EY awards staff $1m through global recognition programme

EY has rewarded the achievements of staff through its new global employee recognition programme, Better begins with you.

The initiative recognises employees that have found innovative and impactful ways of fulfilling the organisation’s aim of building a better working world.

More than 75 finalists in its Better begins with you programme attended an Olympic-themed reward day in December, which involved Olympic gold medallists Sir Chris Hoy and Denise Lewis.

A total of five winners were selected across four categories. They were awarded $1 million between them to further develop the projects they were recognised for.

The winners are:

• ‘Pursuing innovation’: Melissa Edwards, advisory, US, for leading EY’s adoption of the digital tool ThinkTank.
• ‘Strengthening our communities’: EY Poland Employees’ Foundation team for providing foster children’s legal guardians with assistance, such as financial and psychological support.
• ‘Developing outstanding leaders and teams’: Jonathan Zhao, Asia-Pacific Financial Services, Hong Kong, for building an Asia-wide actuarial and insurance risk team of more than 200 in just 10 years.
• ‘Driving exceptional client service’: P&G client team, US, and EY projects team at Germany’s Federal Employment Agency.

Nancy Altobello, global vice chair, talent at EY, said: “Not only are the prize and scope of the awards unique, but the Better begins with you programme embeds our purpose at the heart of our organisation by involving all EY people in nominating and selecting the finalists and deciding on the overall winners.

“This means that sharing inspiring stories of success, achievement and change are now becoming a more visible part of our organisation’s culture.”