KPMG Canada The Pulse Survey

For immediate publication

March 24, 2010

KPMG LLP (KPMG) is the Canadian member firm affiliated with KPMG International, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services to clients in over 140 countries. KPMG in Canada has 33 offices nationally and over 5,000 professional staff.

KPMG is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive workplace culture that respects and values peoples’ differences. KPMG Canada has won many awards for its efforts. For example, for the past two years, KPMG has been the only accounting firm, among the top four accounting firms in Canada, to be named one of the Best Employers for New Canadians and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.

The Pulse Survey

In 2001, KPMG introduced the Pulse survey, an annual employee engagement survey. This replaced Interchange, an employee engagement survey that has existed since 1996. The Pulse survey includes 16 statements (out of approximately 90 questions overall) that relate to diversity. Some of the questions are designed to measure and track how people perceive and experience the workplace.

The Diversity Profile Tool

In June 2009, KPMG rolled out the Diversity Profile Tool (DPT). This new and effective automated process allows KPMG to collect specific demographic data on its employees. This self-identification tool replaces the old Employment Equity (EE) survey that all KPMG employees had to complete during their orientation, or “on-boarding process,” because of KPMG’s commitment to the Federal Contractors Program (FCP). The DPT has 14 questions; including four mandatory questions on membership in the four designated groups required under the FCP, and 10 additional questions relating to: cultural background and national heritage, religion and faith, primary language, marriage and parental status, sexual orientation, and foreign trained professional status.

DEBATE QUESTION:

THE DIVERSITY MOVEMENT IS HAILED BY MANY AS A POSITIVE CHANGE, IN WHICH ORGANIZATIONS VOLUNTARILY ENGAGE IN A PROCESS OF SYSTEMATIC CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION DESIGNED TO ELIMINATE ANY FURTHER FORMS OF EXCLUSION. OTHERS ARGUE THAT THE DIVERSITY MOVEMENT COINCIDES WITH A GENERAL CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL CLIMATE SEEKING TO REVERSE MANY OF THE LEGAL MANDATES OF THE PREVIOUS DECADES, MOST NOTABLY EMPLOYMENT EQUITY AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. IS THE DIVERSITY MOVEMENT AN ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIETAL EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION OR A RETREAT?