Ernst & Young
Naomi Carniol
Rishi Tibriwal left India for Canada eight years ago. When he got here, he discovered his credentials as a chartered accountant were not recognized to the extent that he expected. Tibriwal took night school and summer school courses, accounting exams and an apprenticeship, and worked diligently for six years, until he became a partner at Ernst & Young last year.
He acknowledges the support he received from Ernst & Young. "I felt like part of the team from day one."
The accounting firm arranged for a managing partner to be Tibriwal's mentor soon after he joined in 2001. The firm also connected him with a personal coach who helped develop a strategy for his career goals. "I still go to him when I have questions," he says.
Ernst & Young has expanded its programs for new Canadians. New arrivals are invited to a workshop on how to succeed in the workplace and provided with coaching on North American culture.
Jeannine Pereira, the firm's inclusiveness leader, says diversity is "not just about adding different types of people to the leadership." She says it's about creating an environment where employees appreciate "the differences that all sorts of people bring to our workforce, and that we would never have innovative solutions if we didn't have a diverse workforce."
Supervisors are encouraged to attend a half-day workshop on cultural differences, Pereira says.
With new Canadians, "it's really about us learning from them and them learning from us and then adapting together."
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