Tenaya Taylor, the diversity, equity & inclusion director at Top 100 Firm EisnerAmper, discusses a new incentive program to get staff involved in DEI efforts, as well as the accounting profession's progress in this area.
Transcription:
Dan Hood: (
Welcome to On the Air with Accounting Today. I'm editor-in-chief Dan Hood. You know, while the pursuit of diversity has been a professed goal of the accounting profession for some time, now, it has moved to the front burner over the last couple of years, under the rubric of diversity, equity and inclusion, with firms and professional organizations trying a host of new approaches to move a needle that's been relatively stubbornly struck for a couple of decades. Here to talk about all that — and in particular, one new innovation that her firm is bringing to bear — is Tenaya Taylor. She's the chief diversity officer at Top 100 firm EisnerAmper. Thanks for joining us.
Tenaya Taylor: (
Hi Dan. Thank you for having me.
Dan Hood: (
I wanna jump right into this, this program, because it's pretty cool. It's pretty unique. And it's aimed at rewarding and incentivizing participation by the firm's employees and staff in its DEI efforts. And how does that work?
Tenaya Taylor: (
Yeah, so it was really important for us to recognize and reward our talent, particularly those who are volunteering and committed to equity, inclusion and diversity. And so that we could see broader engagement and involvement across the firm. We realized that it was important to offer billable hour credit requirements so that we could not, and only enable tracking for firms to measure success and impact of our D E and I efforts. But also when we have client facing staff, they are, uh, responsible to achieve a certain number of billable hours per year. And we were finding that as employees were working on their D E and I related activities and programs and events, many were being penalized for not meeting their, uh, requirement for billable hours. And so it started to send a signal that the D E and I work was more extracurricular versus the business imperative that it is.
Tenaya Taylor: (
And so it started to really, uh, hinder the ability for our employees to engage and get involved in a sustainable way. And so for us to really show that we were invested in D E and I, and to create a culture where people could thrive and truly show up and do this work that they are passionate about, we needed to provide a solution. And so what we did is we introduced up to 75 billable hour credits per year. That would count toward the requirement for our client service professionals. We also implemented five extra rollover PTO days. So this is for our people that are working on D E and I above and beyond their regular positions and offering them some incentive and reward, and really just recognizing the work that they do. And the program is very scalable. So depending on whether you are an equity and inclusion and diversity council member, which is considered that our executive board over the accountability and the programming for D E and I at the firm, or you're an ERG leader, uh, based on the size and the effort we really wanted the program to be scalable. And so by offering up to 75 billable hours, we're able to do that across our council, across the ERGs, which is the employee resource groups. And then we have an ambassador network as well. So it's, it's been a really successful program so far.
Dan Hood: (
Neat. And how long has it been in place?
Tenaya Taylor: (
So we launched this in, in March and it is retroactively applied back to January 1st.
Dan Hood: (
Very cool. Um, and I, the fact that it's, yeah, that there's different levels of, depending on the involvement of the staff, how, how involved they are, what role they're playing, they can get, uh, uh, it's sort of more incentivized for that. That's great because it is, it goes back to the, one of the core ideas, right? You, you, you manage what gets measured and, and if you're, you're keeping track of that stuff, you know, what people are doing, you know, that their involvement is, uh, serious. Do you think it's gonna have an impact on, on people's willingness to participate, or is it more a reward for the people who were already involved?
Tenaya Taylor: (
It's both. So we do see an increase in the involvement in the people who were previously involved, but we see more people now, uh, getting involved because the stigma of being penalized or, or signaling that the efforts are extracurricular are starting to diminish. And so we do see an increased, uh, activity across the board, which is very exciting in, in what we expected.
Dan Hood: (
Yeah, it is very cool. And it's interesting, cuz it brings up the sort of broader issue of, of the importance of, of the individual's role in not just accounting in any profession in, in trying to encourage diversity and equity inclusion in a, in a variety of different ways. Uh, and I'm curious if you have a sense of, of how important you think that individual involvement is those individual efforts by, you know, sort of everybody in the workplace, things that everybody in the workplace can do compared to say the E efforts that are driven at, at a leadership level. Do you have a sense of the, the balance between those two or, or, or the role that the individual activity plays in, in encouraging D and I,
Tenaya Taylor: (
Yes, absolutely. I would say that both are very important. And so I'll start with the executive leadership level. Uh, it is really important that we have executive leadership support, very visible support and very consistent support for D E and I work, we cannot be successful without the support of our executive leadership team. And so they must show up in a very consistent way every time leading with inclusivity and modeling the behaviors of equity and inclusion and diversity. Once that happens, we see the activation more seamlessly on the grassroots level. And so we know that our leadership team doesn't have line of sight into everything that is happening in that mid tier level, uh, in, in, in low year level, uh, and, and, and lower. And so it's important for these ambassadors and the champions that we have to activate D E and I, and embedded in everything that we do locally, regionally, and within the markets. And so I think that both and very important we have to be working together. Uh, it's, it's us standing in solidarity with one another and really executing and modeling the behavior in a positive way to drive the sustainable change.
Dan Hood: (
Excellent. All right. I wanna talk more about, uh, the broader efforts, uh, Eisner APER and, and, and maybe just the, the broader role of the E and I, and the profession and where it's going, but we're gonna take a, a step away for a quick break. All right. And we're back with Taylor, she's the chief diversity officer at Eisner APER who've Dave launched, or I say, just launched, but relatively recent this year have launched a, a neat new program that includes, uh, sort of billable hours for staff work or staff involvement in, in, in the firm's de and I efforts, we've talked some about the importance of the individual and in partnership with leadership efforts of the firm, maybe you give us a broader picture of, of Eisen ER's DEI efforts.
Tenaya Taylor: (
Absolutely. So when I joined the firm, I created a strategic roadmap for D E and I, that will take us over the next several years. And this is a very customizable, adaptable, strategic plan that really just starts from the foundation to define what we mean when we talk about equity and inclusion and diversity and why it matters. And so we believe that innovation starts with inclusion, and we want to create a workplace where everyone can do their best without barriers. This will allow us to solve our client's toughest challenges and achieve profitable growth. So it's important that we embrace people with different abilities, backgrounds, and ways of thinking. And so when we think about our continuing commitment to D E and I, we have four pillars of success as I call them, one is around bending the representation curve. The second is accelerating ERG momentum, and then shaping the culture of inclusion. And the fourth is driving external relationships with purpose. And so all of the efforts that we are working on at Eisner, APER roll up to one of those four strategic pillars.
Dan Hood: (
All right. Well, that's pretty comprehensive. That's a, that's a, uh, it sounds like you got all your , all the bases covered. I'm sort of curious, you know, cause I, I love the, the very specific incentivization that goes along with the program that we were talking about earlier. Uh, what other things do you see out there that firms can do to keep staff and partners sort engaged in, in the de night journeys, you know, on a regular basis, sort of on a, on a, in the trenches sort of basis, as opposed to broad theoretical conception?
Tenaya Taylor: (
Sure. It's important to make a personal commitment to get involved. I think that, you know, we have to really find an area that we can work on. That's achievable that's of interest because people can tell when you're doing something because it is a mandate or, you know, it's the, it, you think that it's the right thing to do versus it's a business imperative that actually drives business outcomes and profitability. And so it's important to find a, an area to own and make it really personal so that you can customize that experience and then how you go out and tackle the initiative. And so things such as creating, um, you know, we have employee resource groups, we have eight. And so identifying ways in which, uh, you can get involved and, and build that community is one way to, uh, drive D E and I, it helps to really create a sense of belonging for our people and workforce and culture, but it also helps for someone else to understand, uh, people who are different from, from them.
Tenaya Taylor: (
And so that's one way also inclusivity training is important. And so we are constantly holding opportunities for micro lessons, deep dives, into people and culture manager and leadership training, and providing an array of training that really helps people create accountability and equitable hiring, reviewing, promoting diverse talent and such. And then also another, uh, pillar there is around raising awareness of diversity needs. So we want to meet everyone where they are. And so it's important to be transparent about communication issues or progress. Also making sure that employees feel valued and that we respect and understand the different dimensions of diversity. It's not just black or white. In fact, it's very rarely just that. And so being able to get involved and understand the definition and, and how diversity looks within the workplace. And then I'd say that, you know, one of the areas where we're focusing on that is new. Uh, since I joined the firm is to develop equitable sponsorship and mentoring programs. And so we're working with underrepresented populations and driving programs within the high school community and the college community so that we can reach students at an earlier age and expose them to the profession. And so those are a few ways in which one could get involved to really just encourage diversity in the industry, in our profession and in our firm.
Dan Hood: (
Awesome. Uh, yeah, I think that's important cause there's, there are a lot of ways to drive it in a lot of ways for people individually and then also as groups to drive it. Mm-hmm and it's worth picking up. Uh, anyone you can, I wanna just quickly for, for cuz I only recently, well, not recently, but relatively recently learned what exactly an ERG is an employee resource group. Can you just describe that concept a little, a little more
Tenaya Taylor: (
Detail. Yes, absolutely. So the employee resource groups are meant to be groups that employees can find like-minded individuals where they share commonalities and they can gather and create a culture of inclusion and sense of belonging. And these are, uh, resource groups that are volunteer led open to everyone in the organization. So you do not have to identify, uh, as whatever the group is that you're joining, but you have an interest in learning more about the particular group it's open. Everyone is welcome. That's part of the inclusion piece of it. And then these groups are working on the ground grassroots level to help us with achieving the D E and I work that we're doing. And so that could be anywhere from driving talent, acquisition, uh, recruitment retention. The groups really are critical in the culture shaping the culture of inclusion. And so we support them and we have a lot of programmatic activities that are coming out of all of the groups. And so it really is a way for people to, uh, join the firm, find an identity and, and, and then embrace it and, and meet amongst amongst friends. And so we find that the groups are very powerful in, uh, employer branding and engagement, and it's been very great to have gotten those off the ground.
Dan Hood: (
Awesome. All right. Um, I wanna try to maybe step back a little bit to like a 10,000 foot view. I mentioned earlier, I, I, you know, I, this is my impression, uh, is that, uh, people have been taught you about diversity in the accounting profession and, and the economy at large, but particularly in accounting for a long time. Uh, and yet it doesn't really seem as if the needle has moved very much. There's been, uh, some success in bringing more women into the profession, but not necessarily elevating them to, to leadership levels. There's been, uh, I would say almost no success in bringing in more people of color. It seems that way, or at least that the needle hasn't moved very much. And I was wondering, uh, one, I dunno if that, is that your impression, but more importantly, you know, do you have a sense of what the profession as a whole sort of needs to do to become, uh, truly inclusive or to really move start moving the needle in a serious way?
Tenaya Taylor: (
Uh, yes, it, it comes down to accountability and it also comes down to driving awareness of the profession. The you're absolutely right. The accounting industry has lack diversity, um, across many categories, such as race and ethnicity, gender sexual orientation, et cetera, et cetera. And the, the latest report from the a I CPA was continuing to show that the majority of accounting firm partners, I identify as white. And so as long as we continue to have this lack of racial diversity, it really is going to continue to contribute to a gap across the industry. And so we are taking initiatives to increase our diverse talent pipeline and really build that by recruiting from more diverse schools. So, you know, if you always go to where you've always gone, you're going to get the same results. And so we have to move away from recruiting from, you know, our, our neighborhoods where we live and, and everyone looks like us or our country clubs or our schools that, you know, lack diverse representation.
Tenaya Taylor: (
And so that, that is a area where we all should be focused. There's also, uh, the, the area of M and a activity. And so as we're acquiring new firms being very mindful of the workforce representation that exists or doesn't exist within those organizations, because that is either going to support or detract from efforts to balance out representation across all categories. And so it really is important that we eliminate bias from the recruitment and hiring and promotional process, and that we get out there in the industry and service thought leaders and start to reach students at an earlier age so that they can feel that this is a profession where they could belong. The challenge is that, you know, we talk a lot about diversity, equity and inclusion, but then we continue to hire the same people, or we don't go out there and we're not embracing, uh, underrepresented or marginalized populations to expose them to the organization. And so when we, when we finally find diverse top talent, they don't stay because they don't see anyone that looks like them in leadership. And so that's where the work is necessary. It is really around the recruitment, the acquisition, the retention, and the promotion and creating those equitable opportunities, uh, not only within our firm, but across the industry as a whole.
Dan Hood: (
Right. Well, it's interesting. I mean, there's no question that, uh, reaching out to under group group groups and particularly reaching out to them, uh, when they're younger or when, when the members of those groups are younger is, is a gonna be a huge thing. But it also, it sounds like it's really a lot of, a lot of things. It's not just one thing. There is no silver bullet. There's a lot of different efforts sort of need to all be pushed at the same time. Cuz there is a little bit of a chicken egg, an egg question. When you talk about, um, you know, representation, if people can't see themselves, if young, young, black people, for instance, can't see themselves in their profession or young women can't see themselves as partners, cuz they don't see any female partners or they don't see, uh, any black accountants, right? Mm-hmm that's chicken egg question, right? If, if you can't hire them cuz they don't see themselves there, then no one will ever see those kind of people there. You know what I mean? So you really have to push on every front to, to make a difference.
Tenaya Taylor: (
You're absolutely right. And you know, the, the, the world is increasingly diverse. And so in a matter of time, I mean we're really here already. We have to be more progressive and more accountable for being that positive change and bringing in more diverse representation across the world because we're a global business. And so we want our people to reflect our client base. And also when you have diverse employee connections that leads to new lines of service, new thinking, you know, new ways of approaching a challenge. And so it really is around, uh, distribution of, of the people and the wealth.
Dan Hood: (
Awesome. All right. Uh, it's a, uh, you said it's a topic people have been working on for a long time. We've got a new, a new, uh, weapon in the arsenal with this program that Eisen is, is, uh, is spearheading, which sounds like it's doing very well. People ought to pay attention to it, maybe duplicated in their own firms, uh, today. Taylor of ER, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing this idea with us.
Tenaya Taylor: (
Thank you Dan, for having me, it's been pleasure meeting with you and talking to you today.
Dan Hood: (
Yeah. And thank you all for listening. This episode of on the air was produced by accounting today with audio production, by Kellie Malone. Rate us and review us on your favorite podcast platform or see the rest of our content on accountingtoday.com. Thanks again to our guest, and thank you for listening.