Forum

Focusing on Business Results: Deloitte & Touche

The Situation

Faced with a business environment of mergers, fierce competition, fee sensitivity, and pressure to attract and retain talent, Deloitte & Touche needed to create and implement a systematic approach to professional skills development. External client data identified that the organization’s professionals would need to make a significant transition in order to be successful. This transition, from technical expert to consultative client service professional, would require not only extensive skill building in business advisory, management, and leadership areas, but an attitudinal and behavioral shift for the entire organization.

Deloitte & Touche’s goal was to develop the organization’s first-ever enterprise-wide learning system for nontechnical skills, creating a consistent approach and language for building and maintaining client relationships. The new learning culture needed to reflect the firm’s global orientation, address all levels of the organization, and deliver the skills needed at exactly the right time in an associate’s 9-year journey from new hire to partner. Deloitte & Touche turned to The Forum Corporation, with which it has had a 10-year relationship.

The Solution

Forum designed a comprehensive, enterprise-wide learning system to address the nontechnical developmental needs of professionals at all stages of their careers, from entry level associate through senior manager to partner.

Specifically, Forum:

• Identified the need to enhance 32 different skill areas and create a learning system that eliminated existing redundancy
• Developed a multi-year, multiphase, integrated cross-functional curriculum
• Designed a curriculum comprised of 28 courses and 41 days of content in the areas of interpersonal skills, consultative skills, business development, and leadership and management development
• Assumed a general contractor role overseeing external vendors
• Continued to develop customized and issue-related solutions on a project basis
• Delivered classroom workshops around the world

The Results

Deloitte has been extremely pleased with the impact of this learning system. A project results study from several years ago indicated that the firm:

• Achieved 21 percent revenue growth and increased market share through both new and existing clients
• Lowered employee turnover by 8 percent (a challenging issue in public accounting firms)
• Saved $27 million annually by reducing redundancy in learning system by 35 percent
• Established a common language and consistency of practice development throughout the enterprise
• Improved seamless cross-functional service delivery to customers by increasing staff teamwork and collaboration 2

Deloitte conducts a full review of this enterprise-wide learning system every year and continually renews its commitment and investment in the system.

For more information contact Forum.