5 must reads for the weekend

We keep our ear to the ground for the interesting stats, insights and discussion points you need to feel in the know.?

1. DE&I isn’t just a flash in the pan?

There are very few things that are a win-win for a company and their employees. But DE&I is one of them. Clients ask EY about building diverse and inclusive teams every day. They don't want a homogeneous group of people trying to solve their problems; they instead want lots of different perspectives from around the world. Today, EY operates 23 Neurodiverse Centers of Excellence (NCoE) across the world, designed to support workers with autism, dyslexia, ADHD and other cognitive differences. These neurodiverse employees - who do high-level work across AI, blockchain, data analytics and more - perform their roles in an accommodating environment with tailored professional development. ? The reality? The focus on neurodivergent talent has been tremendously beneficial for business and retention rates of EY neurodivergent employees are high; 92% in fact. So what should leaders consider when hiring diverse talent? Karyn Twaronite, EY Global Vice Chair of DE&I, tells us more...?

How EY is focusing on neurodiverse talent - and why it benefits everyone?

2. History lessons

Productivity growth - the ability to produce more with the same input - is the primary driver of long-term economic growth and improvements in living standards. As the economist Paul Krugman famously noted in 1994: “Productivity isn't everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything.” Disappointingly though, productivity growth has been sluggish in both advanced and developing countries over the past decade. Take the US for example; labor productivity growth has averaged only 1.4% per year since 2013, which is less than half the rate of the previous decade. But now that we have GenAI, surely things will change? Will it jump-start productivity growth and fire up the economy in the long term? Turns out that history can provide us with clues, about the true magnitude of GenAI’s future impact...?

Harness the productivity potential of GenAI?

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?3. The career story of an EY boomerang?

“EY is, and always has been, a fantastic place to work. But I made the deliberate move to try life on the other side of the fence.” Simon began his career at EY in 2009 but left the business in 2019 to gain experience of running an in-house finance team - and everything that goes with it. Simon secured a role in?an exclusive members club as Head of Finance. He then moved to a start-up which was going through a rapid growth phase. “Having experienced the best that life in industry had to offer, I made the move back to EY in summer 2023” shares?Simon. “Ultimately, I always saw myself at EY in the longer term. It’s hard to pin down one or two things that brought me back – but key for me is the huge range of people we work with, the variety of things you can be involved with and that you’re constantly learning and growing as a person.” More about Simon’s journey...? ?

My journey as an EY returner?

4. A new era of globalization?

Globalization in the past few decades has brought extraordinary benefits to people across the world. In emerging markets, trade has helped lift billions out of poverty and enabled access to innovative goods and services. In developed markets, standards of living have continued to rise, and the range of goods and services has expanded. Citizens across the world have become more connected by shared ideas, international supply chains, global employers and travel. But. There have also been significant downsides. Environmental damage has occurred, particularly where regulation is weak. Labor standards have not been upheld universally. And inequality has grown dramatically within countries when the benefits of globalization are not shared widely. Many governments are now taking action to address these, and other, downsides. And rightly so: globalization must work for all. CEOs and other international business leaders have a crucial role to play...?

Prepare now for the new era of selective globalization??

5. The most neglected topics at work??

Change management - an area that needs a particularly large amount of support?from management - is one of them. Data literacy is another; no matter how advanced the use of AI and data is in the company, if employees are not adequately trained at the right time, all projects large and small will ultimately fail. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The way to succeed is by having the right roles and responsibilities in place, as well as an appropriate understanding of how to use data, tools and tech.?With the rise of generative AI and large language models, data has never been more important. EY Germany takes a closer look at how companies can prepare the ultimate data strategy, so that adopting AI is as smooth as possible...?

Why a comprehensive data strategy is important when introducing AI?

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If you do one thing:?

Try something new – even if it’s small.?