DURING THE DIAMOND jubilee river pageant, KPMG played its part by sponsoring the clipper fleet. However, one boat, the Typhoon, was close to the company's heart. It was commissioned to host children, young people and their carers from Barnardo's projects throughout London and the southeast. About 30 KPMG employees were nominated by colleagues to join the festivities for their dedication to raising funds for Barnardo's; so far the firm and its staff have raised more than £1.3m for the charity over the past two years. Last May, more than 750 members of staff, along with suppliers and clients, got together for the Big Blue Kick, which set a world record for the largest tae kwondo display. The event raised £50,000 for Barnardo's. “I love to be involved in anything that requires participation from the whole office,” said one employee. “I'm missing the training sessions and hype that surrounded the event and build-up to the big day.” Colleagues go out of their way to help one another, say staff (a 71% positive score) and are fun to work with (72%). In our survey, its workforce says KPMG encourages charitable activities (81%), and feel the organisation has a strong social conscience (73%). The London-based firm has 24 sites around the country and almost 11,000 members of staff. It provides some of the biggest multinationals with tax, audit and business advice and has a heritage dating back to the 1800s. Company pride is high and employees are encouraged to share ideas. An in-house magazine, UK Highlights, was born from staff opinion and its editorial agenda is driven solely by the workforce. It has become KPMG's most popular communication channel and enhances engagement, thanks to a readership of 10,000. Staff feel they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation (73%) and agree that work is an important part of their lives (75%). Nurturing talent is at the top of KPMG's agenda, with clear career paths showing the breadth of options available, ensuring everyone can improve their performance from the moment they join the firm. Jobs are good for personal growth, say staff (72%), and the experience gained with be invaluable in the future (76%).
