Create value for clients and society with a people-first approach

—— How does EY Japan value the importance of people?

Ouchida: As a professional services firm, EY Japan provides clients with intangible services that are fundamentally people-driven. The challenges facing clients are changing rapidly due to social conditions and other factors. To thrive in a creative setting where one needs to quickly respond to these changes and create new solutions, each of us needs to demonstrate excellent professional abilities as well as human excellence. In this context, words cannot adequately express the importance placed on people at EY. In the firm, each person always considers the other’s needs, and builds a relationship of mutual respect and trust.

I believe that EY’s distinctive strength lies in the fact that there is an underlying spirit of supporting others and a professional culture that allows people to work with peace of mind.

—— What is EY Japan’s approach to talent management?

Ouchida: We manage talent based on a people-first value cycle. By increasing the value of our people, we raise the value of our clients and ultimately the value of society. As a result, the value of EY itself increases and naturally attracts talented people. It is our mission as EY Japan to ensure that this cycle continues with an emphasis on our people.

The cycle is driven by the special experience that our people gain through their work. We offer a variety of services, enabling our people to engage with a wide range of clients, where they may serve a large global company or gain experience of a niche or public sector. Each one of our people is given a responsible role, a unique experience accessible only at EY, so their knowledge and experience will be an asset. This is a key pillar of our talent development. To create opportunities for our people to gain experience, we consider what kind of work and assignment are a good match for them through on-the-job training (OJT). We pay attention to the combination of work/assignments and feedback from them.

—— What is the focus for talent management?

Ouchida: We are currently promoting a Transformative Leadership model, in which our people lead themselves while responding properly to the drastically changing social environment. The model advocates the idea that individuals should first exercise leadership to activate My purpose which they have created themselves, instead of a conventional top-down approach. In particular, I get the impression that many people in their early 30s or younger, commonly known as Generation Z, believe that My purpose is highly important and think deeply about social contribution and the meaning of life.

First, clarify your own purpose, and then align it with EY’s purpose. If you find your calling in a role, it will lead to delivering proactive service where you try to identify issues facing clients before being asked. You may also discover greater meaning to your own life. We are also rolling out EY Flex & Remote, a distinctive work style for the post COVID-19 era. Recently, we have seen a surge in our engagement index. We believe that we have been able to meet each person’s wish to work comfortably, and it has translated into figures showing a positive impact which exceeds expectations. While remote working comes with its own challenges such as training and care for mental health, the EY Flex & Remote program is in place to respond flexibly.

Last but not least, well-being is essential. Going beyond maintaining a minimum level of health and safety, how can we achieve happiness from work itself? This is our focus. As an example, we are already engaged in activities such as exchanging opinions with external parties to gain their knowledge, and involving the younger generation to make proposals from the bottom up. Through these activities, we will strive to increase people value by leveraging better wellbeing.

Umeda: Diversity is like inviting all sorts of people to a party. You cannot fully enjoy a party as a wallflower, who only watches other people on the dance floor. You also want to dance. Inclusiveness is where people can reach out to each other and enjoy dancing in their own way, regardless of disabilities, nationality, or gender. A woman can dance with a woman, and a man can dance with a man.

We have employee communities such as WindS, a network for all women working at EY Japan; and Unity, a network for LGBT+ people and their allies at EY. This is a testimony to how EY staff can take the initiative and invite each other to enjoy “the dancing”. This is one of our strengths. In addition, we have been organizing DE&I corporate responsibility programs for many years. We have the Women Athletes Business Network (WABN), a program to support professional women athletes in a transition to a second career in business; and EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women (EWW), a program designed to support women entrepreneurs, to name just a few.

My role is to clarify the meaning and purpose of the existing systems and programs that respect diversity, maximize their impact, and make them more accessible to more people. The themes related to DE&I are also changing as society changes. Equity is one example, but we are going to launch initiatives in new areas not only inside the firm but also in collaboration with external communities, to create more opportunities and venues for EY to demonstrate leadership in the field of DE&I.

We determine the capacity of each of our people appropriately and give them the environment in which they can give their best performance, because we are an organization where each individual can lead and act independently on matters in the first person. We don’t want to forget people in managerial positions who support their teams. They need supporting as well, and we are going to strengthen our efforts in that area. Going forward, and speaking personally, I also want to keep growing as a professional. I would like to live out the Better Me/Better Us* and fulfill the purpose of Building a better working world.