Measurable goals and public accountability lead to diverse leadership
Leadership at professional services firm KPMG resides in the pool of 425-450 partners who are both the public face of the firm and also its top earners. Michael Bach, its national director of diversity and inclusion, explains how history is their biggest obstacle to ensuring that this leadership reflects the overall firm. Traditionally male and Caucasian dominated, he says, “we’ve had to play catch up.”
With 90 per cent of partners rising up from the ranks of the firm, catching up was not just a simple matter of applying targeted recruitment strategies. The transformation needed to occur from within and this process took time. “We had to orchestrate a change in the internal candidate pool and this is not an easy fix,” he says.
Diversity among the firm’s rank and file comes close to mirroring the wider population with visible minorities comprising 24% at the national level and 40% in Toronto, so access to diverse candidates was not a factor. “It was a matter of making sure that everyone in the firm had equal opportunity and that people were not being overlooked because of language or other barriers,” says Bach.
KPMG started with establishing measurable goals and made themselves publicly accountable for them by posting to their website and other venues. They are committed to partnership reflecting 10% visible minorities by 2012 and will achieve this through training and development so that “everyone in the firm has the opportunity to shine.”
Rather than asking business units for a shortlist of recommended partners, they assess the full cadre of senior management and ask the question “why not?” This question will often surface developmental opportunities that the firm can then put into action by grooming someone through assigning a coach or a high profile client.
While still early days, positive results are already surfacing. In 2008 40% of new partners were women or visible minorities.
KPMG is a partner in DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project.
