The Exec-Ed Zone

The Economist ran a special report on Talent Management last week. It was really looking at the approach the Big Four accountancy firms are taking to attract and retain talent. The sector has a much higher than average turnover rate of employees (around 20%) which is costly. However as they act as training school for a large cut of would be professionals this is no surprise, the largest departure group are those who have gained their qualifications as accountants after three years of auditing.

While they would like to see the 20% figure fall, there is a consensus that somewhere around 10-15% would be optimal as they cannot and do not want to keep all their qualified employees. The trick is to identify and retain the best performers - who may well also be those that feel that they can flourish better elsewhere.

Their response to all this is to start to track talent at a much earlier stage than previously. Typically as junior management/trainees were out of the office working on audit assignments, senior management rarely saw them in action. There is now a push to get partners involved with young managers and some more formal programs to identify and train talent for career development beyond pure auditing skills. KPMG runs thier Compass program and PWC has Genesis Park for its high-fliers.

The education process does not stop on reaching partnership with leadership and training programs being created for these senior levels too. Ernst & Young run a "leaving a legacy" program. And critically for these service businesses there is a drive to keep former employees "on-side" as they can drive business towards their old employer and many return later in their careers as well.