Summit Sponsor Spotlight: EY

By: MENTOR

Mentoring Partnership, Campaigns, Corporate Engagement, National Mentoring Summit, National Mentoring Month Blog Series

Mentoring strengthens our communities and our careers

As Director of Corporate Responsibility at EY and a College MAP Mentor, I’ve seen how being involved in mentoring and volunteering in our communities has a direct impact on employee engagement and career development. At EY, we hire tens of thousands of smart young people around the world every year. We offer them the training, the coaching, and the experiences they need to grow professionally. Our promise to all our people is that we’ll give them world-class training and the chance to connect with great mentors.

This focus on people, teaming and coaching is fundamental to how we run our business. Volunteerism and programs like College MAP help us deliver on that promise. Through annual employee engagement surveys, we’ve learned that employees who participate in our community engagement efforts are more engaged, and employees who are College MAP mentors report being significantly more engaged. This includes longer tenure with the firm, best-in-class employee engagement, and even significantly higher performance ratings.

Employees also tell us that firm-sponsored volunteer activities like College MAP help them expand their networks and develop new leadership, business and cross-cultural teaming skills, which all contribute to an exceptional work experience. Through volunteer testimonials, we’ve learned that College MAP volunteers are more agile, better listeners and stronger teammates after serving as youth mentors.

A great example is Mike Ruiz, an EY Manager and College MAP Assistant Regional Leader, who talks about how being a mentor has impacted him both personally and professionally.

“My journey at EY aligns with my experience as a College MAP Mentor,” says Mike, “I’ve been part of the program since 2010 and have had the opportunity to hold many different roles, each a little more complex than the last, which means I’m always learning and building new skills. The program resonated with me early on in my career, because I saw a lot of myself in the students College MAP supports. But now, I can also see how mentoring can help transform reticent teenagers with attitude in the classroom, into aspiring young professionals. Additionally, coaching with patience is a critical skill as you climb the ranks at EY. If you can engage and coach a 17-year-old though an admissions essay or financial aid application, without them tweeting, Snapchatting or Instagramming, you’ll more confidently coach junior staff in the workplace.”

Mike has also reflected that College MAP helped his career because it allows him to exercise agility. “Through this program, I have learned to flex to the needs of my audience. As we begin to work with new, more diverse clients, inclusivity and flexibility are key to building strong relationships,” says Mike. “I’ve been able to cultivate those skills and it’s benefitted not just my career, but my life.”

I hope you’ll join me and Carolina Dominguez, the College MAP program national leader, at the upcoming National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, where we will share more insights on the business benefits of corporate volunteerism.

To learn more about the growing private sector role in the youth mentoring movement, download our report, Mentoring: At the crossroads of education, business and community. www.ey.com/us/youthmentoring

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  • MENTOR National and Affiliates will use the information you provide to better inform future publications and keep you up to date with advancements in the mentoring field. For more information, check out our privacy policy.