Developing Diverse Leaders 

Working with KPMG’s Board of Directors and Management Committee, both the DAB and the WAB have developed a set of priorities and initiatives designed to enhance the professional development of KPMG’s women and ethnically diverse professionals, and support their growth as potential future leaders of the firm.

  • The Leaders Engaging Leaders career sponsorship program establishes one-to-one relationships between members of our board and management committee and high-performing diverse partners, with the goal of preparing them for client and operational leadership positions, and providing them with exposure to senior leaders.

 

  • The Key Accounts Rotation program targets ethnically diverse Audit, Tax, and Advisory associates and is intended to ensure that diverse representation on priority client engagements is appropriate, and that these young professionals, early in their career, receive the client exposure and broad range of experience they need to succeed. Defined metrics are in place to measure success, including metrics around promotion, retention, and reassignment to same account. Since the program’s inception, nearly all of our diverse associates across all functions have served on at least one priority client engagement.

 

  • The Diversity Advisory Board Scorecard was developed to set meaningful diversity metrics for the firm. It comprises a core set of diversity metrics covering recruiting, promotions, retention, succession-planning, and mentoring. The goals against these metrics are established by the Diversity Advisory Board and reported by function to the Management Committee. The Diversity Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Web-based tool was developed to enable multiple levels of leadership, working with Human Resources, to drill down to the composition of our business units by race and gender, and establish and monitor their progress against their personal diversity goals.

 

  • KPMG’s Executive Leadership Institute for Women is a professional development series designed by KPMG specifically for women, both from within and outside the firm. The Institute was launched in 2009 by the Philadelphia chapter of KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) to equip participants with a deep understanding of the principles and practical skills they need to become great leaders. The program also addresses two of KPMG’s business imperatives: to provide enhanced leadership development training for KPMG’s women partners and senior managers, and to provide a vehicle for enhancing the connectivity our women have with the marketplace. The Institute is now conducted in six of the firm’s major offices, and has become a viable tool for demonstrating KPMG’s commitment to skills development and leadership training for women partners and senior managers. As importantly, the program provides the opportunity for KPMG’s women participants to cultivate relationships with female executives at current and prospective clients.

 

  • KPMG’s Managing Career/Life Choices workshop is conducted in local offices around the country. Developed to help senior associate women learn how to keep their careers on track and balance their priorities, the workshop also has proved to be a key driver in our ability to increase retention. Highlights of the one-day program include a panel discussion comprised of women who have had success at KPMG and development of individual action plans that integrate both personal priorities and career priorities.