A consultancy firm with a heart

Why EY is the place to be to feel empowered to flourish.

From ninth to third place in four years. EY’s sharp rise in the Belgian Great Place to Work ranking is clearly visible. ‘I think there are a number of reasons for this’, says HR Director Wim De Wit. ‘Consultancy firms, and certainly the Big Four, are known to be part of a fascinating and dynamic world where you can learn an awful lot very quickly, expand your network and gain interesting job experience. That is certainly true. But as an organization, you only make a real difference if you can offer an authentic and unique life experience where the focus is on people and sustainability. EY aims to create a total framework where people can flourish and develop to become the best versions of themselves.’

EY Tax & Talent Leader Steven Claes gives a few examples related to sustainability. ‘We try to incorporate this aspect into everything we do’, he says. ‘From reducing sugary soft drinks in our canteens to limiting plastic as much as possible and off course our green company car policy. We still offer a car, but those who wish can switch to a train subscription, an e-bike, in combination with a car or not, without any hassle and without this incurring any additional cost for the staff member.’

‘In regards to our car fleet, we are focusing on electrification. EY gives priority to sustainability and safety’, says Wim De Wit. ‘For instance, we give our newcomers a fully equipped, hybrid VW Golf with a CO₂ emission of just 21 g/km. EY even goes a step further. We pay for all the charging infrastructure at the employee’s home.’

A la carte

Internal training courses are a second important focus of attention at EY, Steven Claes explains. ‘Most of our staff are already highly educated, but at EY you never stop learning and developing. So, we pay a great deal of attention to this aspect and we want our people to take the initiative themselves in this area as much as possible, with an à la carte range. The courses can also be very varied. Just because you specialize in taxation does not mean that you can only take proficiency courses in taxation. You can also take a course, say, in artificial intelligence.’

Like many other companies, EY also focuses firmly on issues such as stress management, preventing burnout, a bearable workload and mental resilience. The firm thus counters the image that you must be a total workaholic to make it in the consultancy world. ‘That is certainly a concern and something that we sound our employees about on a regular basis’, says Wim De Wit. ‘People take center stage in everything we do. We are not just constructing a new state-of-the-art office building; above all we are aiming to make sure people are happy. Your work is certainly important for us, but we attach just as much importance to maintaining your mental balance. This is a focus of attention for our managers, too. For instance, we invest heavily in training courses on people skills and how to manage a team, including from a distance. And that really does make a difference.’

People business

‘The attention paid to a human approach is expressed, for instance, in our teleworking policy as well’, say Steven Claes. ‘These days, people want a good work-life balance - and rightly so. We are happy to facilitate that. After all, consultancy is a real people business. We don’t have any factories or machines. Our most important assets are our people. That means, among other things, that at EY on average you work at the office or with a client three days a week, and you work at home two days a week. But in consultation with your team leader, you can perfectly well deviate from this, in either direction. We aim to keep things flexible. And instead of setting everything down in rules and regulations, we rely on mutual consultation and trust.’

No tricks

There are a lot of companies nowadays that place values such as humanity and sustainability at the center of their HR policy. So how can EY stand out to such extent that it can win a trophy as a Great Place to Work? ‘I think the key word here is “authenticity”’, says Wim De Wit. ‘It’s not a trick. This is not window dressing. We really believe in it. We like to describe our culture as “Building a Better Working World”. And that says it all. That’s why our performance in the Great Place to Work ranking is so rewarding. After all, it is based on surveys among our own people, which means that they notice and appreciate these efforts. Is the outside world sufficiently aware of that? No, definitely not. We draw far too little attention to it (laughs). Have we already achieved the final goal? No, we haven’t. This is a serious cultural about-turn, and it will take time to mature. But the direction we have taken is very clear and we will continue to follow this path.’