Life long learners

It has also been placed in the Working Mother Top 100 Places to Work, and recently Training magazine announced that PwC was ranked second in the 2007 Training Top 125 list of organizations that excel at training. This is their fourth year in a row to have made the list.

Because PwC is a partnership, all executives are part owners in the firm. Developing and retaining top talent is an important factor. How have they managed to do so well with such consistency?

Amongst other things, PwC has a substantial annual training budget. As a professional services firm, developing its people enables PwC to have greater impact with clients as value, knowledge and business judgment of workers is enhanced. “This results in better business outcomes for the clients we serve,” says Kathy Kavanagh, Managing Director, Learning & Education. “That in turn yields stronger ongoing relationships for our firm and more growth opportunities for our people.” Training at PwC is thought of as "Learning and Education" which means “formal education coupled with informal, on-the-job learning -- including regular coaching, rotational and international assignments, and knowledge sharing. This is consistent with our point-of-view that we are all jointly responsible for our own and each other's development.”

This development is paramount to maintaining the high standards that PwC consistently achieves when training its executives. There are, always, executives who naturally excel at their roles. But there are others, for whom it doesn’t come so easily. What about them? According to Kavanagh, the skills of other candidates can be developed, and nearly all can exponentially improve their effectiveness with the right level of support. “One's ability to grow, learn, and change is the key determinant of success. In developing our leaders, we value change agility, empathy, the ability to think systemically, good listening skills, and a commitment to growing others through candid coaching as well as continuous learning and teaching.” And these are skills increasingly valued by enterprise on a wider scale.

Executive education is always hotly debated by professionals. Is there a 'one size fits all' solution to the problem? “We try to customize and personalize the development programs at this level so that they are meaningful to each partner, and have the appropriate impact,” says Kavanagh. “Given all this, we strive to develop as many executives as possible in our firm through several avenues. Expanding their point of view through external programming relevant to their areas of specialization; matching them to relevant developmental assignments that round out their experiences; offering state-of-the-art executive coaching.” In addition, PwC expects everyone at the firm to engage in what they call "everyday coaching," so that leaders develop other leaders, and everyone grows in the process.

PwC’s executive training sets their executives apart in other ways too. “It is our partners' job to consult with and advise senior executives in the organizations we serve - largely global, Fortune 500 companies with complex structures,” explains Kavanagh. “To interact with them effectively and gain their trust, our partners must have not only the technical expertise required to address complex business problems but also the experience necessary to provide relevant insight. Our partners and senior members of client teams earn the trust of their clients through that insight and our ability to understand not only the client's business but also the other forces (market, economic) that impact their organizations.”

This experience is gained through formal development programs, and more importantly through developmental work assignments, external executive coaching, and everyday coaching from their peers and mentors. This enables staff to develop a perspective shaped by multiple experiences, which is highly valued by their clients. Having developed this background, a number of PwC employees become partners in the firm, while those who leave often become senior executives at client companies – retaining important relationships with PwC.

Talent shortage

Over the last seven years, Kavanagh confirms that PwC has seen a significant drop in turnover among its client service staff. Talent development has had a considerable, positive impact on retention, as part of an effort to improve the experience of both their employees and clients. “This impact is particularly visible when we align all of our systems and processes towards a common goal,” she explains. “For example, in fiscal year 2006 the firm made a concerted effort to raise the level and quality of feedback and coaching internally, something that our campus hires in particular are looking for on a continual basis. We believe that if our people feel they're learning and improving, they'll stay within that environment.” Their efforts included launching a firmwide Performance Coaching & Development process and tool, providing coaching clinics to key audiences, and streaming a series of coaching videos that poked a bit of fun at how our partners and staff deal with real life coaching situations, among other tactics.

The results of this effort speak for themselves. First, the amount of formal feedback shared within the firm has drastically increased, with 87 percent more forms completed within the PC&D tool than before. The content of these periodic feedback forms provide the basis of a discussion between the individual and the reviewer. “So we've increased the number of times people are actually engaged in a coaching conversation." As far as other quantitative metrics, timeliness skyrocketed, as formal feedback delivery time was reduced from 73 to 32 days. Frequency improved - while 90 percent of feedback used to occur in the last quarter, it is now much more evenly distributed year-round. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, perceptions of coaching have improved significantly. In April, 72 percent of employees agreed with the statement 'People I work for devote sufficient time to coaching and development,' up from 68 percent in 2005. An interesting final note is that the number of people agreeing with the statement: 'I receive meaningful feedback on my performance' went from 72 percent to 78 percent in that same timeframe: all significant results for the firm.

Finally, Kavanagh points to multiple interventions targeted at high-risk groups (new hires, senior associates, and managers) help to reduce turnover on an ongoing basis. For example:

• Turning Point provides senior associates with a framework for coping with work and life demands, helping them manage the challenges of achieving personal, career, family and community goals. Attendees emerge with a renewed commitment to the firm or become loyal alumni. After one year, turnover was reduced by 50 percent among those attending.
• New Manager Experience, a joint celebratory/learning session, focuses on the transition from Senior Associate to Manager. In FY06, there was an increase of 400 attendees over FY05.
• Genesis Park brings employees from around the world and immerses them in an intense five-month residency program. Since its inception six years ago, participant retention rate is 97 percent.

While some companies feel that it is more beneficial to develop from within as opposed to recruiting externally, PwC feels it's important to do both: develop from within and recruit the talent needed. The PwC staffing model for many parts of their business allows them to hire candidates directly from campus and teach them additional relationship and technical skills. Their value to PwC’s clients increases as they learn from both formal education and on-the-job experiences, dealing directly with clients at a very early stage in their career. “Other parts of our business benefit significantly from an influx of individuals who have held senior C-suite level positions within industry prior to joining the firm, and then bring that knowledge to bear for our clients,” adds Kavanagh. “Ultimately, our decision to develop from within or to recruit selectively is truly dependent on the needs of the business and what we need to deliver to our clients.” Regardless of their level of experience though, all recruits go through an intensive on-boarding process that firmly grounds them in the firm’s culture and values and the criticality of their clients and communities.

PwC has found that this context, coupled with an ability to develop people, yields the best results for partners, executives, and leaders. Those people who decide to leave the firm become "PwC alumni," and they often take leadership positions within other industries. PwC stays connected with alumni through continuing education, networking and information sharing. With this ever-increasing sphere of influence, their leadership is going from strength to strength.