Can integrating refugees help businesses grow?

As part of its commitment to building a better working world, the EY Germany refugee support team is leading the corporate response to one of the biggest migrations Europe has seen since World War ll — more than a million arriving from Africa and the Middle East.

Employment is a crucial step in integrating into a new country, helping migrants build support networks and earn livelihoods. Hiring people from different backgrounds, such as refugees, is not only good for society it’s good for business and the whole economy. Yet many refugees are unable to work, and so unable to take those first steps toward getting to know the language and culture of their new home.

“We knew that we were the right company to help in this situation because we had the network, and we are experts at managing complex situations,” said Jung.

EY has been working with the Charta der Vielfalt (Diversity Charter), a corporate initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions that involves more than 60 German companies — a third of which are among the largest in the country — and under the patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The initiative involves reaching more refugees, sharing leading practices and adjusting internship programs.

An EY survey in Germany found that the biggest obstacle for hiring refugees was a lack of language skills. While work can help with language, it is not always the best way to make the personal connections that lead to real cultural integration.

To remedy this, EY Germany staff have joined a volunteer program called EY Cares, which provides funding for a language learning app that EY employees were involved in developing. EY has also supported Kiron, a social start-up providing higher education (and free basketball tickets) to refugees.

Through the development of its German refugee program, EY faced, in miniature, many of the same challenges of running a diversity initiative on a global scale. Many companies still struggle to find candidates from diverse backgrounds — and the same was true for EY’s program when it came to finding women refugees to take part.

According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of asylum seekers in Europe, Norway and Switzerland in 2015 were male. Consequently, women can feel even more isolated in their new countries. When EY noticed that few women refugees were applying for the initiative, it made a concerted attempt to find and encourage more women to apply to the apprenticeship scheme.

The growing need for sustainable diversity

People from different backgrounds produce a vast range of ideas and approaches that are key to innovation, and diverse teams can anticipate disruption, as they see the world from a range of different perspectives.

“Today it is less about finding people with the exact skills and experience match because our businesses are facing constant change,” says Mike Bertolino, Global Leader for EY’s People Advisory Services. “We would argue that is it far more important to select people who are creative problem-solvers and have demonstrated an ability to be resilient and adaptable.

“We need to rethink the traditional talent pool sources,” he says. “Individuals who have prevailed and overcome the challenges of a disadvantaged background, and bring the commitment to learn, earn their credentials and gain active work experience, will surely be able to add a lot of value.”

People from less advantaged backgrounds have often acquired some of this resilience and adaptability. That the refugees on EY’s apprenticeship scheme had managed to flee horrific warzones and cross vast distances in difficult conditions to make it to Germany, meant they had already overcome far greater obstacles than anyone would encounter in the workplace.

The refugee crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. It is hoped that the Diversity Charter will be extended to other countries to help the global response. EY Germany has discussed the project with both the European Union and a US cabinet member.

“We need to rethink the traditional talent pool sources,” he says. “Individuals who have prevailed and overcome the challenges of a disadvantaged background, and bring the commitment to learn, earn their credentials and gain active work experience, will surely be able to add a lot of value.”

People from less advantaged backgrounds have often acquired some of this resilience and adaptability. That the refugees on EY’s apprenticeship scheme had managed to flee horrific warzones and cross vast distances in difficult conditions to make it to Germany, meant they had already overcome far greater obstacles than anyone would encounter in the workplace.

The refugee crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. It is hoped that the Diversity Charter will be extended to other countries to help the global response. EY Germany has discussed the project with both the European Union and a US cabinet member.

If you want to find out more about the work EY’s German Diversity Charter refugee support team has been doing, please contact Doreen Salinger, Manager, Advisory Services.