EY’s Stefanie Coleman On How To Create More Inclusive Workplaces

Creating inclusive workplaces is crucial for any organization that wants to get the most out of its talent. This means creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong, has equal opportunities, is empowered to do their best work, and feels comfortable making requests and contributing ideas. In this series, we asked prominent HR and business leaders about the steps they take to create more inclusive workplaces. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Stefanie Coleman, EY.

Stefanie is a principal in the EY US People Advisory Services practice who focuses on the banking and capital markets sector. She has advised financial services companies across the full suite of human capital programs in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. In 2019, she was recognized by Workforce Magazine as a Workforce Game Changer.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I was born in Sydney and grew up in Australia, which is where I went to college at the University of Sydney. Like many young Australians, when I graduated, I tried my luck in Europe, which is what led me to consulting (and my career ever since) in London. From there, my career has taken me to Dubai, back home to Sydney, and now to New York, where a two-year assignment has turned into over a decade!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s not exactly funny, but it certainly did teach me a lesson! Once when I was just getting started in Dubai, I extended my hand for a handshake upon meeting a male client. He was a devout Muslim in the UAE, and was not comfortable accepting my hand, and declined in front of a group of people. I, of course, was mortified, but it taught me a lot about cultural dexterity and being prepared in a new environment for things that might seem acceptable to you, but not appropriate to others.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

A successful consulting career is built on having many sponsors who believe in you and will go the extra mile to see you advance. I’ve had sponsors help me navigate promotions, coordinate international moves, share advice on being a new mom, work with me to become a Partner, and more.

One of the most profound sponsors I’ve been fortunate to have was a female executive who is very well respected in the Australian business community. She hired me into consulting when I was a senior associate and has remained a friend ever since. She taught me to focus on the things I know, and to not be overwhelmed by the things I don’t know. She also reminded me that sometimes, as women, we doubt ourselves if we do not think we are the ‘perfect match’ for a new opportunity.

I think about — and share — this anecdote she told me years ago, as I find it particularly empowering: “I see women apply for roles who are worried about two of the ten things in the job description they’ve not done before. Then, I see men applying for the same role who are so confident about just the two things in the job description they’ve done before that they downplay the rest.”

Can you please give us your favourite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“You only live once.”

I think a healthy dose of “work hard, play hard” is important. While I keep a constant eye on my career and its next step, I also focus on spending quality time with my friends and family (both in the US and Australia). My husband and I are travel and food fanatics, always thinking about the next trip and planning (among other things) what food we will eat on tour! These trips are imprinted in my memory, and always bring a smile to my face. There are so many incredible places to experience, and we’re trying to see as many as we can.

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

It’s not as big of a deal as you think. I still spend time replaying discussions with people, worried about work related things, and imagining what could happen. And, despite expending all that mental energy, nothing material has ever gone wrong at work. I’ve gotten a lot better at curbing my imagination, which has come with age — but I wish I’d have had a more ‘que sera’ outlook when I was younger.

Your bosses are human too. I remember thinking consulting partners or executive clients were so senior, and that I needed every interaction with them to leave an impression. The truth is senior people like people who are authentic and at ease — who demonstrate vulnerability and some humanity. I abandoned feeling intimidated by senior people a long time ago, and it has helped me develop relationships with incredible leaders who have become sponsors and mentors for me today — this would have been much harder to do if I had been excessively formal with them or overly concerned about projecting perfection.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. What systems do you have to ensure your workplace is as inclusive as possible?

In a firm as big as mine, there are several systems in place to create an inclusive workplace. For example, we have ample employee resource groups (ERGs) and visible examples of diverse executive leaders — women, LGBTQ+ and under-represented minorities. We also have several controls in our talent programs to advance the levels of diversity in our workforce, and the sense of inclusion in our culture.

Based on your experience and success, what are your top five tips for creating more inclusive workplaces? Please share a story or an example for each.

For me as an individual leader, there are some specific tactics that I deploy:

Invite a range of people to participate in meetings. Sometimes that means calling on those on the phone first since it is easy to get “lost” when everyone else is in the room. It can also mean calling on the quieter person who might not ordinarily offer their perspectives without being invited.

Schedule international meetings at the most mutually convenient times for all or rotate the time slot so that the same international participants are not asked to take calls in the middle of the night every time. Further, provide materials in advance when engaging with colleagues in foreign locations and where the primary language is not English, so that they can have time to process before the call.

Sponsor high-potential, diverse candidates. When you see someone with great potential who identifies as diverse, take some extra interest in their career — introduce them to your network, find them stretch assignments and advocate for them in public. This is particularly significant for Gen Z, given that they represent the prospective bedrock of our talent pool and are the most notably diverse demographic in terms of race and ethnicity. Our recently published report, titled ‘How banking on Gen Z talent will make or break the future of banking’ shares that Gen Z is expected to encompass 27% of the workforce by 2025, so they are certainly a key cohort for leaders to tap.

Talk about topical issues that go beyond the boundaries of work. Some leaders are uncomfortable talking about matters of social injustice, for example, in fear that they will say the wrong thing. What I have found is that diverse employees appreciate the attempt to talk about the social matters that affect them, and going beyond the surface, can help foster a greater sense of inclusion.

Tolerate all views. Social activism is, at many firms, a part of the corporate dialogue, and matters of human rights are increasingly discussed in the workplace — some of which can be controversial when underscored by religious or political beliefs. In any workforce, there will be a range of views around social matters — some you agree with, and others you do not. It is important to not let your own views on these topics undermine the views of others, as everyone is entitled to an opinion, even an unpopular one, in an inclusive workplace.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen businesses make while trying to become more inclusive? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

Appointing women to solve women’s issues, professionals of color to solve racial issues, and so on. Of course, it is crucial to have diverse leadership connected to these causes, but by not having allies form a meaningful part of these communities, we are missing an opportunity. Creating a more inclusive environment is not a challenge for diverse employees to solve alone — they need the majority to play a part as well.

Placing too much emphasis on diversity hiring targets. While it is important to get diverse talent in the door, it is even more important to have them stay — and meaningfully progress through the organization. A balanced set of diversity metrics will monitor all three of these things and will also take into account feedback from diverse employees around the company’s culture and the extent to which they feel included.

Thinking employee resource groups (ERGs) are the answer. ERGs are amazing and create a sense of community for diverse employees, and their allies, alike. But, they are not the silver bullet — in a comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, ERGs are one feature alongside a measurement strategy, an employee listening mechanism, unconscious bias controls, operating model enhancements and more.

How do you measure the effectiveness of your DEI efforts?

I typically look at measures in two ways: hard and quantifiable ones, like the number of diverse hires, promotions and the levels of attrition amongst diverse populations. The other component is qualitative and takes into account feedback from diverse employees around the culture of inclusion obtained in employee engagement surveys, informal polls and workforce pulse checks and in exit interviews where employees are sometimes the most candid.

Are there other organizations you admire for their approach to DEI? Can you please explain why?

I like companies that, in addition to prioritizing workforce diversity, place a heavy emphasis on customer diversity. In banking, that is often linked to the idea of financial inclusion — which means providing access to financial services to all individuals and businesses, including those that have historically not been active participants of the financial system. There are a number of banks and credit unions that are really excelling in this area, including those focused on, among other things, financial inclusion for LGBTQ+ customers, women and communities of color.

What do you do to address Proximity Bias? How do you ensure remote workers are treated the same as onsite workers and have equal access to opportunities?

While I support workplace flexibility and remote work options, I think intentional on-site work is a good idea in many firms. The first 15 years of my career was spent on-site at the office or with clients, building relationships, having fun with colleagues, and learning by observation. While remote work can offer some of these benefits, my view is that these benefits are even greater when working in person — at least sometimes. Because of this, I can see why the proximity bias is a real concern to remote workers.

To curb proximity bias, managers can do a few things:

Identify and encourage opportunities to bring employees to the office for intentional work — this could include team offsites, collaborative workshops, team celebrations.

Welcome remote workers when they come to the office so they feel comfortable in the office environment — there is nothing worse than not knowing where to sit, having to search for the bathroom, or not knowing how to book a conference room.

Co-mingle teams so that remote and on-site workers collaborate — this avoids an ‘us and them’ mentality that can lead to negative workplace behaviors, and enhances the risk of proximity bias.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

As an Aussie, I’d have to say someone Australian. Probably Nicole Kidman who is just such a pro in her field.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can find me on LinkedIn or on EY’s global and Americas websites:

Stefanie Coleman | LinkedIn

Stefanie Coleman — Principal, People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP | EY — Globaley.com/en_us/people/stefanie-coleman

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!