CEO of Mercer (Sweden), Johan Ericsson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss diversity and inclusion within the corporate space.
Johan has been with Mercer since 2001, a global human resources advisory firm with 25,000 employees operating in 130 countries.
Johan notes that diversity and inclusion have been gaining importance in recent years. There are also more jobs in this field and those jobs are to be found in more senior levels within organisations. Diversity and inclusion is now often a function in its own right, as one would find a head of legal or head of IT; it is no longer a sub-role in the margins.
Mercer have 30,000 clients globally; many of these clients are multinationals with subsidiaries in a large number of culturally diverse countries. In essence, some clients approach Mercer because, for instance, they might be operating in Sweden where auditing for diversity and inclusion is often required. However, in other instances, clients come up to Mercer simply because they take the challenge of diversity and inclusion seriously and want to learn what best practice looks like.
When Women Thrive – is an annual piece of research by Mercer done in conjunction with the World Economic Forum that looks at diversity and inclusion and how individual countries can ensure they fully leverage all of the brain power in a country.
We hear how cultural context is important, too. It isn’t simply a matter of telling companies to be diverse and inclusive. Cultural realities in Norway are different than in the Middle East, and this impacts how companies within these countries embrace diversity and inclusion.
Ultimately, Johan notes that business performance is better in diverse more inclusive organisations; more innovation and creativity, easier to hire and retain talent, the reputational angle as a good employer – there are many reasons. Moreover, diverse and inclusive organisations can be more fun, you meet people from different walks of life, and you learn more too.
While change is happening in the right direction, the pace is too slow. The vast majority of clients want to accelerate this agenda because they want to drive long-term sustainable and profitable growth. This is very important to them. It’s also important from a cultural point, in terms of the people they want to attract and retain – they need people from all backgrounds.
Johan’s key takeaway: building a diverse workforce is going to improve your productivity, efficiency and your profits, and at the same time you’re going to have more fun, you’re going to learn much more, you’re going to meet fascinating people and it’s going to increase your team’s engagement levels – do it because it makes sense in so many ways.
Visit Lidji.org for guest bios, episode notes and useful links. Please subscribe and share if you enjoy this podcast – thank you!
CEO of World Child Cancer, Jon Rosser, and paediatric oncologist Prof Lorna Renner in Ghana, join Alberto Lidji to talk about their UK Aid Match campaign and work in the developing world
CEO of Aga Khan Foundation UK, Matt Reed, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Aga Khan Development Network, its $5.5bn of annual operations and relationships with 40,000 civil society organisations
CEO of Giving Compass, Stephanie Gillis, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how combining philanthropy and technology can help a broad audience learn, connect and take action
Founder & CEO of Co-Impact, Olivia Leland, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the global collaborative she launched and how it aims to achieve impact at scale in education, health and economic opportunity
President and CEO of CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their support of 3,600 academic institutions and 92,000 advancement professionals globally
Executive Director of Compassionate Atlanta, Leanne Rubenstein, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Charter for Compassion and what it means to be a compassionate city, business and individual
The Clerk (CEO) of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, Stephen White, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on the world of livery companies, the history of the Coopers’ since 1298 and their philanthropy
CEO of United World Schools (UWS), Tim Howarth, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on their 200 schools in Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal and to celebrate their 2019 WISE Award for educational innovation
Executive Director at Innovation Edge, Sonja Giese, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their impact investment platform and innovative strategies in support of Early Childhood Development in South Africa
CEO of Özyegin Social Investments, Ayla Goksel, sheds light on challenges and opportunities in driving philanthropic operations in Turkey, and dynamics between international and local organisations
President of J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, Janet Froetscher, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss investing $1 Billion to achieve dramatic change; and why no one is interested in marginal change
President of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Jessie Rasmussen, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their investments in support of children's Early Years
British Ambassador Designate to South Sudan, Chris Trott, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss conflict resolution, power sharing agreements, Ebola and working in the frontlines
Founding Executive Director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Kat Rosqueta, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social impact, strengthening democracy through philanthropy and knowledge sharing
General Manager of PBS America in the UK, Richard Kingsbury, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss educational TV, impartial reporting and the value of public media
Chief Executive of the Scouts UK, Matt Hyde, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss inclusivity, growth and why Scouting transforms lives in 193 countries
Grant Gordon, philanthropist and Founder of the Reekimlane Foundation, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss high-net-worth (HNW) family philanthropy and responsible stewardship of wealth
Club Director at Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club, Martin Guntrip, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about their Foundation and the inner workings of this prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament
CEO of the Smollan Group, David Smollan, joins Alberto Lidji to share his thoughts on managing a global workforce of 80,000 in a caring and sustainable manner
Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, Vikas Pota, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the Global Teacher Prize, Ed-Tech and universal access to quality education
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Social Dallas Podcast
Advocacy Scoop Podcast
Change Church Podcast
The Biz of Nonprofit Consultants
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications