a series of events throughout the year and had quite a few events, recently, on both hearing impairments and stammering. The whole point of the education group is to help people be more aware of their colleagues and responsibilities within EY, but also to know what support is available, and what can be given as well.

We've had all sorts of events. We also get an acting group in to do some wonderful events and bring things to life. We've got some actual groups that are formed from that, and one of them is the dyslexia group as well. So, it's now a little network that meets and supports each other.

A couple of years ago, I found out I was dyslexic. I was having some trouble with my exams and some of the work that I was doing in EY, work that I wasn't doing in prior companies because it's a very, very different type of work. Suddenly, I came across a few issues. No matter how much extra time I spent on it, I couldn't work around it, so time wasn't going to be of help to me. EY supported me through the whole assessment process, and then provided me with some software that's really useful. But also, I think, even more helpful has been providing me with the opportunity to meet with a mentor who's been providing me with training and support. So, I understand dyslexia.

Barry, Assurance

I've got haemophilia. Always had it, of course. I was born with it and I guess, whilst I was going through school and the treatment for haemophilia was developing, I had to work pretty hard to stay on track with my studies. With my parents' help, I was determined to do that and it, I guess, made me quite a determined individual.

I was also born with a faulty heart valve, so in 2004 I had a valve replacement in the heart as well. The way the partners gathered around and clients were supportive and the colleagues on teams worked around me, that was a real affirming experience – if you like – coming back from that, even though it was quite stressful, throwing yourself back into work after several months. We all worked round that, the technology, being "skyped" up and interneted up and all the rest of it worked a treat. So, I got through that and I guess experiences like that, whilst they're not fun, show you the power of being colleagues and the support that you get is great. It got it down from, you know, professional role to human being, which I found really rewarding looking back.

Frank, Advisory

Internally we have various communities: so we have networks within EY, whether it's working people's network, the South East Asian network, the black network – we have lots of communities which bring people together, but unite them in terms of the values of the organisation rather than looking for splinter groups who go off and do their own thing. So internally, we have our own networks and communities which are there to support people. Externally, what does that look like?  It means that when we go out to the communities and support local causes or even local schools, local events, communities or whatever, we are able to do that and talk to them about diversity, the networks we have within the firm; and also the firm is very generous in that it allows all of its employees so many days a year to go out and support the community.

Lakshmi, Transactions

Our client definitely comes first. But at the same time we are a people business, ultimately, and the firm recognises talent, recognises people and recognises the importance of holding on to very good people.

Ernst & Young is one of the pioneers of diversity and inclusiveness. It's not something that we did as a slogan, but it's something that drives at the root of where the leadership see and believe and operate and instil as a culture. I happen to be a part of the Black and Minority Ethnic initiative and it's something that has been championed by the leadership team the managing director of the UK business chairs it and is passionate about it. He really tries to understand what I've been doing about trying to actually encourage people from such backgrounds.

For me, I benefit a lot from it, it's effectively a programme that has allowed me to try and actually have the opportunity of talking to the leadership team within Ernst & Young and understand where they are trying to go, what difference I can make and how my personal background and how my personal beliefs and value systems can actually help the leadership team in the direction in which Ernst & Young is going to.

Natalie, IT

I think Ernst & Young absolutely delivers on treating diverse people as who they are, and I think that's evident especially in the strength of our networks, our diversity and inclusiveness networks.  A lot of them have just grown up from the grassroots.

I'm involved in the Lesbian and Gay network, Eagles, and it wasn't as if Ernst & Young said: 'form a network' you know, 'find a way to be inclusive and diverse' – it was like-minded people getting together to create business networking opportunities and also to connect with clients on the diversity agenda as well.  So diversity and inclusiveness at Ernst & Young are very real and powerful, and definitely not just lip-service.

The commercial side – I mean, we are here to do business, frankly. And the networks are, it's true they are fun, and they are great socially, but the real point of them is creating relationships and building teams, because it helps us meet each other and build teams internally. But also recently we reached 100 members, and so we had a big 100-member event, a big celebration of that number of people, and more than half of the people that we invited were clients.  So this is simply another way to connect with clients, to build relationships with them and to do business.

Hamish, Advisory

The people I work with come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. The thing that unites them is intelligence. Diversity and inclusion are always on the agenda. Our clients can be anywhere in the world, and our teams reflect that.

It doesn't really matter who you are, whether you're an industry specialist or you work for another professional services firm, or you're coming from another whole different industry. I think one of the things that makes EY great is diversity and bringing people in from different backgrounds. Within Supply Chain Operations we have a huge, very successful health team, and the other part of Supply Chain Operations doesn't do much in health at all so bringing those two areas together enables us from a non-health background to learn from some of the optimisation and efficiency techniques that are used across the NHS and across hospitals. Similarly the health professionals learn from some of our more commercial or more procurement or more supply chain optimisation techniques there; so in diversity I think we really become stronger, so I don't think there are any prerequisites in terms of coming to talk to us, at all

Shirley, Recruitment

I think the important thing for Ernst & Young is to get people from a very interesting mix of backgrounds, because if we just recruit people who have only ever been in accountancy firms or partnerships, we're only going to get more of the same, and we need people to bring their experience to the firm. We need you to come with your experience of a completely different background to me, such that we can have a kind of enriched future. All experience is good experience, be it work or be it life, and that is what makes our individuals different. Our business, as anybody else's business, is a relationship business, and we need people who are completely at ease talking to all our different kinds of clients so that we can build up our working relationships with them in the future.

Stephen, Tax

Whenever I tell people I meet I work for Ernst & Young, they automatically think I'm an accountant, but I'm not an accountant. I've never done any accountancy exams. When I first joined 14 years ago nearly, I was told, if someone asks you a question – a client – you can be fairly comfortable that you can say, yes someone can answer it and you'll find them within, and that has been true 100 per cent of the time. Whenever anyone has asked me anything, not just tax, anything business related, there's always someone here who can answer it, and that is because we take people from diverse backgrounds and different range of experiences, and specifically target different sectors.

I've been here for 14 years, which I think is quite unusual for a lot of professional services firms, so I've come in at the bottom. I'm now heading up a team of people – Executive Director. We've got people with different skill sets so half the team are similar to me. They were chartered surveyors, originally in the construction industry. The other people have come up through our graduate scheme, done their accountancy exams or their tax exams. So, it's quite a blend of skills, and we're constantly teaching each other different things. We have round-table meetings where people talk about what experience they want, or some other experience they need, what they're not happy with, and then we just flip everybody around, so put them in different directions. Or some people will only work in one sector, so they become a sector specialist, and then somebody else will say, "well I want to work in that sector", so we just move them around. We just try and match their experience to what they want.

Whenever I recruit people, I'm almost looking for personalities rather than technical excellence. It's almost, how will they fit; how will the personalities work with a small team. I think as long as you can keep the team happy, then they'll stay. I always say to them, if there's any issues, just let me know what they are, and I'll see if I can sort them out. I think that's why we've managed to keep the team happy and we've had good retention as well.

Sayeh, Advisory

I would say that we really believe in diversity, and not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because actually it makes us better at what we do, so the more people that we have from a diverse range of backgrounds the better it will be for us and for our clients, because the more we can challenge each other and come up with better ideas and deliver a much better solution.

So I would say, you know, it doesn't matter what background you're from; you can definitely have a career in EY. I mean, we've got people who – I studied aeronautical engineering, there are not a lot of aeronautical engineers in this firm – but I work with colleagues who studied music. I mean, that's quite a big range, so absolutely, I think if you are passionate and you are driven and you want to deliver great work for clients and you are curious, you like solving problems, then this is the place for you, irrespective of your background.

Timi, Business Development

I've worked in another Big Four firm and a number of other law firms. I think it is diverse. I think there is a way to go with that. You know, in certain areas there is more that we could be doing. But I had a meeting this morning with somebody from Scotland, a Glaswegian, an American, and myself. None of us were English, actually, in an English firm, essentially. And most firms that you work with in the City are English. Everybody is from England, which is not a bad thing, but when we talk diversity, it is diverse here.

I remember the week that we had Comic Relief. And we had all our senior partners sitting, you know, standing outside the MLP, More London Place offices doors with their trays and things, and all dressed in fancy dress and trying to get us to donate some money.  And we had cake sales and people abseiling down things, and I just thought, God, you know, to have a firm this big – have the leadership be so visible about this charity – was very good.  And we've got the parents' network, and we've got the women's network, and we've got the black network, we've got all sorts of networks; and I think this idea that you're not just a number – you come in, we give you a number, do your work, go home – but you're an individual, and we want you to succeed here, we want you to have a good time.  We want you to have full expression of who you are –  I've had it more in this firm than anywhere else I've worked.  They've got a session for the parents' network tomorrow or some time this week to talk about getting your kids to eat different things, and I've got a seven-year-old who will only eat chips, chicken nuggets and naan bread.  So I'm quite interested in going to that.  But you know, to have a firm this big hold a session on that, knowing that parents are concerned about what their kids eat, I think is a very good thing.

My work has been quite intense, so I've been working quite long hours; but we run a mature working environment, so I think if I needed to take some time off or work from home, I don't think anybody is going to get difficult about it.  I met a partner the other day who works three days a week.  I've never known that, actually.  So you see instances of that, and you know that… I just actually can't see an environment where I'd say, you know, I have to go home because my son is ill, or they've called me from his school, and anybody would be difficult about that.

Anita, Tax

Whatever area you come from, whether it's in industry or in a small accounting firm, there is always a place where you can make your mark within Ernst & Young.  Certainly within my team there are people from all sorts of backgrounds, because we want the people who have worked in a real-life business. Who can say that if I make a recommendation to help a head of tax improve their tax function, they can say to me, no, that doesn't work in real-life? So to have the people with real-life industry experience is invaluable, and similarly if someone is in a small firm and is concerned about the move to a global group, the supportive network you get here means that doesn't need to be a big concern.

Obaid, Assurance

I think everybody knows this, but Ernst & Young is people. It's people, people, people – that's all we are! That's all we talk about, and that's what gets us wherever we need to get to. I think moving to Edinburgh – the reason to move to Edinburgh was people: because I'd worked in three different offices before I arrived in Edinburgh, and the warmth and the acceptability and the compatibility I got there, I couldn't find anywhere else, which was, besides the lifestyle of the city, it was the people in the office who convinced my heart to stay where I am just now.

There are very, very clear structured chances of progression for anybody who has the drive to do it, and at the same time there is a lot of acceptability for whoever you are, wherever you are from, so those would be the two main reasons I would recommend somebody to join Ernst & Young.