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  • GPs

Boosting diversity: fruitful practices

Practical steps to achieve diversity in PE firms
  • Alice Murray
  • Alice Murray
  • 16 July 2015
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In this second instalment of our focus on workforce diversity, Alice Murray looks at practical steps GPs can take to develop the make-up of teams

If you missed part one of this feature, you can read it here. 

Perhaps the most vital step to be taken by firms wishing to attract and support a more diverse workforce is to define the firm's culture and ensure it cascades to the rest of the organisation.

According to Wol Kolade of Livingbridge, it was his relative youth when he took over that set Livingbridge on an alternative track. "I was young and I am not a conventional private equity guy in terms of thinking. When we were setting up the firm I thought about the best people I had worked with and how to bring them in, as well as the best people I was already working with and how to keep them. Together we have built something by asking ourselves what makes sense."

More importantly, as the head of the firm, Kolade retains a constant focus on culture. "I care deeply about culture; we are very focused on having a distinct culture." Furthermore, Livingbridge uses its cultural values in staff appraisals. "That is an important factor in how we judge people are performing," says Kolade.

All for one
For Baird Capital, its employee-owned structure is the lifeblood of its culture. "The company has received huge investment from the workforce in its culture because it is employee-owned," says Baird managing director Andrew Ferguson. This has come from the top, down to department heads into every part of the business."

Beyond this, the GP has a dedicated head of culture who looks at every aspect of the firm and how it does business. "That is just as important as our success," says Ferguson.

While Livingbridge and Baird had the benefit of foresight and were able to embed values during the creation stages, it is not impossible to change an organisation's culture – even if the business is well-established.

Norman Broadbent's Adam Turner recalls an instance when a GP was interviewing candidates, one of whom was female. She proved to be the best candidate, but was pregnant. The GP still hired her and simultaneously changed the firm's maternity policy to match that of the company from which she was joining. "This had an immediate impact on the firm's culture and shows the importance of changing behaviour at the top level," says Turner.

One organisation that has made significant inroads into defining its culture is Grant Thornton. Although not a private equity firm, it has similar aims in winning business. "We did a lot of work around culture and aligning the firm to the brand," says Alicia Berger, senior manager in the company's people and culture team. "The focus was more on inclusion rather than diversity. If our approach is inclusive, it attracts diverse people who can work together – so it is very focused on delivering great work to clients and on the business."

By looking at the company's culture and defining it clearly, Grant Thornton has made impressive and noteworthy changes to how it recruits and retains people. Says Berger: "We removed strict academic requirements when recruiting trainees in 2013. This really opened the candidate pool to those who have the right qualities and attributes, but did not previously meet the academic benchmark. We are tracking the year-on-year progress of those people we have hired so we can assess their performance against peers who met the former criteria."

Staying power
Beyond opening the recruitment process and focusing on culture, another major issue the industry faces is retaining diverse team members. Livingbridge has an outstanding record in this regard. The firm's senior team has seen no departures and for those immediately below the partnership level, the majority of the team has been there for more than 10 years.

"This is because of our culture; of sharing and working together," says Kolade. "The underlying reasoning is: if I have an outstanding person, I will do whatever it takes to keep that person. You cannot be cavalier with people."

While there are countless steps that all GPs can, and should, be taking to be more inclusive, and while there is still plenty of work to be done by associations to improve the image of private equity, a lot of today's issues stem from much wider cultural problems – particularly the representation of women in the media.

Of course, this is not something for private equity to tackle single-handedly, but it does throw up a unique opportunity. If the industry can lead the way in promoting diversity; if it can show how forward-thinking it is in its approach, it could act as an important message to the wider public: that one pocket of the financial services industry is an attractive and exciting place to work.

 

Boosting diversity: practical steps
A number of firms describe measures they have undertaken in a bid to attract and retain a more heterogeneous workforce.

Maternity leave

Wol Kolade, Livingbridge
"We have now had three partners go on maternity leave. The first time someone went on maternity leave, we handled it poorly and we learnt hugely from that. It was very helpful in understanding how to do it better. Now we know how it can be done and how to behave.

"On a practical level, you have got to plan. Think about it six months before and leave everything in the best possible hands. It is also vital to plan the return to work. If you take six months, the whole process could take around 18 months.

"It is disappointing that the law does not allow us to discuss maternity plans with individuals."


Using data

Alicia Berger, Grant Thornton
"A really important first step is to understand what your data says. It is best to capture this at the point of joining by collecting data on what attributes each employee has so you can track your talent from day one.

"Most firms have records around reduced hours, but it is difficult to understand how flexible working works on an informal basis. We do an engagement survey to get a temperature check on how employees are working flexibly. Those working flexibly on an informal basis had a much higher rating for well-being and were more engaged. People like data; they like evidence. They want to be presented with something that is not just a preconception."


Flexible working

Natalie Tydeman, GMT Communication Partners
"There is not enough discussion about providing flexibility. Private equity should be able to be flexible; this is not a desk job. But, flexibility needs to work for everyone. Private equity needs to be creative about working practices.

"Setting KPIs is very easily done; this is a very measurable industry at all levels and people should be able to work in different ways. There will always be times when there are significant workloads, but there needs to be some level of give and take."

Alicia Berger, Grant Thornton
"Our newly elected CEO is very open and transparent about her flexible working and encourages other leaders to be too, so that it is normalised. Flexible working is life changing; we have got all the technology in place to work in any place. We are a global organisation; if we were constrained by time zones and locations that would not be good for business."

Alexia Beattie, Baird
"We do not just put rules together that follow the rules, we do it in collaboration with management teams and we listen to everyone. We understand that everyone is unique. Flexible working is very much tailored to the individual. That is best for the team and for our clients."


In-house initiatives

Emma Danks, Taylor Wessing
"As part of its ongoing diversity programme, Taylor Wessing set a target last autumn of having a 25% female partnership by 2018. We want to improve the inclusiveness of the firm's culture and to engage the entire associate group to help us achieve the 2018 target.

"To do this, there have been several initiatives across the firm, including a think tank on agile working; reverse mentoring (which sits alongside our current mentoring scheme); involvement of the female partners in a range of business development initiatives; and our annual event hosted by all our female employees for their female clients and contacts."

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