What I've learned in 2020...

It can feel hard to take positives out of what 2020 has thrown at us… But the crisis has taught me a lot – about the value of the simple things in life (seeing family, friends and colleagues), about resilience, and about the ability to adapt.

So as I look optimistically to what 2021 might bring, I wanted to take stock of the key moments for our firm in 2020 and what I’ve learned over the year.

January: about the costs of poor mental health

The impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s mental health would become a major talking point later in the year. We published analysis showing poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion annually, with people suffering the ‘always-on’ culture enabled by technology. This crisis has definitely raised the importance of having conversations about mental wellbeing.

February: about demonstrating purpose

We became a founding signatory of the Good Business Charter, a fantastic initiative encouraging businesses to think about their impact for employees, the environment, customers and suppliers. The pandemic has reinforced expectations that businesses should be motivated not solely by profit but by their impact on society.

March: about remote working

It was a period of intense pressure as the UK moved into its first lockdown. Our 20,000 people transitioned to remote working, continuing to support each other, our clients – including critical national projects - and the charities and social enterprises who rely on us. We moved quickly to answer the government’s call for businesses to step up to help, and we helped build a national testing capability within a matter of weeks.

April: about leading in a crisis

Amid the health fears and economic turmoil, there was a sharp focus on how businesses respond in a crisis. We had to take some difficult decisions on pay and promotions to protect jobs and the long-term stability of our firm. My Executive agreed a list of principles to guide these actions to ensure they were consistent with our values and our purpose.

May: about the value of virtual connections

This crisis hit both physical and mental wellbeing. We started a virtual Coffee Club and launched a new Buddies Network in Deloitte. The Coffee Club, which randomly pairs colleagues across the firm for a 30 minute chat, has been a big hit (including with me – thanks Chloe!) and helped develop a strong support community for Deloitte. 

June: about pride

A really uplifting moment was hitting our One Million Futures target - helping one million people through access to education and employment with partnerships with amazing charities, schools and social enterprises. We launched a new goal of helping 5 million people across our Deloitte North & South Europe countries by 2030.

July: about racism and discrimination

The killing of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter demonstrations had sparked very honest conversations across our firm about racism and discrimination. In July we launched our Black Action Plan, a series of deliberate actions to help us to improve diversity, equality and inclusion in our firm and - critically - change the experience of our Black colleagues for the better. 

August: about generosity in the worst of times

The horrific explosion in Beirut saw an outpouring of generosity across the world. Our colleagues in Lebanon launched a fundraising appeal with the Lebanese Red Cross to assist 10,000 families who had been affected by the disaster.

September: about making a difference

The past 12 months have shown the difference business can make to major challenges. We launched our UK Annual Report to provide greater transparency about our firm, our culture, our people and what we do every day to help clients and communities.

We also announced our global WorldClimate strategy with the aim of achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. This was an important commitment to redesigning how we work to respond to the climate emergency.

October: about building from scratch

I hosted a webinar for all our UK people about Deloitte’s role in the NHS Test and Trace programme. Colleagues with expertise in supply chains, logistics, real estate, procurement and project management have been involved (with more than 40 public and private sector organisations) in rolling out more than 700 test sites, helping to increase the COVID-19 test capacity from 2,000 to more than 500,000 tests per day, and supporting the processing of more than 36 million tests. I’m incredibly proud of the efforts of our teams and they’ve achieved so much in such a short space of time.

We joined the CBI in launching the Change the Race Ratio – a campaign to increase racial and ethnic participation in British businesses. It calls for businesses to set and publish clear targets for greater racial and ethnic diversity at the Board and leadership levels and create an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

November: about confidence and adaptability

Beyond COVID-19, investment in technology will be a critical catalyst for the recovery of UK businesses. This month we announced our second major transaction of the year – with a deal to acquire Kemp Little, a leading technology and digital media law firm. This followed our acquisition of award-winning technology consultancy Keytree, which brings deep expertise in digital transformation including data analytics, cloud and robotic technologies. These transactions demonstrate our confidence in both the firm and the UK as technology leaders.

December: about working together create change

We joined the City of London’s taskforce to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in financial and professional services across the UK. It’s aimed at breaking down socio-economic barriers to progression, ensuring that people from all backgrounds can reach their full potential.

We also joined the Open For Business coalition in a commitment to LGBT+ inclusion around the world, and to build the economic and business case for LGBT+ inclusion.

New hopes for a new year

As we close the chapter on 2020 with the start of the roll out of a vaccine for COVID-19, I’m optimistically looking to 2021 to see how we will continue to make a difference for our colleagues, our communities and our clients.

Have a restful festive period and stay well.