Spotlight placed on Diversity at top Scottish consulting firm

Around 75 members of staff from the Aberdeen office of global consultancy firm Accenture enjoyed a short break from their desks to take advantage of workshops in parenting advice, fair-trade awareness and overcoming physical and emotional barriers this week.

Their experiences were part of a five-day programme of activities – taking place across Scotland - designed to celebrate the diversity of the company’s 330 strong Scottish workforce.

Focussing on the themes of gender, ethnicity, parenting and enablement, the first ever Diversity Week programme, launched by global consulting firm Accenture has attracted huge support from staff at all levels.

The series of events was very positively rated by staff, with over 90% saying they would like to attend future events and that they feel Accenture is committed to developing an inclusive culture and workforce.   

And these great results were substantiated by written comments like these:

• “Very useful way of helping encouraging an inclusive culture and workforce”

• “Congratulations to Accenture on the vast range of subjects offered during the Diversity week.” 

• “Excellent with a good range of events!”

• “There a wide range of events - undeniably 'something for everyone'

Among the highlights of the programme in Aberdeen was a keynote speech from Jamie Andrew, the Scottish mountaineer who had his hands and feet amputated following a horrific accident in the French Alps.  Andrew offered insight and his perspective on overcoming personal challenge and barriers to a room of over 30 assembled staff, during their lunch hour at the Bridge of Don office.

Alan Barron, Support Centre Lead, who attended this session, said: “Listening to Jamie’s sheer determination was truly inspirational. He’s a great example of what can be achieved when you set your mind to it.  On a professional level, it was also a really useful reminder that you shouldn’t limit yourself or allow yourself to be pigeon-holed.  Everyone attended this session with a positive attitude and an open mind and there was a real buzz in the office after his presentation ended.”

Accountant Ryan Beattie, who took part in a First Aid course earlier in the week, said: “With one 16 month-old child and another one on the way, I thought it would be a good idea to take part in the First Aid course.  It was well-attended and great to learn the basics in a short course that you can fit in to your working day.  It’s given me the confidence to deal with situations that I maybe would not have had before.  I think it’s great to see these events happening up here in Aberdeen too.” 

Staff from Accenture’s Glasgow and Edinburgh offices also enjoyed a range of sessions throughout the week, looking at ‘managing stress’ to considering the question, ‘Are men and women really that different?’.  Throughout the week all refreshments provided were of fair-trade origin, a theme which was also promoted to all staff.

Organisers of the week-long programme were delighted with the positive response and levels of involvement across Scotland.

Trevor Hatton, Managing Director of Accenture Scotland said: “We are tremendously pleased with the success of our first Diversity Week – not only with the fascinating programme of workshops that were offered to staff but with the positive feedback from those who took part. Accenture is lucky enough to benefit from a talented and diverse workforce which we are proud to celebrate through this rewarding initiative.”