«It is like a chain that is only as strong as the weakest link. The success of a group of people depends on each individual member.»
Stefan Pfister, CEO KPMG Schweiz
Interview WITH STEFAN PFISTER
What does the Advance motto «stronger when equal» mean to you personally?
It is like a chain that is only as strong as the weakest link. The success of a group of people depends on each individual member. If one person doesn’t feel as strong as the others it impacts everyone.
I see it as my task to recognize each link for what they bring to the group and support everyone to feel strong. This helps everyone, as they no longer have to take on additional pressure to protect the chain. Because in the end equality is all about what’s shared by the whole.
What advice about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace would you have liked to get as a young leader?
Diversity and inclusion are not something you should only deal with when you become CEO. Diversity and inclusion start when you join a company – as a natural and lived part of a corporate culture.
As a CEO, it is therefore important to promote and maintain this culture through personal interactions. To take the analogy with the chain further here: A chain in which all the links look the same becomes boring over time – and inflexible. A chain with different types of links reacts more successfully to different types of pressure.
«My favorite chore at home is cooking for my wonderful family several times a week.»
What would you tell young people who want to have a career and a family? How should we raise our children to achieve gender equality faster?
For Gen Z, there is no either/or. They want to reconcile both a successful home life and a career. They will demand this flexibility from their employers. It is therefore up to us to learn from this generation in this respect and to create flexible offerings and opportunities with them that can benefit everyone.
The Advance initiative for a gender-equal workplace started ten years ago. What kind of progress would you like to see over the next ten years in terms of gender balance? And what, in your view, is the role leaders need to play on this journey?
Even though progress has already been made in recent years, such as equal pay, I would like to see gender equality considered more comprehensively in the future. Social and demographic changes that are already taking place are having an impact on our social system.
If we want to preserve it for future generations, we can no longer afford to ask men or women to choose between a job and a family. Here, the appropriate incentives must be created by the state and companies so that everyone – both men and women – contribute to the preservation of our social system with their work.
What is your preferred type of housework?
My favorite job is cooking for my wonderful family several times a week. I really enjoy it as I am passionate about cooking.
kpmg haS CHOSEN «all COLOURS» BY PIA HEIM
Partner companies of the exhibition could choose an «Advancine» artwork as part of their sponsorship, which will continue to inspire employees, managers and customers alike after the exhibition at the company headquarters.
Discover the artwork «All Colours», created by Pia Heim!
in conversation with kpmg
HOW IS GENDER DIVERSITY CONNECTED WITH THE BUSINESS SUCCESS OF YOUR COMPANY?
Building a welcoming culture where everyone feels safe and included is at the heart of our inclusion and diversity efforts. We are convinced that diverse and inclusive teams create qualitatively better results, allow for better decision making, drive creativity and innovation, and provide a more motivating environment for our colleagues.
More and more clients now ask for diverse teams including a mix of genders, backgrounds, and perspectives to work on engagements. Finally, a welcoming culture empowers our people to reach their full potential and ultimately drives success.
WHAT ARE YOUR THREE MOST SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES TO BALANCE THE GENDER REPRESENTATION IN MANAGEMENT?
KPMG WoMentoring-Program
The KPMG WoMentoring program matches lower leadership grade mentees with senior leadership mentors from another KPMG function. Although men can apply, most of the approximately 20 mentee places are reserved for women. Mentors can be either male or female. The scheme offers a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. The mentees can engage in open and confidential dialogue while benefiting from their mentor’s experience.
The one-on-one nature of the scheme means the mentees receive customized support and increased visibility. The work done during the sessions creates a solid foundation for preparing and mastering the next steps in a mentees career development. The objective of the WoMentoring program is to increase the retention of female talent and ultimately improve gender diversity in the management group.
I&D Dashboard for Recruiting and Promotion Processes
We developed an Inclusion & Diversity dashboard based on PowerBI to ensure we’re using real-life data for key decision-making processes related to recruiting and promotion. The dashboard has proved successful in detecting unconscious bias in HR processes including rating and promotion discussions.
On the recruiting side the focus on the dashboard lies in knowing the exact female/male share on all levels of each team. It also provides an overview to a hiring manager of the latest joiners to help them create gender balanced teams. The promotion dashboard helps to inform on gender biases in rating and promotion distribution.
Inclusion & Diversity Trainings
Over the last 18 months, our senior leaders including Partners and Directors have taken part in workshop sessions focusing on «Lead the way in Inclusion & Diversity». They came up with best practices and recommendations which were shared with teams across the firm. We also provide Unconscious Bias trainings for interested teams and have an Inclusion & Diversity learning plan available on our online training platform for all colleagues. This plan includes training on topics such as unconscious bias and micro aggressions.
WHY DID kpmg CHOOSE THE ARTWORK «all colours»? WHAT ARE THE MESSAGES THAT You WOULD LIKE TO CONVEY TO your WORKFORCE AND BEYOND?
In her artwork Pia Heim’s use of color represents different cultures and visualizes diversity. At KPMG we believe our differences make us strong, and this is what we see in this artwork. «All colors» perfectly resonates with our EVP value «Come as you are».
We want our people to feel that KPMG is a place they can be themselves and thrive. We know their unique experiences and perspectives bring value not only to our culture but also to our clients and wider society.
DISCOVER EXCITING SOURCES FROM kpmg
Female Success Stories
Meet Camille, Patricia, Hanna and Anne Marie who share their tips for success and explain how KPMG is supporting them to realize their full potential.
Father Stories about Flexibility
Meet Robert, Stefan and Kevin who work part-time schedules to reconcile both a successful home life and a career.
GIR Best Practice
WoMentoring
Website: Home – KPMG Switzerland
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Overview artworks