AUTUMN 2019 | OUR CULTURE STORY 25
BE YOURSELF CHAPTER ELEVEN
In an all-employee survey, we asked people to summarise why they thought the BDO culture was special, and so many people replied: “because you can be yourself.” According to Harvard Business Review, 61% of the global workforce ‘cover up’ some part of their identity. If we were to transpose that to BDO, that’s 3,050 people potentially spending effort in pretending to be ‘someone else’ rather than giving 100% of their true selves in solving clients’ problems or coming up with new ideas to win pitches or think differently. Our experience shows that creating a firm where our people can be themselves leads to enhanced success, increases profitability, diverse decision-making and – quite simply – makes life more enjoyable. And if you combine it with our Wellbeing priority, they are able to bring their best selves to work each day. Our strategy, therefore, specifically includes fostering a Unifying Culture where you are encouraged to be yourself. We value you as an individual and want you to realise your aspirations and potential. We know that if you bring your ‘full self’ to work, you are far more likely to be successful. You have a voice and your opinion counts. We recognise the responsibility we have to all our people – and to our clients – to build and promote an inclusive and diverse culture. At BDO, ‘Be Yourself’ is the positive mindset we want to encourage. It incorporates the existing Diversity & Inclusion agenda and helps us to articulate our diversity policy, but also allows us to have a line-of-sight on both our behaviours and our destination – not just the important steps we need to take on the journey. We recognise diversity as the best utilisation of talent and a significant strategic priority, and we aim for inclusion to be embedded into everyday practice. “Be Yourself: everyone else is already taken.” It was true toOscarWilde and it’s true to us.
OUR ‘BE YOURSELF’ STRATEGY It’s clear to us that, if we aspire to build a culture where everyone can be themselves, we need to ensure that people feel they belong and are included at every point of their career at BDO. Our strategy allows us to check that at four levels: X X Leadership: Leaders who are open-minded, listen to your voice and understand what will help you succeed. X X Culture: Creating a unifying and inclusive environment where you feel valued and respected; connected to the firm and each other. X X Selection: Impartial selection processes that actively appeal to quality candidates; broadening the firm’s horizons and adding to our diversity of thinking. X X Development: Access to opportunities that are inclusive, fair and open to all; supporting you in achieving your potential.
chapter eleven
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