learning adds up to revenue growth

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  • 8/3/2019 Learning Adds Up to Revenue Growth

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    Learning Adds Up To Revenue GrowthDriven by the employment motto, From campus to partner, employee learning and development

    at Grant Thornton is guided by a stair-step framework that includes all online and in-personofferings.

    The senior managers, all CPAs, who work at Chicago-based Grant Thornton LLP, a public accountingfirm, provide professional services to clients in one of the firms areas of specialization, including tax,audit, advisory, and industry services. Since the economic downturn, however, theyve been taskedwith an additional responsibility: revenue growth. Economic pressures and the end of most of theSarbanes-Oxley work led the firm to create financial targets for senior managers a couple of yearsago.

    Ive been in the industry for 15 years, comments Don Beeman, national director of leadership

    development. Although the concept of selling was not always widely accepted for a professional servicesfirm, we have realized that we must focus on building a sales culture in order to be successful.

    What the firms Strategic Learning Group (SLG) soon realized, however, was that many newly promotedsenior managers lacked business development skillsand the firm lacked formalized training to teach thoseskills. SLG members revamped Grant Thorntons annual senior manager development program to achievetwo goals: mark the milestone promotion and equip participants with the skills to develop their business.They built a sales training curriculum into the annual three-day conference for newly promoted seniormanagers, focusing on a simulation approach to replicate realistically the business and competitiveconditions participants would face.

    The curriculum combines formal learning with team work sessions and simulated client interaction. Teamscompete for business by meeting clients, played by experienced Grant Thornton personnel, and presentingto a board, played by firm executives. The teams that are best aligned to client needs and firm values getthe business; all receive executive feedback.

    We wanted to demystify the process and make it less scary, says Beeman. The curriculum emphasizesunderstanding clients businesses and experiences through conversation, and encourages these newmanagers to be curious, ask questions, and identify opportunities.

    Win rates for program participants are nearly double those of nonparticipants, while win size and total winsare triple those of nonparticipants. Beeman estimates that the program has directly driven almost $30 millionin new business over the first three years, and that return-on-investment tops 1,000 percent.

    Other less tangible benefits also have been felt. Tenured employees who have participated as mock clientsand board members have reported to Beeman that sitting on the other side of the table has helped themidentify areas in which they, too, could improve their business development skills.

    The success of the program has been so great that it drove the creation of a new initiative, an innovativefour-part Business Development Foundation Series that is offered to all client-facing professionals. Its partsfocus on preparation, engagement, proposals, and presentations. Each part includes online prework,gaming-style scored simulations, and libraries of short instructional videos, and all are capped off with a

    face-to-face simulation exercise.

    We keep the simulations realistic by including unexpected twists and turns, such as a sudden change inclient decision makers or having clients cut meetings short due to an emergency, says Beeman.

    Learners have turned in rave reviews, giving the programs an average score of 6.2 out of 7. Businessdevelopment executives have completed the program and have been trained to coach the behaviors, andthe series is being adapted for use by international member firms.

    Strategic alignment is the key to our success, says Anne Lang, chief human resources officer for the firm.Each activity that our team engages in aligns with our firms strategic drivers, so our efforts focus on what ismost important to the business and help drive the desired results. Our business leaders recognize this andgive strong and consistent support to investing in the development of our people.

    Revenue growth is but one of the strategic drivers supported by the SLG. A second is talentthe firm strivesto attract, develop, engage, and retain skilled professionals.

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    This can be a tough job at first, and its not always a great fit. Our hiring model is to recruit heavily amongrecent college graduates, says Lang.

    The firm hires about 1,000 new associates each year. To help prospective employees make informed

    decisions, Grant Thornton offers 350 nationwide college internships annually, plus job shadowing andstudent employment programs. Simultaneously, hiring managers have been trained to make better hiringdecisions through behavioral interviewing, which helps them to identify the core behavioral traits common tohigh-performing employees.

    Many of the initiatives designed to acquaint young people with the firm and the profession have had apositive effect on our retention of entry-level employees, Lang adds.

    Grant Thorntons approach to integrated talent management is evident in its employment motto, Fromcampus to partner. Employee learning and development is guided by a stair-step framework known asLEADS, the umbrella for all online and in-person offerings.

    All employees have individual development plans, documented competencies, tracked learning histories,and annual performance reviews. Grant Thorntons Professional Competency Framework was developed in2008 to create a clearer link between individual contribution and organizational success. It outlines the skillsand behaviors expected at each professional level, and how they align with organizational strategy. About a

    year ago, the firm added a Career Aspirations piece to the annual review: Managers ask employees wherethey want to go, and help create a development plan to help them get there.

    The firm also is piloting a new sponsor program with 15 female high-potential senior managers who aspire tobe partners. In the accounting industry, women make up 50 percent of new hires but only 12 to 18 percent ofpartners. To combat that talent loss, Grant Thornton has partnered with McKinsey & Company to create acustomized leadership program, and launched a womens mentoring network in 2008. The sponsorshipprogram is designed to take things a step further: Partner-track women are matched with senior sponsors topursue a goal of 20 percent female partners by 2015.

    About 30 percent of employees are eligible for high-potential development programs, and about 30 percentof executive positions have succession plans. Although Grant Thornton employs 5,000 people in the UnitedStates, it also operates in 100 countries around the world. Executives are keenly aware of the need to builda global leadership pipeline.

    Chicago-based SLG members partnered with their colleagues around the world to create a bold new

    advanced manager program for high-potential employees, a yearlong curriculum led by firm executives andrenowned business thinkers in occasional onsite sessions at various locations. The inaugural sessionbrought together managers from 20 member firms, representing 24 countries and 26 languages, forsessions in Chicago, Brussels, and Hong Kong. Several graduates have already made partner, Beemansays.